On Thursday April 12, 2012 I drove to Clarksdale, Mississippi for the first night of the annual Juke Joint Festival, and a lot has changed since last year. A new coffee bar called Yazoo Pass has opened downtown, the Blues Source CD shop has closed, sadly, and new lofts and condos have appeared. I ate dinner at Rust, grabbed a latte from Yazoo Pass and headed over to the Delta Theater to catch Jimbo Mathus, but I got there a little too late.
#007 Baby Blue Drumline.MOV (by jdoggtn7)
The Baby Blue drumline performs at the Battle of the Drummers at Oakhaven High School in Memphis, March 30, 2012
Lil Pat, one of Memphis’ earliest and most successful hip-hop producers, backstage at the A3C hip-hop showcase at SXSW, March 17, 2012
Ugly Mike’s Records on West 12th in Little Rock is a neighborhood institution. The old building is full of hundreds of rap, blues, soul and gospel CD’s, many of them out of print, as well as old vinyl records. There is a vast selection of local Arkansas rappers, and posters from local artists adorn the walls.
Here it is! The latest mixtape from Louisiana Ca$h. Click on the cover to download and enjoy.
A crowd stands around the historic marker for Willie Mitchell and Royal Studios in South Memphis, March 1, 2012
At the unveiling of the historic marker for Willie Mitchell and Royal Studios, South Memphis, March 1, 2012
On March 1, 2012, a historical marker was unveiled outside Royal Studios at 1320 Willie Mitchell Blvd in South Memphis in honor of the studios, Hi Records and Willie Mitchell. A number of Memphis music figures and personalities were there, including Preston Lauterbach, the author of The Chitlin Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll, Boo Mitchell and many other members of the Mitchell family, Steve Burrage and the Novareses of the Poplar Tunes record stores, Otis Clay, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Earl Randle, Darryl Carter, Teenie Hodges, Charles Hodges, Howard Grimes, Scott Bomar of the Bo-Keys, Wes Phillips and DJ Bay of Select-O-Hits Music Distribution, Elizabeth Montgomery of Ardent, Cameron Mann and Pat Mitchell of the Memphis Music Foundation, local music supporter and businessman Kris Kourdevelis, George Klein, Jack Hale of the Memphis Horns, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and US Representative Steve Cohen of the 9th Congressional District. It was a beautiful day, and one of the kind of events that shows the good side of Memphis and what our city can and will be with a shared purpose and vision.
At the Memphis Black Expo at the Cook Convention Center, February 18, 2012
The first annual Memphis Black Expo was sponsored by the Tri-State Defender newspaper and WRUG Internet Radio, among others, and was held Saturday, February 18, 2012 at the Cook Convention Center. The event kicked off promptly at 10 AM with a concert of various local gospel groups.
