The Chicken Raid is an annual music festival honoring legendary Atlanta bluesman Mr. Frank Edwards. Proceeds from this year's event will go to the Edwards' family, as well as to the Sean Costello Memorial Fund for Bipolar Research.
Previous Chicken Raid recipients have included Music Maker Relief Foundation and Lil Joe Burton Hip Foundation.
Frank Edwards left home at 14 and played guitar and harmonica alongside Tampa Red. As World War II approached, Edwards joined seminal Mississippi bluesman Tommy McClennan and headed North, recording eight sides for OKeh in 1941 with Washboard Sam. After being discharged from the army he cut two songs for Regal in 1949, after which he continued playing on the street corners, juke joints and restaurants, before hitting the festival circuit during the folk revival. Thanks to Pete Lowry, Edwards released his first full album “Done Some Travelin’†in 1972 through Trix. When not onstage, the iconic Edwards, or “Mr. Frank†as he was commonly known, was a familiar face at the clubs, supporting other blues musicians in Atlanta. He joined the roster of Music Maker artists in the 1990’s, performing festivals once again before quietly passing away on his return home from a recording session in North Carolina for the Music Maker label on March 22, 2002.
