History

William Christopher “W.C”. Handy was “Father of the Blues”. The Festival in his honor came about as an idea birthed after a conversation between Dr. David Mussleman and Dr. Willie Ruff, making them the “Fathers of the Handy Festival”. However, it was Edsel Holden who became the Handy Festival’s “God-Father”. Edsel served on the original […]

By Dr. Willie Ruff, Festival co-Creator and Edsel Holden, original Board Member In 2018, we lost one of the two men who are credited with the idea that became the W.C. Handy Music Festival. In tribute, Dr. Willie Ruff, Handy Festival co-creator, and Edsel Holden, original Music Preservation Society, Inc. board member, were asked to […]