Blind Willie McTell Music Festival Weekend Itinerary in Thomson, GA

The Blind Willie McTell Music Festival is a great excuse to spend a full weekend in Thomson, Georgia. Between the music, downtown history, local restaurants, and all the ways the town celebrates Blind Willie’s legacy, there’s plenty to do along with the festival itself.

I spent a weekend in Thomson for the festival and loved learning about the legacy of Blind Willie McTell. I visited the McDuffie Museum, followed the 12 String Strut through downtown, caught the free Friday night concert, spent Saturday at the festival, and finished the weekend at Blind Willie’s grave.

If you’re planning to attend the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival, this weekend itinerary shows you how to make the most of your time in Thomson before, during, and after the main event.

A special thanks to Visit Thomson, GA for hosting me for a weekend at the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival! As always, all opinions are my own.

Where to Stay for the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival

For a festival weekend in Thomson, I recommend staying at the Hampton Inn Thomson. It’s a comfortable hotel that’s convenient to both the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival site and Downtown Thomson. It’s nice to not have a long drive back after spending Saturday at the festival.

If you’d rather have a whole experience as part of your stay, Thomson has a much more unusual option: Dolly’s Disco Yurt at Crawford’s Double O Farm. The yurt has a playful Dolly Parton-inspired look with plenty of pink and disco touches, so it fits the music theme of the weekend.

I’d choose the Hampton Inn if convenience and comfort are your priority, especially for the festival itself. But if you’re a glamping person and don’t mind a more rustic stay, Dolly’s Disco Yurt definitely makes for the more memorable Thomson stay.

Blind Willie McTell Music Festival Weekend Itinerary

The Blind Willie McTell Music Festival makes for an easy weekend getaway to Thomson, GA, especially since you can build the whole trip around the town’s music history. Thomson is an easy drive from both Augusta and Atlanta, and the festival is a must-visit for music lovers.

Friday: Blind Willie History & Free Concert

Friday is the best time to get into town for the festival because you have plenty of time to visit Thomson’s musical sights and there’s a free concert in downtown. Get checked into the Hampton Inn Thomson and then head to Downtown Thomson for some pre-festival fun.

Learn About Blind Willie McTell at the McDuffie Museum

I started my Thomson weekend at the McDuffie Museum in downtown to get some background on Blind Willie McTell before the festival. My favorite part is that the museum is completely free!

The museum covers all aspects of McDuffie County’s history and Thomson’s start as a railroad town. But for a Blind Willie McTell festival weekend, you’ll definitely want to spend some extra time with the exhibits about his life, music, and rise to fame. This is also where you’ll find Blind Willie’s original headstone (don’t worry, there’s time in this itinerary to pay your respects at his actual grave as well).

When I visited, the museum curator gave us a free tour and pointed out some of the most important artifacts and stories throughout the exhibits. I highly recommend taking the tour if it’s available because I learned so much more than I would have just walking through on my own.

Follow the 12 String Strut and Hunt for Murals

After the McDuffie Museum, I headed out around downtown Thomson to follow McTell’s 12 String Strut and look for the city’s murals. This is one of my favorite ways to explore downtown because the public art ties in perfectly with Thomson’s music history.

The 12 String Strut is made up of more than a dozen 7-foot-tall hand-painted Stella guitar replicas, each designed by a different local artist. The project honors Blind Willie McTell, who became famous for playing blues on a 12-string guitar.

There are also a few murals scattered around downtown that highlight Blind Willie and Thomson’s history. The murals are also listed on the 12 String Strut map, so you don’t have to go out of your way to find them. The Blind Willie Mural is a must for this music-themed weekend, and nearby is the Coca-Cola “Sprite” Mural — because y’all know I can’t resist a Coca-Cola mural.

As you walk the trail around downtown, I wouldn’t worry about following the stops in numbered order. I found it much easier to work my way through downtown naturally, especially since the murals are concentrated around Journal Street and Railroad Street while many of the guitars are along Main Street and Railroad Street.

Dinner at Hogie Joe’s Sports Grill

After spending the afternoon exploring downtown, I stopped for dinner at Hogie Joe’s Sports Grill. This is a local favorite with a casual neighborhood pub atmosphere.

It’s also right where you’ll want to be for the free concert in the evening (so depending on when you get hungry, you do dinner before, during, or after the concert). This also means it’ll be crowded. We actually did our dinner to-go and ate while enjoying the free concert.

Hogie Joe’s has been voted McDuffie County’s Best Burger since 2010, so naturally I tried the classic Cheeseburger. You’ll also find wraps, salads, sandwiches, baskets, and steaks on the menu if you’re not in the mood for a burger.

Free Kickoff Concert in Downtown Thomson

The Friday evening before the festival, Downtown Thomson holds a free kickoff concert that starts the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival weekend. The concert is held in historic downtown near the Thomson Depot, so you don’t have to go far after spending the afternoon exploring the McDuffie Museum, the 12 String Strut, and the murals.

This free concert gives is a casual introduction to the weekend, with live music right in the middle of Downtown Thomson and plenty of that small-town festival atmosphere.

There isn’t any seating or tickets for this event. Just show up! Be sure to bring your own chair as the concert takes place on the blocked-off Railroad Street. You can also bring along your own food and non-alcoholic beverages, or you can order food to-go from downtown restaurants like Hogie Joe’s like we did.

Saturday: Festival Day

Saturday is festival day, so be sure to fuel up on breakfast and coffee before the music begins. The performances don’t start until mid-day, so you still have a little time to support local businesses in downtown before heading out to the festival site.

Breakfast at Camellia City Cafe

I started Saturday morning with breakfast at Camellia City Cafe, a homey local restaurant where you feel like you’re sitting down to breakfast at your Southern grandma’s house.

The sisters who run the cafe greet you when you walk in and treat you like family, and the menu offers simple Southern breakfast favorites. You’ll find biscuits and gravy, breakfast plates, waffles, and more, plus they typically have a breakfast buffet on Saturdays.

I’ve tried both the regular menu and the buffet. The buffet is a good choice if you want a big breakfast before the festival, with things like eggs, biscuits, hashbrown casserole, sausage, fruit, pancakes, grits, and pastries.

I’m not a huge breakfast eater, though, so I preferred ordering the French Toast from the menu. It was just enough to start the day without feeling too full.

Shop Around Downtown Thomson

After breakfast, I spent some time browsing the shops around Downtown Thomson before heading to the festival. I both antique shopping, and Thomson has some great options.

Downtown has a good mix of antique stores, thrift shops, boutiques, and local gift shops, and most of them are close enough together that you can explore on foot. A few of my favorite stops include Aunt Tique & Uncle Junk’s for antiques, MariBeth’s Books for new and used books by local authors, and Sweet Annie’s and Mane Vault for boutique shopping.

You don’t need to hit every shop before the festival. I’d pick a few that sound interesting and spend an hour or two wandering around downtown.

Coffee at The Caffeinated Heifer

Before heading to the festival, stop at The Caffeinated Heifer in downtown for a little pick-me-up. It’s the town’s local coffee shop, but they also serve smoothies, ice cream, milkshakes, pastries, and grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches.

I’m not a huge coffee person, so I went the milkshake route for a sweet treat. If you need an actual caffeine boost before a long afternoon and evening at the festival, though, this is also an easy place to grab a coffee or latte.

The Caffeinated Heifer is also very involved in the local community. When I visited, they were hosting an ’80s-themed ice cream social with trivia discounts, karaoke, and a DJ, so there’s a good chance you’ll find a little extra energy here beyond your coffee.

Attend the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival

The main event of the weekend is the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival, a one-day festival celebrating blues and roots music and the legacy of Thomson’s own Blind Willie McTell.

Blind Willie McTell was a country blues musician best known for his 12-string guitar playing. His song “Statesboro Blues” was later popularized by musicians like the Allman Brothers Band, and Bob Dylan even recorded a tribute song called “Blind Willie McTell“.

The festival is held annually in September and features a full day of live music, food trucks, and local vendors. The lineup stretches well beyond traditional blues, too, with past performers representing everything from ragtime, Dixieland, Cajun, and Zydeco to jazz, soul, funk, roots-rock, and more.

You can bring your own blanket, chair, and canopy tent, and I highly recommend bringing along something so you have a comfortable place to settle in for the day. Once you’re set up, you can grab food, browse the vendors, and spend the rest of Saturday listening to music inspired by the same blues tradition you’ve been following around Thomson all weekend.

The festival gates open at 11 a.m. and the first artist begins at 12 p.m., so keep that timing in mind as you spend your morning in Downtown Thomson because you don’t want to miss any of the performers. The last act goes on at 6 p.m. and everything is usually wrapped up by 8:30 p.m., so plan to eat lunch and dinner at the festival.

Sunday: Blind Willie’s Grave & Head Home

Take it easy on Sunday morning with a slow start to the day and one last Blind Willie site before you head home. There aren’t a lot of local businesses open in Thomson on Sundays, so you can sleep in and have a light itinerary for the day.

Lunch at Fernanda’s Grill & Pizzeria

After a long day at the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival on Saturday, there’s no need to rush Sunday morning. Sleep in, take advantage of a late check-out if your hotel offers one, and give yourself a little time to recover before heading back into Downtown Thomson for lunch.

I went to Fernanda’s Grill & Pizzeria, a popular local Italian spot with pizza, pasta, calzones, strombolis, and hot and cold subs. I ordered the Baked Spaghetti, which came perfectly baked with plenty of melted mozzarella on top. I’ve also heard locals rave about the specialty pizzas if you’d rather order one to share.

Fernanda’s is one of the few local restaurants open for Sunday lunch, so it works especially well for this itinerary. Once you’ve eaten, you can make one final Blind Willie McTell stop before leaving Thomson.

Visit Blind Willie McTell’s Grave

After lunch, drive out to Jones Grove Baptist Church to visit Blind Willie McTell’s grave.

I like saving this for the end of the weekend because by this point you’ve learned about his life at the museum, seen his influence throughout downtown, and spent Saturday listening to music at the festival held in his honor.

Blind Willie was born and raised in the Happy Valley area, and his grave is easy to find once you’re in the church cemetery. Look for the large headstone with a guitar on it just a couple rows back from the church.

Because the grave is located at an active church, be respectful of any Sunday services or church activities happening when you visit. I recommend going later in the day rather than first thing Sunday morning and keeping your visit quiet if church members are still on the property.

The stop itself doesn’t take long, but it makes a meaningful final stop before heading home after a weekend centered around Blind Willie McTell’s music and legacy.

Thomson Festival Weekend Map

Heading to Thomson for the Blind Willie McTell Music Festival? Use the map below to find all the stops recommended in this itinerary.

I hope you enjoy the festival and learn a ton about Blind Willie McTell’s musical legacy!

Blind Willie McTell Music Festival FAQ

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• Book Your Flight: Find the cheapest flights using Skyscanner, my favorite flight search engine.
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• Start Packing: Check out my packing list resources so you’re prepared for your trip.

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Cheers!

Paige

Did you find this Blind Willie McTell Music Festival weekend itinerary helpful for planning your trip to Thomson, GA? Let me know in the comments!