Courtesy of the Arkansas History Commission via Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
KING BISCUIT BENEFIT
8 p.m., White Water Tavern. $10.
That the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival (forever, regardless of what some terrible New York-based entertainment company says, known as King Biscuit) happens every year is a minor miracle. It’s usually not until summertime when financing for the fall festival comes together, according to Brooke Augusta Owen, long-time board member of the event-producing Sonny Boy Blues Society. Last year, after the Isle of Capri Casino pulled crucial funding, the Department of Arkansas Heritage stepped in as a sponsor, but with funding cuts throughout state government, Owen says she’s worried DAH might not have similar funds available this year. Which is where Wednesday’s show fits in. One of several fund-raising concerts — there’s one in San Francisco and in Helena, too — it’ll feature a pair of Central Arkansas’s finest blues rockers, South 61 and Charlotte Taylor and Gypsy Rain. Consider it a warm-up for ‘Da Biscuit in October and an investment in keeping the nation’s largest free blues festival free.