A Night of Hill Country and Cotton Patch Soul Blues in Olive Branch For the R. L. Burnside Museum
1836 Grill and Bar-B-Que is a new bar and grill in Olive Branch, Mississippi and on February 15, 2026, it was the scene of a …
drumming
A Bit of Mardi Gras in Downtown Memphis
On February 2, 1872, Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia landed in Memphis, Tennessee, having come by boat down the Mississippi River from St. Louis. …
Suavo J and the M-Town Band at Alley Dayz in Downtown Memphis
Originally, I had just planned to go downtown and see my friends Joshua McCain and the Soul Seven, who were playing at a bar called …
75 Years of Hollering “Goat” in Tate County, Mississippi: Blues and Fife and Drum
For 75 years, there has been a Labor Day picnic in Tate County, Mississippi, featuring barbecued goat and fife and drum music. The tradition was …
Remembering Como Bluesman R. L. Boyce in Como Park
Como, Mississippi bluesman R. L. Boyce knew Fred McDowell, Otha Turner and Rainey Burnett personally, and was the last of a generation of bluesmen. Like …
The Field Is Empty, The Drums Silent
A friend of mine in Senatobia had heard that there might be fife and drum going on at a party on the Compress Road between …
A Veteran Memphis Drummer Celebrates His Birthday With A Concert
Memphis drummer Danny Peterson has played with any number of bands in both gospel and rhythm and blues music. Starting out with quartets like the …
Ripley Celebrates the Burnside Music Legacy and the Hill Country Blues
R.L. Burnside’s son Garry moved to Ripley, Mississippi in Tippah County a few years ago, and since that time, he has become a major fixture …
Preserving The Black Fife and Drum Culture in Coldwater
For 73 years, people in North Mississippi have been going to the Goat Picnic for goat sandwiches, music, dancing, and one of the rarest and …
A Recollection of Memphis’ Black Majorette and Drummer Tradition
Black majorettes and majorette drummers were a unique part of the culture of Memphis’ Black neighborhoods from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. Most …