Red Brick Roads offers music, food, beer and fun August 25-26

By Clinton Courier | August 21, 2023 |

By Sherry Lucas

Organizers for Red Brick Roads 2023 say they are hoping for record crowds at this year’s event.

The Red Brick Roads Music and Arts Festival, August 25 and 26 in Olde Towne Clinton, is back, bringing that spirited festival vibe, lively musical grooves, cold brews and hot times to the heart of Clinton.

New Orleans funk and reggae rockers Flow Tribe will deliver the weekend’s climax, bringing all that fun to a fevered pitch Saturday night, August 26.

But there’s also a bunch of fun to be found leading up to all that, starting at 6 p.m. Friday, August 25, with gates opening on the festival grounds and music lovers filtering in to enjoy the Singer-Songwriter Showcase.

Sam Mooney, Polly Mooney, Lo Noom and Cole Hill will entertain listeners with a round robin of songs 7-8:15 p.m., and North Carolina-born and Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jervis Campbell takes the stage at 8:30 p.m.

On Saturday, August 26, the gates open at 1 p.m., with plenty to entice Clintonians back to the brick streets. The Red Brick Roads Craft Market will be going strong, 1-6 p.m., with about thirty vendors with creative ways and products to amp up the festival experience, home decor and more.

“We will have vendors selling festival headbands, permanent jewelry, festival face painting and embellished cowboy hats, as well as a vendor putting festival tinsel in hair,” said Main Street Clinton Director Tara Lytal. More traditional craft vendors will be onsite, as well, with candles, woodwork, fiber crafts, artwork and bath and beauty products. “We have a great mix of vendors this year, and some of our great Olde Towne businesses will be having a booth, as well.”

Julie Farmer’s Hootenanny Hairdress will be back for a second year, with gaily festooned festival headbands with flowers, succulents, tulle, ribbons and more.

“There’s a big variety,” says Farmer, who lives right up East Leake Street from the festival grounds. “I always tell people, you can’t not smile when you have one of my headbands on,” she said of the carefree good time wearing them and seeing them in the crowd conveys.

On the food front, Gary Howard with Small Time Street Eats, a festival favorite since his start at the first one, will be back with his pulled pork nachos and more. Also returning is Inez’s Heavenly Treats, with its signature hot tamales and “some new eats,” owner Lakesha Harmon promised. “I want to surprise all my Clinton family.”

She’s working on Mexican street corn and plans to have sweet treats. She loves the vibe of an event like the Red Brick Roads Music and Arts Festival.

“The energy is so different,” Harmon said. “People are really in their element and ready to try new things. It’s not just what they’re eating, it’s about the experience, so you want to give them the experience.” Taste is a big part of it, she acknowledged, “but you also want it to look good, you want it to smell good and you want it to be a little different.”

Gator Bugs Snowcones will be on hand, too.

“New to the festival will be local restaurant Genna Benna’s with their food truck, Smokey’s Meals on Wheels and Lucy’s Fresh Lemonade,” Lytal said. Also, “Festival-goers can always dine at Olde Towne staples 303 Jefferson or The Bank, and pick up sweet treats from Meme’s Brick Street Bakery or Brick Street Pops, and get recharged at The Spring Nutrition.”

The festival, now in its seventh year, is a joint production of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Clinton. Crowd counts have topped about 4,000 for the weekend, and the festival has grown since its start.

“We try to be mindful of the college students, and picking artists they know, to entice them to come enjoy the festival,” said Clinton Chamber of Commerce Director Anna Nutt.

The Red Brick Brew Homebrew Competition has grown, and that pulls in the beer enthusiasts who often stay to enjoy the music, too.

“We’re hoping for a really big year,” said Nutt.

The homebrew competition is 3-5 p.m., and this year’s tent and high top tables for the beer garden will add welcome shade from the August sun and a hangout spot for the tasters.

“They can get their beer, stand under the tents and hang out with their friends — somewhere to set their drink down and congregate.… We’re just trying to beat the heat,” Nutt said.

The music kicks up at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the festival, with award-winning, Lucedale-raised music artist Naomi Taylor. Hear about the award winners in the Red Brick Brew competition at 5:15 p.m., then gear up for the soulful pop/rock originals of Jackson-based standout Seth Power at 5:30 p.m. Nashville-based singer-songwriter Anna Vaus shares her catchy pop-country sound at 7 p.m., and then Flow Tribe wraps it all up, 8:30-10 p.m., with what’s sure to be a great set.

“They should bring a lot of energy to the event,” Lytal said.

A Kids Area, sponsored by Continental Tire this year, will offer music-related hands-on crafting fun for children and a spot for them to run around on the green space across from the police station.

“We try to make it a family-friendly event,” Nutt said. “We want everyone to come.”

Festival tickets are $30 for a weekend pass (a discount over gate admission); it’s $15 for a Friday pass and $20 for a Saturday pass. A student pass (with ID) is $10 onsite, and children younger than ten get in free. A VIP pass is $125; the VIP space inside Century 21 Maselle and Associates is air-conditioned.

Other heat-beating measures include a water station where people can fill their bottles, and the municipal room at the police station will be open as a heat relief area.