Sacred Sound – Zion BluesFEST
Takes Historic Church in Talbotton to New Heights –
“Growing up going around with my dad and his band, there was a lot of music going on all over Talbot County,” bluesman Neal Lucas recalls. “People were playing all the time, getting together in volunteer fire departments and churches and all. My dad played in different bands and they played old country, blues, bluegrass, and early rock and roll.”
A remote, rural enclave bordering Muscogee County to the northeast, Talbot County has a long, rich cultural legacy. It was once one of the wealthiest counties in Georgia. Modern life, however, seems to have passed by this place of dirt roads, rolling hillsides beautiful and green, and fertile soil producing some of the best peaches. Now in its fourth year, the Zion Blues Festival embraces Talbot County’s timeless tradition while also preserving it. Formed to raise funds for Zion Episcopal Church — an architectural marvel built in 1848 with significant historic value that was deteriorating in recent years but is now stabilized — the laid-back affair brings folks from all walks of life together for a day of food, art, and a killer line-up of real-deal blues musicians.
“For me, it’s cool that music is still going on like in Talbot,” says Lucas, a big part of the festival from the beginning who returns this year with a three-piece band for what’s sure to be a stellar set of electric blues. “I appreciate the fact that people keep coming out to support it.”
Located on Jackson Avenue in Talbotton, the festival takes place on the charming church grounds, with the main stage set up in a shady grove next to Zion. The headliner is the Grammy-nominated Jontavious Willis, a throw-back talent hailed as “wunderkind” by Taj Mahal. A native of Greenville in neighboring Meriwether County, Willis organized this year’s incredible roster of musicians. BluesFEST is the brainchild of Jontavious, Neal Lucas, and Talbotton native, Tom Persons.
New in 2024, some acts will play acoustic sets inside the acoustically pristine church. This includes a performance by critically acclaimed Columbus native Jake Fussell, now in North Carolina but constantly touring as a high-demand draw all over the world, who returns to the sacred hometown of perhaps his biggest musical influence, the late Precious Bryant, a rare gem of authenticity and a direct link to blues’ beginnings.
“The musicians who have played inside Zion tell me, ‘There’s no place where we can hear ourselves like we can here,’” explains David Johnson, a retired CSU English professor, poet, and, along with wife Katherine, Board Members of the nonprofit dedicated to Zion’s preservation. “They say, ‘Playing inside this church is like playing inside an instrument.’”
Fest-goers will have the chance to take a tour of Zion guided by Johnson, who first found Zion in the ‘70s when, as a newcomer to the Chattahoochee Valley, he found himself exploring the small towns surrounding Columbus. “I knew it from my art history class in college when we studied its extraordinary architecture,” he says by phone from his Pine Mountain Valley home, describing it as a rare example of carpenter-gothic style in the Deep South in fine shape.
The Johnsons first became involved in Zion’s restoration as members of St. Thomas Episcopal on Hilton Avenue, fixing the roof, and hanging new shingles. The couple now attends St. Nicholas in Hamilton, whose congregants were charged with taking care of Zion by the Episcopal diocese. In recent years, however, Zion’s structural issues became more serious – and expensive – as the outside timber planks started breaking down, the bell tower leaning worsened, and the big arched-window behind the altar began to crumble. Zion was turned over to the Georgia Trust who in turn deeded it to the nonprofit Zion Restoration Inc. Zion won a $100k grant from Historic Columbus and raised another $200k+ from private donors for the restoration. Another $30,000 was raised to restore the 1850 Organ. Then launched Zion BluesFest as its annual fundraiser.
Money from Zion BluesFest keeps the nonprofit from going into debt and provides for a modest general maintenance budget. The impact, however, is priceless. It raises awareness of the need to preserve Zion by attracting music-lovers from Columbus, Macon and Atlanta. It also has the power to help heal old, deep wounds.
“Blues Fest fosters friendships in the good community of Talbotton,” says Johnson, who tells the story of a current board member who was overcome by tears when she first stepped inside the church and felt a connection with her ancestors, whom she can trace directly back to Africans enslaved in Talbot County.
“Zion Blues Fest has really sparked the community coming together to the point where it enlivens the whole town,” he says, “and that sense of community can make all the difference in the world.”
Zion BluesFEST
11 a.m.- 6 p.m., Saturday, May 18
Historic 1848 Zion Episcopal Church, 0 Jackson Avenue, Talbotton, Georgia
Church Stage
Noon- 12:45: Lylie Mae
3:45 – 4:25: Eleanor Ellis
4:30 – 5:10: Jake Fussell
Outdoor Stage
12:45 -1:25: Jayy Hopp Band
1:30 – 2:10: Ethan Leinwand & Valerie Kirchoff (The St. Louis Steady Grinders)
2:15 – 2:55: Neal Lucas Band
3:00 – 3:40: Oscar Wilson
5:00 – 6:00 Jontavious Willis
Tickets $20 per person, $18 military, $15 with groups of 3 or more, 12-under free. All can be purchased in advance through getlocaltix.com.
By Frank Etheridge