Founded 1963 Relaunched 2019. The Postmodern South.
A Black Fife and Drum Tradition In Panola County With The Hurt Family
A Black Fife and Drum Tradition In Panola County With The Hurt Family

A Black Fife and Drum Tradition In Panola County With The Hurt Family

https://goo.gl/photos/X1sXehdjoWtyGBHW6
https://goo.gl/photos/DbUorDBBc2Hk3yxF7
https://goo.gl/photos/BJk1HfqDTJrkyQLK8
https://goo.gl/photos/EkCnuZkxEVLu4ach9
https://goo.gl/photos/vTAk5VGKDgLpfHZD9
https://goo.gl/photos/umhyi5eXnxCcj1FN6
https://goo.gl/photos/immzDLKMmof5sx8R7
https://goo.gl/photos/Q4Vsd9Tshn2MVNxGA
https://goo.gl/photos/6qgKpwoEnQA6gusY9
https://goo.gl/photos/EDCxXAw9oXV3adRQ8
https://goo.gl/photos/sQRoF9K5gD85NV4m9
https://goo.gl/photos/afQLP7Nwr2XRnKuf9
https://goo.gl/photos/pwYnsXijmKdD9AJZA
Black fife-and-drum music is endangered, and everybody knows it. But there may be more of it in remote rural areas than was thought just a few years ago. I had not heard of the Hurt Family and their fife-and-drum picnics near Sardis, Mississippi until I read something about them at a superb blog called 50 Miles of Elbow Room. While they have had a Fourth-of-July picnic in the past, nowadays they are focused on growing their two-day Labor Day Picnic, which they have at a small picnic grounds constructed on a knoll in the Mount Level community, west of Sardis. The spot is not particularly easy to find. One has to start in Sardis, ride west on Highway 310 to the Mount Level Road, then take a right on the Mount Level Road up to Burdett Road. There on the corner is a small space with a bar/food preparation area, and some outdoor wooden picnic tables and benches. Unlike the better-known Otha Turner Picnic, the Hurt Family Picnic is a smaller, more intimate and low-key affair. There is no admission charge at the door, and in the early afternoon, even the food and drink are free (they begin charging for them later). There also are no tourists or out-of-town blues fans here, mostly members of the Hurt family and their friends and neighbors from the area. When I arrived this year, the Greg Ayers Band from Senatobia was on the outdoor stage performing. But when they took a break, Larry and Calvin Hurt came out with the snare and bass drum, beating a powerful cadence as they paraded around the grounds. Someone near me said that the fife player had not been able to come on Saturday (he had apparently been there the night before), but that there were quite a few people present who knew how to “beat the drums”. As the day progressed into evening, there were several cycles of DJ music, the live blues band, and the drums, producing more and more enthusiasm from the dancers. Although I was the only “outsider” present, I was welcomed warmly, and told that the family picnics had once been huge affairs and that the goal was to grow them again and to recover that tradition. Certainly, I enjoyed the opportunity to encounter the fife-and-drum music tradition in what must be its authentic setting. It was truly a rewarding experience indeed, and proof that there may be far more fife and drum picnics surviving than those we know about.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.