In Search of Harlem Alley
In the spring of 1983, I was going to Central Baptist School in the Bartlett area, and I rode with our basketball team to Forrest …
The Forgotten Town of Madison, Arkansas
Madison, Arkansas likely seems just a small crossroads to those who travel down Highway 70, and does not even register at all to those on …
A Day of Blues at Fordyce’s Cotton Belt Festival
It is often hard to be a journalist or observer and also a working musician within the scene I am trying to document. But I …
Out in Memphis on a Friday Night
What does the music fan do in Memphis on a Friday night? On one particular December Friday, I headed down to the lobby of the …
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 …
A Day of Community and Fun in Mason, Tennessee
Mason, Tennessee was once known for the Lower End, a collection of juke joints on Front Street, colloquially known as “cafés,” but these days most …
Celebrating the Legendary Blues Researcher Axel Kustner in West Point, Mississippi
German blues researcher Axel Kustner was one of the last blues field workers to comb the southern United States looking for bluesmen, and he was …
A Bayou Breakfast at Gulfport’s Blue Dog Bistro
Despite the name, the Blue Dog Bistros in Gulfport and Ocean Springs, Mississippi are not affiliated with the famous painter George Rodrigue, who became world-famous …
Getting A Local Buzz at Biloxi’s Jacked Up Coffee Bar
Coffee these days has become corporate big business, and national and regional chains are everywhere, especially in a resort area like the Mississippi Coast. So …
Hot Weather and Hot Blues at the Mississippi Hill Country’s Biggest Weekend
Each year, on the last weekend in June, blues musician Kenny Brown and his wife Sarah host the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic at Betty …