“We Had Some Fun On The Holiday”: Mardi Gras on the Backstreets of New Orleans
“Mardi Gras” to most Americans conjures up images of crowds on Bourbon Street and girls pulling up their dresses in the hopes that someone will …
Folklore
Together We Stand: Celebrating the Soul of Como, Mississippi
The Hill Country blues season generally begins with the Juke Joint Festival in April, and ends with Como Day in Como, Mississippi, which is usually …
Remembering the Roots of Hill Country Blues at Chulahoma
Blues singer Beverly Davis’ family owns the only store in Chulahoma, a small town about halfway between Senatobia and Holly Springs in the Mississippi Hill …
The Mason Family Reunion: Great Weather, Good Food, Fun and Fellowship, But No Musicians
Predominantly-African-American towns in Mississippi have a tradition of annual “days,” named for the towns, in which there are live performances, and in which people from …
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 …
Halloween: From Whiteville to Como to Sardis
Halloween this year fell on a Saturday, and early in the afternoon, I drove over to Backermann’s Country Market in Whiteville, Tennessee, an Amish bakery …
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 Delta Journey: Gourmet Coffee in Jackson’s New District
Growing up, my family used to meet in October for family reunions in Jackson, Mississippi. It was the “big city” in Mississippi; it had a …
The Last Black Fife and Drum Picnic in America
Fife and drum music was once found in Black communities throughout the South, but by 1970, it was found only in Mississippi, Georgia and Tennessee, …