The King Biscuit Blues Festival brought music lovers back to Helena-West Helena on Oct. 10-11.
From its beginning in 1986, the King Biscuit Blues Festival has had highs and lows. Over 40 years, it experienced its own occasional case of the “blues.” But in the wise words of a Buddy Guy song, “When you play ’em you lose ’em, cause the blues chase the blues away.”
Beginning as a one-day event using the old Helena-West Helena train depot porch as the stage, it was attended by roughly 500 spectators. That first year featured blues legends Pine Top Perkins, Cedell Davis, James Cotton, Frank Frost and Robert Lockwood Jr.
The “Biscuit” always falls on the weekend just before Columbus Day. From its humble beginnings, the annual occasion grew into three days packed full of musical entertainment on seven stages with 100,000 blues enthusiasts and street musicians arriving annually from across the globe.
AM radio station KFFA in Helena-West Helena is home to “King Biscuit Time,” from whence the festival derived its name. Begun Nov. 21, 1941, it is the longest-running daily blues broadcast.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Some of the challenges faced by the festival over its course include loss of the famous “King Biscuit” moniker in 2005. Due to legal wrangling over who owned the “King Biscuit” name, the Sonny Boy Blues Society was forced to drop the long-held label and adopt “Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival.”
After a half dozen years of court battles and negotiations, the city was allowed the return of the cherished title. In October 2011, organizer Munnie Jordan announced from the main stage, “The Biscuit is back!”
Another major hurdle encountered in 2020 and 2021 was cancellation of the event for two years because of the covid-19 pandemic.
“We were so excited because this was our first time back after a long pause,” she said upon return in 2022, Jordan said. “Our lineup of entertainers was great. Not one of them canceled from when they were originally booked in 2020.”
In 2025, the festival faced one of its greatest tests. A large loss of funding nearly spelled the demise of the Biscuit altogether.
Because of financial shortfalls that resulted in the low attendance in 2024, along with losing humanities grants in April 2025 as well as a number of notable sponsorships such as Southern Bank Corp., Saracen Casino and Partners Bank, there was serious doubt if the show could go on.
“What got us back on track was when a 30-year sponsor from Maine called and offered to donate $1,000 for every one of the 30 years he’d been coming or he’d give $35,000 if we could match it,” Jordan shared.
“My feeling is we made it over a big bump in the road. I don’t think anyone wanted to see it fall by the wayside. The Walton Family Foundation called and offered their help to keep it alive. They kicked in with a major grant to help preserve this vital piece of Americana and Arkansas heritage,” she said.
To encourage an increase in attendance, ticket prices for the main stage were greatly reduced to only $20 for one day or $35 for two. The scaled down “Biscuit” included a single stage with performers playing from noon until past 9 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. until after 10 p.m. Saturday.
In addition to the official King Biscuit Sonny Boy Main Stage, the Delta Cultural Center had its free Front Porch stage on Cherry Street going from noon until 7 p.m. Oct. 10 and 1-7 p.m. Oct. 11.
The unofficial Quicksand busker stage sponsored by Crossroads Music Project, Windy City Blues Society and Long Island Blues Society launched at 11 a.m. and ran until 10 p.m. on Oct. 9-11 at the north end of Cherry Street in the Thad Kelley Courtyard. They featured 30-plus bands performing for tips all three days.
This year’s main stage lineup contained some of the most beloved, longtime contributors to the entertainment roster. Oct. 10 saw Paul Thorn take the stage followed by Mr. Sipp.
Thorn said of his long association with the fest, “I’m so glad to be here again. Things are a little smaller than before but just as great.”
Regarding one of the two original festival founders, Berbon “Bubba” Sullivan who died at age 81 on Aug. 18, 2021, Thorn said, “I miss Bubba so much. He was to the Biscuit what Col. Sanders is to KFC. When he was gone, part of the fest went with him.”
Thorn’s 90-minute appearance brought the large audience of enthusiastic supporters to their feet as he made his traditional end-of-show walk through the crowd, singing, shaking hands, hugging fans and wearing the “Biscuit head” hat.
On Oct. 11, afternoon performer Anson Funderburg returned for his 38th year on the main stage.
“Saving the Biscuit is so great I don’t even know how to describe it,” he said. “We’ve all gotten to see so many great artists this weekend. We’ve caught up with old friends and made new friends, too. I want to thank everyone who came together to make this happen once more.”
Rising star D.K. Harrell joined the B.B. King Museum Blues Band for the crowning act Saturday evening. He reflected the common sentiment.
“I feel blessed and honored to be back on the Biscuit stage for my third time. This is a wonderful festival that should be preserved and it’s great to see so many people get involved to keep it going,” he said.
Regarding the reduced numbers in attendance filling downtown streets, Jordan said, “Everybody who is here this year cares about the blues and keeping the Biscuit in Helena. We are glad to have the Delta Cultural Center Front Porch stage and the Quicksand stage adding to the mix of music up and down Cherry Street. Our Friday V.I.P. party went well and the Blues, Bloody’s and Biscuits Bar Saturday morning was a hit with a big crowd at both. Everyone is pleased with the reasonable ticket prices, free camping, plenty of parking and how easy it is to get around downtown.
“With our late start, we didn’t host a festival poster competition this year. John Goodwin, who has won with his poster entry twice before, called and said he had the perfect painting for us. He donated it free of charge for the 2025 King Biscuit Festival poster,” she said.
The Delta Cultural Center sponsored an art exhibit of Goodwin’s work during the festival. His display that began Sept. 13 runs through the end of December.
“This is my first solo art showing. It has always been a dream of mine to have one so King Biscuit and Delta Cultural Center made that dream come true,” he said.
Regarding his donation of the poster art, Goodwin said, “The annual poster has been a collectable item associated with the fest since the beginning. I’ve been a supporter of King Biscuit since the first year and I’m not about to stop now in their time of need.”
As president of the Sonny Boy Blues Society, First Judicial Circuit Court Judge Chalk Mitchell is at the helm of the annual blues fest.
“Considering how we got started so late pulling it together, I feel blessed people still believe in the Biscuit,” Mitchell said. “With our reduced budget, we downsized things to minimize costs and yet have had an outstanding weekend with beautiful weather.
“Our sponsorship is still good and we have international visitors from Europe and Japan as well as lots of folks from Kansas, Long Island, Chicago and all over the U.S.”
He shared how as always he’d made new friends and hung out with old ones.
The overall impression of festival-goers was that the abbreviated activities proved a complete success and the Biscuit reboot is a fresh start for an iconic celebration. Despite the passing of generations, tough economic times and loss of so many original blues artists, the blues and King Biscuit are still alive and well in Helena-West Helena.
