Live music, good food at Rock Bluff

By Carrie A. Mizell

Arrive early to get a seat at the Rock Bluff General Store on Friday nights, where the food is cooked to order and country music is performed live by local musicians.
A crowd of 50 to 75 people begin gathering around 4 on Friday afternoons, even though the music doesn’t start up until 6:30 or 7 p.m. They come from all over, be it Trenton, Bell or Lake City to clap along with the band and dance to the music.

Dottie Sapp, Dave Clemmons, Linda White, Hardee Myers and Fred Figaroa perform.
Not pictured: Ed Becker.

Jack Prather drives from Branford every Friday night to listen to the live music.
“The atmosphere keeps me coming back week after week,” Jack said. “There aren’t any problems here. It’s just good, free entertainment and a chance to visit with people.”
Linda White owns the Rock Bluff General Store, but on Friday nights you’ll find her behind a microphone singing country, with a little bit of jazz and blues. Linda’s son, Hardee Myers, is also a lead singer on Friday nights, while, Linda’s husband, Mike runs the cash register.
“We pretty much have the same crowd every Friday night,” Mike said. “And if Hardee knows you want to sing then he’ll call you up on stage.”
Beneath the clear twinkle lights adorning the walls, which are decorated with mounted deer and fish, couples danced to the music as Linda sang George Strait’s “I Just Want to Dance With You.”

Everyone is welcome to get up and dance or call out a request, which the musicians are only too happy to play. Crowds have been gathering to enjoy live music at the Rock Bluff General Store for two years.

The romantic tone was broken when the song ended and Hardee announced that Fred Figaroa was going to play the guitar and harmonica while singing Willie Nelson’s “Angels Flying Too Close to the Ground.” Cheers rang out as Figaroa, who sounds remarkably like Willie Nelson, started singing.
“It’s a great place to be on Friday nights,” Mike said. “Come early and come hungry!”
The store offers a variety of food from Shrimp Po Boys to Mike’s barbecue sandwiches, people do not leave the place hungry.
The music lasts until 10 p.m., but the atmosphere is so entertaining it feels like you’ve only been there a short time when the last song is played, and people get up to leave promising to, “See you next Friday!”
The Rock Bluff General Store is located on County Road 340 north of Bell. Open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., the store sells more than just gasoline, flip flops and pork skins. They sell everything from jalepeno poppers to Rock Bluff t-shirts, so stop by Friday night and say hello to your neighbors.