Visit Mississippi to Honor John Primer with Mississippi Blues Trail Marker at 82nd National Folk Festival

Visit Mississippi invites everyone to attend the unveiling of a Mississippi Blues Trail Marker honoring legendary bluesman and Mississippi native John Primer. The marker presentation will take place during his performance at the 82^nd National Folk Festival on Saturday, November 8, in Jackson.

Primer’s career exemplifies the history of Chicago blues—the iconic American sound pioneered by southern Black musicians who moved north during the Great Migration and electrified Delta blues for a new urban landscape. Born in Camden, Mississippi, John’s homecoming at the 82^nd National Folk Festival brings his story full circle. 

Event Details

When: Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, | 4:00 p.m. media call time. Presentation begins at 4:25 p.m.

Where: The Visit Mississippi Stage on E. Capitol St. at the 82^nd National Folk Festival (A map is attached for reference) Who: Joining John Primer and his band on stage will be:

• John Horhn – Mayor, City of Jackson

• Craig Ray – Chairman, Mississippi Blues Trail Commission

• Rochelle Hicks – Director, Visit Mississippi

• Wanda Clark – Mississippi Blues Foundation / Hammons & Associates

• Michelle McAdoo – Special Projects Manager, Visit Mississippi

• Bill Ferris – Mississippi folklorist and author

• Lisa Becker-Primer – wife of John Primer, manager of John Primer & The Real Deal Blues Band, and co-owner of Blues House Productions record label

For more information on the Mississippi Blues Trail, please contact Katie Coats, Chief Marketing Officer at Visit Mississippi, at (228) 357-4086 or kcoats@mississippi.org.

For more information on the 82nd National Folk Festival or for on-site coordination, please contact CJ Holroyd, Program Services Manager at the National Council for the Traditional Arts, at (518) 321-4695 or cjholroyd@ncta-usa.org.