Clarksdale, Mississippi
August 8-10, 2019
By Phillip Smith; August 12 2019
I’ve visited Clarksdale several times over the past few
years, but until this past weekend, my visits were solely to stop in at my
favorite store, Cathead Delta Blues &
Folk Art, to shop for blues-related music, books, and
videos. I was blessed to be invited
along for an excursion to Mississippi by a wonderful group of blues aficionados
( Kyle, Kevin, Galen, Aaron, Jim, and Terri), this past weekend, and had an
amazingly fun experience listening to many of the blues artists I have only
written about the past few years. It
was great to actually see these artists in person, and in some cases, even meet,
shake their hand, and share a few words.
On the trip down from Iowa, we had a stop-over in
Memphis, Tennessee where we stayed one block off Beale Street at the renovated Chisca Hotel. This
historic landmark once housed WHBQ, the
radio station which was the first to play Elvis Presley’s “That’s
Alright Mama” and launched the career of the King. We grabbed a hearty bite to eat at the Blues Café and steeped in the music of the Eric Hughes Band at the Rum Boogie Café.
Upon arrival to Clarksdale, we stopped over at the Cathead for some shopping, before checking in to the
Shack Up Inn, a unique and eclectic
place to say the least. This B&B
(Bed and Beer) joint is a makeshift community of restored sharecropper shacks. The lobby and bar are housed in a building
which was once a cotton gin, and is chockful of oddities and vintage signage. I
would love to have more time to just look around this place. Later
that evening had a fine dinner of grits, greens, and barbeque before heading
over to Ground Zero Blues Club for
the open jam hosted by the David Dunavant Band. Jim, from our group, entertained a full house
at the Ground Zero with a couple of
songs on his beautiful hand-painted psychedelic-green guitar. That was very cool
indeed. We wrapped Thursday evening up
at Red’s Juke Joint, to hear Terry “Harmonica” Bean. The place also happened to be packed with
blues fans from around the world. Rightly
named, the venue is illuminated by strings of red Christmas lights which stretch
across the low hanging ceiling.
Early Friday, we all loaded into a couple of cars to
explore the delta region in search of gravesites and landmarks. Included in the places we located were the markers
for Aleck Miller aka Sonny Boy Williamson II and two of the three known
Robert Johnson markers. We navigated to Tutwiler where
W.C Handy was inspired to write the
song “Yellow Dog Blues”, then headed to Moorhead, MS,
where the Southern Railway
crossed the Yazoo Delta (“Yellow
Dog”). The Crystal
Grill in Greenwood served as the perfect lunching destination. The hamburger and sweet potato fries were
splendid, and I could not deny myself a delectable slice of their lemon ice-box
pie. It was so good; I’m still thinking
of it three days later. Before heading back
to Clarksdale for the music festivities, we made a final stop outside the gates
of Parchman Farm, the Mississippi State Penitentiary
where many blues songs got their inspiration and where a fair share of bluesmen
spent time. It once served as temporary
residence for ‘Bukka’ White, R.L. Burnside, and reportedly Sonny Boy
Williamson II.
Kicking things off on the main stage Friday night for
the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival were
The Delta Blues Museum Band,
a group of very talented young music students being schooled in the Blues. It’s a delight to see the torch being handed
down to another generation. It was also
terrific to see Heather Crosse
with Heavy Suga and the SweetTones. Unfortunately, the electricity to the stage
was knocked out, and the evening was cut short.
I reviewed her album Groovin’ at the Crosse Roads several years
ago, and absolutely loved it.
On Saturday, the festival features music on nine separate
stages downtown, all of which are indoors, with the exception of the main stage. The main stage sits next to the Delta Blues Museum where we began the day with an enlightening
visit. I definitely got my steps in, as
I criss-crossed town, making stops at Ground Zero
Blues Club, Levon’s Bar & Grill, Hambone Art & Music, Red’s Lounge, and The Blueberry Café to
hear Kenny Brown, Pat Thomas, Deak Harp, Little Willie Farmer, Terry ‘Harmonica’ Bean, Super Chikan, and Anthony ‘Big A’ Sherrod. The weather was perfect as we settled in at
the main stage for Big George Brock followed
up by David Dunavent & EVOL Love.
Closing the evening out at Hopson Plantation Commissary next door to the Shack Up Inn, I was captivated by an ensemble called Black Water Trio, a local Clarksdale group which normally
plays as a three piece with two guitars and fiddle, but for this evening, they
were a five-piece band complete with drummer and bass. I loved the unique blend
of country-fried roots and rock. They
were an absolute blast, as was the whole trip.
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*All Photos by Phillip Smith
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| Kevin, Galen, Aaron, Kyle, and me on Beale Street |
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| Eric Hughes Band at Rum Boogie Cafe |
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| Hotel Chisca |
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| Kyle and I arriving at Ground Zero |
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| Ground Zero Blues Club |
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| Blues Alley |
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| Signage |
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| In front of the Shack Up Inn |
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| Play Pretty at the Shack Up Inn |
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| David Dunavant at Ground Zero Blues Club |
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| Terry 'Harmonica' Bean at Red's Lounge |
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| Red's Lounge |
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| At the Shack Up Inn |
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| Shack Up Inn |
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| Shack Up Inn |
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| W.C. Handy marker at Tutwiler. Mississippi |
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| Tutwiler, Mississippi |
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| Sonny Boy Williamson II grave |
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| Site of Emmett Till's Freedom Trail marker near Money, MS |
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| Robert Johnson Blues at Little Zion Baptist Church, Greenwood, MS |
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| Probably the true final resting place for Robert Johnson |
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| Crystal Grill café in Greenwood, MS |
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| Furry Lewis marker in Greenwood, MS |
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| Robert Johnson marker purchased by Sony/Columbia Records near Morgan City, MS |
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| Where the Souther;n Cross The Dog Blues Trail Marker in Moorhead, MS |
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| Where the Southern Crosses the Yellow Dog Mississippi Historical marker in Moorhead, MS |
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| Parchman Farms Blues marker |
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| The Main Stage @ The Delta Blues Museum |
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| Lady Trucker |
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| Heather Crosse |
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| The Shack Up Inn |
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| The Shack Up Inn bar and stage |
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| Groovy 'Super Chikan' guitars for sale at Shack Up Inn |
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| My shack at The Shack Up Inn |
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| Paramount Theater in Clarksdale, MS |
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| Pat Thomas at Ground Zero Blues Club |
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| Pat Thomas at Ground Zero Blues Club |
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| Levon's Bar & Grill |
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| Deak Harp at Levon's |
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| Deak Harp |
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| Clarksdale, MS |
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| Little Willie Farmer at Red's |
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| Red's Lounge |
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| Deak's Place |
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| Terry 'Harmonica' Bean at Levon's |
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| Super Chikan at Bluesberry Cafe |
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| Super Chikan at Bluesberry Cafe |
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| Anthony 'Big A' Sherrod at Bluesberry Cafe |
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| Big George Brock on the Main Stage |
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| David Dunavent & EVOL Love on the Main Stage |
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| Blackwater Trio at Hopson Plantation Commissary |
Websites of places mentioned:
Red’s Juke Joint – This is a juke joint son, there
ain’t no website!
Websites of artists mentioned:
