Australia Jones “Honeybee” Neal: A Powerful New Female Voice in the Mississippi Blues
I am not sure how my friend Sherena Boyce became aware of Australia Jones “Honeybee” Neal, but at some point a couple of years ago, …
Black History
Folk Art and History In Holly Springs, Mississippi
On and off over the last few years, I have been playing with Duwayne Burnside, the extraordinary blues guitarist and son of Hill Country blues …
Fisherville and Cordova, Tennessee on a Summer Afternoon
The Fisherville and Cordova communities in eastern Shelby County, Tennessee are among the few places in the Memphis area that have retained something of their …
A Rapidly Vanishing Rural Past in Fayette County, Tennessee
Fayette County, in the part of West Tennessee that we might call the state’s Delta region, was for most of its history a highly rural …
Friday Night Dinner at The Biscuitry in Bolivar
Periodically, I receive sponsored messages in my Facebook timeline, and on one afternoon, a message from a restaurant called The Biscuitry caught my attention. The …
Some Like It Black: Get Your Mug On At Memphis’ New Black-Owned Coffee Bar
Many years ago, Memphis arguably had one of the country’s best Black coffee bars. Precious Cargo, in the Pinch District, was both a coffee bar …
Quarantine Images
The sudden closure of everything in mid-March due to Covid-19 had a devastating effect on all live music, including the blues. Nearly everything was closed …
All On A Mardi-Gras Day: “I Run Through Water and Swim Through Mud”: Black Indians Uptown
The gangs of Black Indians (sometimes called Mardi Gras Indians) who appear in elaborate costumes on the streets of New Orleans on Mardi Gras, St. …
A Day With the TBC Brass Band in New Orleans
With my birthday falling on Monday December 2, I decided to celebrate a day early by going to New Orleans for the Dumaine Street Gang …
A Delta Journey: Early Sunday Morning in Rayville and the Ruins of Thomastown
As I headed east on Old Highway 80 from Monroe on a sunny Sunday morning, I decided to spend some time looking for things to …