Featuring 15 bands, 5 food trucks, 4 stages, 2 late night jam sessions and 1 burning guitar, the Mighty Roots Music Festival returns Friday, October 3 and Saturday, October 4 to historic Stovall Farms, the place where famed bluesman Muddy Waters grew up and was first recorded. Mighty Roots happens just outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi, 70 miles south of Memphis, TN and 70 miles west of Oxford, MS. The fifth annual event promises music, camping and revelry, as well as the return of the popular Delta Artist Market, the Kids Zone, and the Mimosas on the Mat Yoga Session.
Especially exciting for 2025 is the debut of the Outdoors, Inc. Mighty Levee Gravel Ride, representing the only chance cyclist have this year to ride the “champagne gravel” atop the Mississippi River levee. Presented in partnership with the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee Board, the MLGR is an all-ages event for cyclists of all levels. Courses range from a 13-mile “Fun Ride” to a four-lap 52-mile challenge for premier riders. The route passes through historic Friars Point, MS and even features live Blues music at the Robert Nighthawk Blues Trail marker. The ride concludes just before the festival gates open!
The Mighty 2025 music lineup features a terrific mix of roots, indie, Americana and bluegrass artists, including:
- Following a Bonnaroo and a summer tour with The Head and the Heart, Tulsa indie rock band Wilderado brings their fall headline tour to Mighty Roots. Wilderado blends expansive melodies with Americana roots, earning over 200 million streams and a reputation for electrifying live shows. Their Sept 2024 sophomore album, Talker captures a sense of home and identity. Following major festival slots, TV appearances, and tours with My Morning Jacket and The Head & The Heart, Wilderado continues to cement their place as a must-see live act in 2025.
- Ax and the Hatchetmen, who are taking a detour from their “So Much to Tell You” headline tour to play Mighty Roots. The Chicago based rock and roll band’s shimmering guitar attack, earthy rhythms and blistering horns have gained them a loyal following nationwide. As the and says, “We come to party.”
- Portland, Oregon natives The Takes coming off summer tours with Houndmouth and Penelope Road. The band are at the crossroads of rock riffs and folk songwriting, weaving emotion and escapism through their songs, all while sticking to the roots of rock. With over 1 million career streams and counting, The Takes are creating music for the moment and community wherever they happen to be.
- Shenadoah Valley-based farmers-turned-rockers, Illiterate Light who can be hard to categorize. Coming off a spectacular performance at the Newport Folk Festival, these guys are part indie rock duo and part jam band and part harmony-laden folk. Whatever the label, they deliver an amazing live show.
- Delta natives American Blonde¸ bringing their high energy show to the loading dock stage Friday night.
- Chinese Connection Dub Embassy, whose awesome reggae stylings are already loved by Mighty Roots fans. They are set to light up late-night Friday with Reggae at the Gin.
- Mississippi-based Joe Austin and the Tallahatchies, a Delta favorite currently at work on their first album. Joe brings an undeniably southern-rooted sound that blends country and soul.
- Newcomers from Memphis, Crooked Diehl bringing rock with a bluesy edge to the festival stage.
- New Orleans-based singer songwriter Olivia Barnes, making her Mississippi debut at Mighty Roots.
- Fantastic retro western swing with Papa Top’s West Coast Turnaround
- And late-night jams featuring Magnolia State singer/songwriter Trey Gardo, Delta bluesman Terry “Big T” Williams, and Quint and Aaron from New Orleans band Tuxedo Park
Sponsors include Visit Clarksdale, Cathead Distilleries, Sonic Drive-Ins, CSpire, Delta Ag Equipment, Delta Magazine, Atmos Energy, and Visit Mississippi.
2025 marks the return of several popular Mighty Roots traditions:
- The Delta Artists Market offers a curated selection of the best in regional painting, sculpture, photography, foods and hand-made items from Delta artisans.
- The Kids Zone will return with a bouncy house, petting zoo, face painting and more so parents can enjoy the day!
- The increasingly popular Mimosas on the Mat with Delta Yoga Collective will again start the festival on Saturday with live music from EsMod and a glass of bubbly at the end of the session.
- The festival’s signature incineration of the Mighty Wooden Guitar will celebrate the 2025 event at the Stovall Store at midnight Saturday. This signature event has become the emblem of Mighty Roots and a great celebration of a festival well enjoyed.
The camping community continues to grow at Mighty Roots, with overnight options available including dozens of primitive camp sites and a selection of van sites, full service RV sites and RV boondocking sites.
As always, the best food trucks in the region with names like Doe’s Eat Place, Robinson’s BBQ, and Sweet Brown Sugar will be on hand with full bar service including specialty drinks that stay open with the late night stages until 3AM (maybe later!) thanks to the Stovall Gin’s Qualified Resort Status.
The festival has again partnered with Delta Council, an area economic development organization representing the 19 Delta and part-Delta counties of Northwest Mississippi. Delta Council will bring its Young Delta group of farmers and agribusiness stakeholders to an educational and social gathering at Mighty Roots on Friday night. Celebrating area agribusiness is a unique facet of Mighty Roots and fundamental to the event.
Find The Might Roots Music Festival at: www.mightyrootsmusicfestival.