WC Handy Fest Florence, Alabama

They call the Tennessee River the Singing River, and people say it's the river that causes this quiet little corner of Alabama to give rise to so much great American music. We loved our first visit to Muscle Shoals, Florence and Tuscumbia, and we were excited to return on our way to a family wedding in Nashville. Even better, our visit coincided with the WC Handy Music Festival. The Father of Blues was born in Florence, even though his music is strongly associated with Memphis and St. Louis. There are bigger music festivals in the Shoals area--Shoals Fest looks like the biggest, but there was a full schedule of performances for the Handy Festival, too. We never got into Swampers, but the music sounded great while we waited around hoping to get in! We fell in love with the music of the Pine Hill Haints at a relaxing outdoor concert and almost lost our hearing at a few others!

Overall, we enjoyed another peaceful week in this cradle of American music, exploring the off the beaten path sights like the Coon Dog Cemetery and hearing some good music. There were frustrating moments as restaurants dealt with what seemed to us to be modest crowds, and our RV was leaking, but overall it was exactly the kind of week we hope to have when we are traveling in our RV--finding the enchantment in the quieter corners of the US.