The Blues is Front and Center on Clarksdale’s Biggest Day
Most people’s friends throw them a party on their birthday, but Roger Stolle, the owner of Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art throws the …
History
A Blues Yard Party in Rosemark’s Chapel Hill Community
Chapel Hill Community is an odd subdivision in far north Shelby County between Rosemark and Arlington. It looks like a piece of Raleigh or Frayser …
The Annual Car Show on Guffin Road
Long before there was a subdivision or a Rivercrest Elementary School, Guffin Road was a driveway belonging to the farmer and blues musician Lum Guffin. …
Remembering the Lost Legacy of Bartlett’s Shadowlawn High School
Although I went to Shadowlawn Middle School north of Ellendale in the 1979-1980 school year, I was not aware there had ever been a high …
A Day for Isaac Hayes in Covington’s Frazier Park
Despite being forever associated with Memphis and Stax Records, Isaac Hayes was born near Rialto, Tennessee, just north of Covington, and is arguably Tipton County’s …
An Old-Fashioned Political Rally in Slayden, Mississippi
Political rallies used to be a ubiquitous feature of late summer in Southern counties, and the old tradition continues in rural counties like Marshall County, …
Beauty Emerges From Struggle In Memphis
The designation of Memphis as “Grind City” seems fairly well-entrenched at this point. The city’s modern image as a decidedly working-class place synonymous with struggle …
Celebrating Freedom in Benton County on the Fourth of July
Benton County, Mississippi has always been a rough place. Formed out of part of Marshall and Tippah counties, it sits in the middle of the …
A Day of Gospel Music in West Tennessee at Mason’s Zodiac Park
Black baseball fields were tremendously important in rural Black communities into the early 1970s. Every community had baseball teams and softball teams, but the ballfields …
Celebrating the Blues Culture of Brownsville and the Memory of Tina Turner
The death of soul and pop icon Tina Turner, who was a Haywood County, Tennessee native, hung heavy over this year’s Exit 56 Blues Festival …