Music

Farmer's Grocery /  by Will Jacks

Farmers Grocery Restaurant – Located on Highway 1 in Grace, Mississippi, Farmers Grocery serves up delicious Delta cuisine in a casual atmosphere.  Daily lunch buffet, Monday – Friday. Open for breakfast,lunch and dinner Monday – Saturday and lunch on Sunday.

According to Mississippi Delta-based writer Boyce Upholt, in addition to steaks, burgers, sandwiches, and catfish, Farmer’s Grocery Store in Grace has “perfected a recipe that is pure Delta: the deep-fried tamale. . . . They’re crisp at first, and then the batter gives way to a soft, fragrant interior of corn and beef and spice."

http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2013/the-hot-tamales-of-issaquena-county/

 

Gateway to the Blues /  by Will Jacks

http://www.tunicatravel.com/things-to-do/the_blues/gateway

See the story of the blues come to life in all its tormented and anguished glory. Located on Blues Highway 61, the museum is the perfect place to begin your journey through the Mississippi Delta. Experience interactive exhibits, artwork and more - including a recording studio where you'll learn the basics of blues music with a chance to record your very own blues song. The Gateway is not only a museum, but also a visitor center and gift shop with official Tunica merchandise. So, before you trek through blues country, get into a blues-state-of-mind at the 2015 Mississippi Travel Attraction of the Year - the gateway to the Blues!

 

Dockery Farms /  by Will Jacks

www.dockeryfarms.org

Dockery Farms- Bolivar/Sunflower County Line- As B.B. King famously said.. “You can say it all started right here.” Dockery Farms- often referred to as the “Birthplace of the Blues” was a working farm known as a gathering place for famous bluesmen after a long week’s work. Such famous names as Charley Patton, Pop Staples, Henry Sloan and more were known to play at Dockery, and went on to influence some of music’s biggest performers.

 

Homes of James Earl Jones, Otha Turner, and Dumas Malone /  by Will Jacks

The Mississippi Delta is known as the birthplace of the Blues, the Civil Rights Movement, and a plethora of famous people. Located 40 miles south of Memphis, Tate County features the birth homes of a Broadway-Hollywood actor, a Bluesman, and an American historian. Born in Arkabutla, award-winning African American actor James Earl Jones is perhaps most widely known as the voices of Star Wars film series' Darth Vader and Mufasa in Disney's The Lion King. Otha Turner was a living link to rural Blues and fife-and-drum pre-Blues that extended well into the 19th century. Turner's friends and family continue to host a festival in his honor each August at his Gravel Springs Road home located southeast of Senatobia in rural Tate County. Finally, Yale-educated Dumas Malone was born in Coldwater and is considered by many to have been the greatest expert ever on the life and work of Thomas Jefferson. 

Delta Blues Museum /  by Will Jacks

http://www.deltabluesmuseum.org/

(662) 627-6820

The award-winning Delta Blues Museum is the state of Mississippi's oldest music museum. Established in 1979 by the Carnegie Public Library Board of Trustees in Clarksdale and re-organized as a stand-alone museum in 1999, the Delta Blues Museum is located in the historic Clarksdale freight depot, a Mississippi Historic Landmark built in 1918 for the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad. The former freight area is devoted to permanent and traveling exhibits. The museum includes the Delta Blues Museum Stage which hosts a year-round music education program as well as lectures and symposia and serves as the main venue for local festivals such as the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival in August and the Juke Joint Festival in April.

 

Bridging the Blues /  by Will Jacks

Established in 2012, Bridging the Blues is an exciting series of music, food, and cultural events in late September and early October. Events take place in various locations throughout the Mississippi Delta region, as well as Memphis and Arkansas. Bridging the Blues offers a wide range of experiences seven days a week, including shows at local juke joints, small town arts festivals, and the International Conference on the Blues at Delta State University. Drawing thousands of tourists from around the United States and the world, Bridging the Blues is anchored by the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas, and the Mighty Mississippi Music Festival along the Mississippi River in Greenville, Mississippi.

BB King Museum /  by Will Jacks

http://www.bbkingmuseum.org/

An exciting cultural center anchored by an early 20th century brick cotton gin, the B.B. King Museum is dedicated to the celebration and presentation of the life and hard work of B.B. King and the music and history of the Mississippi

Delta. With 20,000 square feet of modern exhibit space, the B.B. King Museum includes thousands of rare artifacts, award-winning film, computer interactives, and a story that will give your emotions a workout. The B.B. King Museum also offers art, music, and health workshops in the AT&T Learning Center as well as special performances in the state-of-the-art theater for the community. After his death in May 2015, B.B. was laid to rest on the grounds of the museum, and visitors can come reflect on his legacy as a world-renowned musician and humble gentleman.

 

Blue Front Cafe /  by Will Jacks

The Blue Front Cafe opened in 1948, making it the oldest juke joint in Mississippi in continuous operation, under the ownership of Carey and Mary Holmes, an African American couple from Bentonia. In its heyday, the Blue Front was famed for its buffalo fish, blues, and moonshine whiskey. One of the couple’s sons, Bentonia blues legend Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, took over the Café in 1970 and continues to operate it today. The Cafe is the center of the famed Bentonia School, a style of blues unique to Bentonia, made famous in the 1960s by Nehemiah "Skip" James.

 

Mississippi Blues Trail /  by Will Jacks

www.msbluestrail.org

Acknowledged widely as the place where the Blues began, the Mississippi Delta region boasts more Mississippi Blues Trail markers than any other region in the state. The Mississippi Blues Trail markers tell stories through words and images of Bluesmen and women and how the places where they lived and the times in which they existed – and continue to exist – influenced their music. Sites run the gamut from city streets to cotton fields, train depots to cemeteries, and clubs to churches. As a testament to the national and global influence of Blues music and culture, a dozen Mississippi Blues Trail markers are located outside the state of Mississippi, including international markers in Cahors, France, and Notodden, Norway.

MDNHA Passport Program /  by Will Jacks

As a National Park Service partner, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area participates in the Passport to Your National Parks program. MDNHA passport stations are located in each of the MDNHA's 18 counties and are available through cultural, tourism, and municipal organizations. Passport stamp collectors who successfully gather stamps from all 18 counties are eligible to receive the MDNHA’s NPS Centennial Passport t-shirt as a prize for traveling the entire MDNHA. For the complete list of passport station locations, visit http://www.msdeltaheritage.com/ms-delta-national-heritage-area-mdnha-passport/. 

Train Coal Tower /  by Will Jacks

In the heyday of rail traffic, locomotives were steam powered and fueled by way of structures such as this in Lambert. The original one built in the 1800s was made of wood, but this concrete structure was built in the early 1900s and served its purpose until the mid-twentieth century when the fuel of choice became diesel. Because of the high cost of demolition, a few of these iconic towers remain in place and are often sought out by railfans for photo opportunities.