The Annual
JukeJoint Foundation
Renaissance Gala
Mission
Jukejoint Foundation’s Annual ‘Jukejoint Renaissance Gala’ raises funds to eliminate student loan debt for select grant applicants. It also provides scholarships for women of color striving to change the narrative in the business of music to be more inclusive. A black-tie benefit dinner with outstanding entertainment!
The History
The origins of juke joints may be the community rooms that were occasionally built on plantations to provide a place for Black people to socialize during slavery. Juke joints may be considered the first "private space" for blacks.
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Juke joint music began with the blues, then Black folk rags and then the boogie woogie dance music of the late 1880s or 1890s, which influenced the blues, barrel house, and the slow drag dance music of the rural South, often "raucous and raunchy" good time secular music. Dance forms evolved from group dances to solo and couples dancing.
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Early figures of blues, including Robert Johnson, Son House, Charley Patton, and countless others, traveled the juke joint circuit, scraping out a living on tips and free meals. While musicians played, patrons enjoyed dances with long heritages in some parts of the African American community, such as the slow drag.
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