Blues Brunch featuring Joanna Connor - Sun, June 14, 2026 at 11AM
Bay Saint Louis, MS – The 100 Men Hall hosts its Second Sunday BLUES BRUNCH featuring the best of blues music and the finest in dining all served in a historical setting. Sunday, June 14, 2026, from 11-1PM starring Joanna Connor. Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door. Food for purchase by Alligator Mike and cash/credit bar. You can also reserve a table for an additional fee here.
Based out of Chicago since age 17, Joanna Connor hit the top of the Billboard blues-album chart with 4801 Indiana Avenue two years ago and returns in style with this powerful disc, which features contributions from world-class talent across the blues spectrum.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and raised in Worcester, Mass., Joanna hit the street running when she arrived in the Windy City via Greyhound bus in 1979. Shortly thereafter, John Littlejohn — one of the city’s best slide guitarists ever – began mentoring her as a member of his own ensemble before Dion Payton recruited her to join his 43rd Street Blues Band, an act that for years headlined at both the Checkerboard Lounge and the Kingston Mines in addition to backing major talent across the city.
Connor also toured the world behind sax great A.C. Reed for a while before founding her own band in the mid-‘80s at the insistence of Mines owner Doc Pellegrino. Her recording career began with Believe It in 1989, and she’s enjoyed long stints at Blind Pig, Germany’s Ruf – where she was just the second artist signed to the label – and M.C. In 2002, however, as the single mother of two young children, she made the difficult decision to stop touring in order to raise them.
She’s been back in the international spotlight since 2019, when Joe Bonamassa and movie director Adrian Lynne of Flash Dance fame became enthralled with her blazing guitar skills after viewing one of her videos. Not only did Lynne enlist her for a scene in his 2022 release, Deep Water – starring Ben Affleck, but Bonamassa offered her the opportunity to cut 4801 Indiana Avenue for his KTBA Records
“Music like this makes you realize just how vital Blues is and how it sits at the core of so much great music made in the last 60 years… terrific album.” – Music News
– Winner Best Blues Band and Best Individual Blues Musician for the 2022 Best of Chicago: Music & Nightlife poll
– Featured on the soundtrack for the Ben Affleck movie Deep Water.
Food available for purchase from Alligator Mike. Hailing from LaRose, LA, Alligator Mike has been cooking over a pot, usually a very large black pot, for decades on his family’s alligator farm, and for over 15 years at T Bois Blues Festival, and more recently at 100 Men Hall. Alligator Mike’s Louisiana cooking includes redfish courtbouillon all the way to his very special Cajun gumbo. Louisiana cooking is a diverse cuisine influenced by many cultures, including French, Spanish, African and Native American.
The historical 100 Men Hall, a famed stop on the Chitlin' Circuit, a Must See Venue by Rolling Stone Magazine, winner of the 2024 MS Governor’s Award for Excellence for Arts in the Community, a rare site on the MS Blues Trail, is maintained and preserved under a 501c3 nonprofit organization (Hundred Members Debating Benevolent Association, est. 1894). The Hall is supported by its membership organization 100 WOMEN DBA, as well as from the generosity of sponsors and donors. The 100 Men Hall is the only endowed African American landmark in Mississippi. Additional information about the venue’s history and other activities can be found on https://100menhall.com or by emailing 100menhall@gmail.com.