Hey Memphis friends, mark your calendars for Tuesday, 2/21 for our Wendy Rene listening party at the Stax Museum of American Soul Music! Local DJ’s Scott Bomar, Leroy, Jones, Beyonda, and Buck Wilders will be spinning rare soul 45s too! FREE!
Fans of Memphis soul should not miss this!
William Bell-I Forgot To Be Your Lover
This is a Memphis soul classic!
The Stooges Brass Band kicking off the Mystic Chain of Fools’ Red Clay Ball at Proud Larry’s in Oxford, MS (Taken with instagram)
The Stooges Brass Band kicking off the Mystic Chain of Fools’ Red Clay Ball at Proud Larry’s in Oxford, MS (Taken with instagram)
Mid-South residents have probably never heard of the Stooges Brass Band, but they are one of a number of youthful organizations that are preserving the tradition of parading brass band music in New Orleans, often against astounding odds. In addition to the difficulties that young African-American men face in general, members of these bands have had to face the poverty and violence of New Orleans and then the devastation and displacement of Hurricane Katrina. Wednesday night, at Proud Larry’s in Oxford, Mississippi, area residents will have a chance to hear the Stooges in person at the Red Clay Ball fundraiser for the Yoknapatwapha Arts Council, and believe me, this band is worth the drive to Oxford, even if you live in Memphis. The tickets are $15, and that might seem a little steep, particularly the day after Valentine’s, but proceeds go to the worthy cause of furthering the arts in and around Oxford. Hopefully, I’ll see you there.
Mid-South residents have probably never heard of the Stooges Brass Band, but they are one of a number of youthful organizations that are preserving the tradition of parading brass band music in New Orleans, often against astounding odds. In addition to the difficulties that young African-American men face in general, members of these bands have had to face the poverty and violence of New Orleans and then the devastation and displacement of Hurricane Katrina. Wednesday night, at Proud Larry’s in Oxford, Mississippi, area residents will have a chance to hear the Stooges in person at the Red Clay Ball fundraiser for the Yoknapatwapha Arts Council, and believe me, this band is worth the drive to Oxford, even if you live in Memphis. The tickets are $15, and that might seem a little steep, particularly the day after Valentine’s, but proceeds go to the worthy cause of furthering the arts in and around Oxford. Hopefully, I’ll see you there.
At the Pre-Valentine’s Day Bash at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, MS, February 11, 2012
At the Pre-Valentine’s Day Bash at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, MS, February 11, 2012
After the earlier majorette jamboree in Memphis, I drove down to Tunica for the Rosa Fort Jamboree, but that one proved to be quite a disappointment. If drumlines are becoming rarer at Memphis jamborees, they are non-existent at Mississippi ones. After an hour and a half or so, I decided to leave and drive down to Clarksdale to the legendary Ground Zero Blues Club. They were having a Pre-Valentine’s Day Bash with Ricky “Soul Man” Burton and the Basic Soul Band, so there was a fairly substantial cover charge, and, once inside, I found the place packed to the rafters. The TV’s were flashing the breaking news about Whitney Houston’s death as I looked in vain for a table. Finally, I was directed to a table where a French family was sitting, and I was able to sit down and order food. The band and vocalists were quite good, and the audience included a lot of radio personalities from Helena’s Delta Force III and Clarksdale’s WROX.
There is a town of Tunica, Mississippi that I suppose most casino visitors never even see. It is a more typical small town that has been only marginally affected by the nearby gaming industry. There is a restored old hotel, a juke joint or two, a grocery store, a farmers’ market and an ice cream parlor.
