Special Event Features a Tribute to Lead Belly
Boogie Woogie Marshall 2025 takes place September 26-27 with celebrations of an uplifting genre of music that got its start in Marshall,Texas. This year’s event honors the enduring legacy of Huddle “Lead Belly,” Ledbetter, the “King of the 12-String Guitar,” whose powerful voice and ground-breaking music shaped generations of artists. In partnership with the House of Lead Belly and his family, this tribute brings the spirit of Lead Belly back to where it all began.
The roots of blues and folk music have many strands, and one of the best started in East Texas. That’s where a blues original picked up a guitar for the first time on his way to influencing many musicians to follow.
Born January 20, 1888, Ledbetter moved with his family from Louisiana to a small farm in Harrison County in 1898 according to the Texas State Historical Association. A natural talent for the guitar, Lead Belly was soon drawn to performances after leaving home at age 13. He became a minstrel in Shreveport and later in Dallas and Fort Worth. Farming was in his past — he still worked as a farmhand in counties east of Dallas in the summers — but his future was bound to include singing and playing his guitar, which he did frequently in saloons and dance halls in the region.
The people who came to recognize Lead Belly’s gift helped him achieve his place in music history. Blind Lemon Jefferson of Dallas partnered with Lead Belly and together bolstered each other’s artistic growth and recognition.
Also, famed Texas folklorist John Avery Lomax — an early recorder of unrecognized artists who were seminal in the genre’s origins — considered Lead Belly a real talent. Lomax helped Lead Belly gain national prominence starting with performances in New York City.
Lead Belly’s life includes convictions of criminal activity. It was during one of his run-ins with the law — and taking a bullet to the stomach — that Lead Belly earned that nickname and added to his legend.
He is best known for writing the song “Goodnight Irene,” recorded by the Weavers in the early 1950s. His influence goes much further. Folk artists Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger were among his admirers.
Lead Belly, who died in 1949, was inducted posthumously in the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is buried near Shreveport.
Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones once said he tries to “Keep rolling, to grow up the art of rock n’ roll, to age with the weather-beaten dignity of my mentors, the great, hard-living bluesmen like Lead Belly.”
Boogie Woogie Marshall events include tributes and a documentary for Lead Belly along with visits to his gravesite, and an unveiling of the Lead Belly Room at the Boogie Woogie Museum.
Performing artists for Boogie Woogie Marshall include Carl “Sonny” Leyland, Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne, Dr. Daryl Davis, Liz Pennock & Dr. Blues, Guy Davis, Mark Puryear, Wes Jeans. And Dr. John Tennison.
Most of the shows take place at Memorial City Hall Performance Center. Get details and tickets on www.BoogieWoogie.org.
