BOOKER FEST Aug 29 - 31, 2025
Bay Saint Louis, MS - The 100 Men Hall hosts its sixth annual Booker Fest to celebrate the musical genius of James Booker on Labor Day weekend (Friday, August 29 through Sunday, August 31, 2025). This year, we honor Booker with a weekend that soars:
J & The Causeways
New Orleans Suspects
River Eckert Band
Jourdan Thibodeaux et les Rôdailleurs
The Quickening
Chloe Marie
with Sam Forshey, St. Rose Gospel Choir
Booker Fest is Bay Saint Louis’ own music festival that happens every year during Labor Day weekend with top musicians and performers, food, libations and this year ends with a fais do do! Tickets are available for each day or for the entire weekend. Hall Pass entry to all Booker Fest shows - $110. Early bird special is $95 until August 4, 2025!
James Carroll Booker III (December 17, 1939 – November 8, 1983) was a New Orleans rhythm and blues keyboardist born in New Orleans, LA and raised by an aunt in Bay St Louis where he attended St. Rose de Lima and learned classical piano. Booker's unique style combined rhythm and blues with jazz standards.
James Booker Was Hands Down the Greatest
New Orleans Piano Player Ever
BOOKER FEST
Labor Day Weekend in Bay Saint Louis is BOOKER FEST weekend and this year promises to deliver the full range of Booker's musical genius brought to you by Alligator Mike Promotions:
J & The Causeways - Founded at the Maple Leaf on a hot summer night, J & The Causeways is a group spearheaded by singer-songwriter Jordan Anderson. Together with his pulsating rhythm section, intricate horn and guitar melodies and robust vocals, J & The Causeways is a powerhouse of soul dipped in old school rhythm & blues. Singer and keyboardist Jordan Anderson leads with a soaring level of octave prowess and sonic range that is captivating.
New Orleans Suspects - New Orleans Suspects began playing together in 2009 as a pick-up band at the Maple Leaf in New Orleans. Comprised of some of the most seasoned, highly respected players in NOLA, the group called themselves The Unusual Suspects. Their chemistry was undeniable and by the summer of 2011 they decided to tour full-time, renaming the band New Orleans Suspects. They quickly began attracting large crowds from San Francisco to New York. They have currently released five albums and established themselves as one of New Orleans’ best supergroups.
Jourdan Thibodeaux et les Rôdailleurs - Jourdan Thibodeaux is the guy you picture when someone says the word “authentic.” Straight from the blackjack boggy woods of Cypress Island, Louisiana, Jourdan is one of only a small number of young people speaking Cajun French today, and his soulful singing and fiddling are the perfect medium for his ever-growing repertoire of original Louisiana French songs. His musical ability and his crafty songwriting which is at once classic and progressive has afforded him a band comprised of some of the finest artists in Acadiana today: Cedric Watson (accordion), Alan Lafleur (bass), Joel Savoy (guitar), and Jay Miller (drums). From foot-stomping two-steps to heart-breaking ballads, Jourdan Thibodeaux et les Rôdailleurs deliver la verité with a sound that will leave you wetter than running hoop nets in July!
River Eckert Band - River Eckert (b. Oct. 9, 2009) is a 15-year-old piano player born and raised in New Orleans, LA. From a very young age, River has been surrounded by music. Immersed in the styles of legends such as Professor Longhair, James Booker, Dr. John, Allen Toussaint, Fats Domino, Art Neville among others, he is passionate and dedicated to “carrying the torch” of the New Orleans piano tradition.
The Quickening - The Quickening formed in 2012 after lead singer and guitarist Blake Quick left local funk band Flow Tribe, which was featured on MTV’s The Real World in 2011. The band has since released three full-length albums and has garnered local acclaim as one of the leading live jam bands in New Orleans. They’ve performed multiple times on big stages at Tipitina’s, The Broadside and more.
Chloe Marie - Chloé Marie is a singer and songwriter to behold, with her beautifully somber tone and soaring phrasing. She also has quite a range and is an enigmatic and highly skilled singer-songwriter on the rise. Raised in the cultural richness of south Louisiana, Chloé's musical style is hard to pinpoint as any one genre - you can hear the whole world in her sound.
Sam Forshey - Sam Forshey is a blues guitarist based out of New Orleans, LA. Born and raised in West Virginia, Sam began playing guitar in church where he was introduced to the soulful sounds of gospel music at an early age. Sam’s father was a gospel guitar player who also shared a love for the blues.
St. Rose de Lima Gospel Choir - Considered the best Southern Gospel choir in the region, the St. Rose de Lima choir was already a Bay Saint Louis institution when James Booker played there. Several members sang when Booker played piano in the choir. The choir has been featured in the gospel tent at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Rachel Dangermond, director of 100 Men Hall, credits the support of multiple sponsors for Booker Fest’s production, “The 100 Men Hall is grateful to our major sponsor, the Silver Slipper Casino, with additional sponsorships from Dirty Coast, Mississippi Gulf Coast National Heritage Area, Coldwell Banker - Alfonso Realty, Ann Madden Photography, SouthGroup Insurance as well as sponsorship from Cathead Distillery, and Shoofly Magazine. Their support makes it possible to bring this much talent in one weekend to this coastal town.”
James Booker was born James Carroll Booker III on December 17, 1939, in New Orleans, and was influenced by his church and Baptist minister parents and grandparents, who played piano. Booker was a child prodigy who loved classical music (especially Bach) and part of his amazing skill lay in an ability to blend a Rachmaninoff tune with a rolling blues piano riff. After his father became ill during Booker’s early childhood, he and his sister Betty Jean were sent to live with his aunt in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
This year's Booker Fest fine art poster features James Booker as the Bayou Maharajah and was created by New Orleans artist Cheryl Anne Grace with graphics by Ann Madden. Purchase your signed, limited edition (coming soon). To purchase your limited edition Booker Fest tee shirt (coming soon).
Screening Thursday, August 28 at 7PM (after Lava Lounge 5-7PM): a documentary directed by Lily Keber, Bayou Maharajah chronicles the life and music of this colorful, troubled figure, legendary in New Orleans but obscure elsewhere. The film features extensive performance and interview footage of Booker, who died in 1983 at age 44. “I’ve got some blues that contains old soul with new wrinkles,” the pianist says in a clip featured in the trailer, perhaps referencing the way his style seamlessly incorporated classical, jazz and gospel.
In his 20s, Booker worked with the touring bands of B.B. King and Aretha Franklin and in 1970, mysterious trouble led Booker to lose his left eye; afterwards he began to don an iconic eye patch. Attendees will be able to purchase Booker Fest merch, a signed limited edition posters, as well as Booker Fest eye patches created by artist Ann Madden at the Fest.
Throughout the weekend, attendees will have the opportunity to purchase food: Friday’s food stars Nolan Catering, Saturday features Big Boyz BBQ (winner of ’23 Hogs for a Cause), Sunday brunch features free Jambalaya. Cash/Credit bar throughout the event.
Tickets for each of the weekend events as well as a Hall Pass allowing entry to ALL events can be purchased online and available at Will Call throughout the weekend. Tickets and wristbands purchased at the door during the event will be priced higher and based on availability.
Booker Fest Schedule
Friday, August 29
6PM Sam Forshey
7PM New Orleans Suspects
(Nolan Catering)
$30 (or $110 Hall Pass/$95 Early Bird)
Saturday, August 30
1-2PM St Rose Gospel Choir
2:30-3:45 Chloe Marie
4:15-5:30 The Quickening
6-7:30 River Eckert Band (Tribute to Booker)
8-9:30 J & The Causeways
(Big Boyz BBQ from 2PM on)
$75 (or $110 Hall Pass/Early Bird $95)
Sunday, August 31
2-4PM Fais Do Do
starring Jourdan Thibodeaux et les Rôdailleurs
(free Cajun Jambalaya)
$30 (or $110 Hall Pass/Early Bird $95)
Booker Fest Weekend Hall Pass - $110
Booker Fest Weekend Early Bird Hall Pass - $95
A Hall Pass allows entry to ALL of the events -
$95 Early Bird
$110 after August 4 - then price goes up to $125 at the door.
All tickets will be at Will Call.
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.