A Little Rock Day
Because I had to do research at the Butler Center for Arkansas History and Culture, I drove out to Little Rock early, and after completing …
Museums
Wilson: The Jewel of the Arkansas Delta
The Arkansas Delta has definitely seen better days. The decline of the cotton economy, the loss of industry in the 1980s, and a declining population …
In Search of Harlem Alley
In the spring of 1983, I was going to Central Baptist School in the Bartlett area, and I rode with our basketball team to Forrest …
Celebrating the Legendary Blues Researcher Axel Kustner in West Point, Mississippi
German blues researcher Axel Kustner was one of the last blues field workers to comb the southern United States looking for bluesmen, and he was …
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 …
Clarksdale Celebrates The Blues And The Juke Joint Culture That Gave It Birth
Most people throw themselves a party on their birthday, but Cat Head Delta Blues owner Roger Stolle throws one for his whole adopted hometown on …
A Great Burger And A Taste of Shreveport’s Musical History
It was my last day in Shreveport, and I wanted a hamburger. I resisted the thought of Twisted Root Burger Company at first, because I …
A Delta Journey: A Vicksburg Renaissance
On my last venture into downtown Vicksburg, I recall that an old building on Clay Street was collapsing into the street. A large pile of …
Great Music and A Glorious Sunset at WEVL’s Blues on the Bluff in Memphis
Brownsville drummer Kesha Burton had asked me if I would take her to the annual Blues on the Bluff fundraiser for Memphis community radio station …
“They Got To Sew, Sew, Sew”: Mardi Gras Indians Uptown and Downtown
The traditional Mardi Gras parades can be fun, but my favorite part of carnival is in the ‘hoods and backstreets, where the gangs of Mardi …