Afternoon in Shreveport and the Strange Emptiness of a Lost Downtown
I had ridden to Shreveport with someone else, and although I wanted to eat at Orleandeaux’s now that it had opened in the old Smith’s …
Photography
Blues at Nightfall: How Dr. David Evans and High Water Records Tried to Secure A Future For The Blues
High Water Records was founded in 1980 by Dean Richard Ranta and Dr. David Evans, an eminent folklorist who was brought to what was then …
Moscow Nights: Scenes From A Rural Juke in West Tennessee
The Delta Review has given a thorough description of Saine’s Blues Club on a couple of previous occasions. The remote juke joint north of Moscow …
“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 …
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 …
A Hot Saturday in Covington on the Square
I drove up to Covington to Breakfast Cove on a Saturday morning to meet up with a friend so that we could discuss the possibility …
“If You Love It, Do it Everyday”: Glenview Murals in Memphis
Glenview, a neighborhood of single-family homes along Lamar Avenue southeast of downtown Memphis was one of the first historically-white neighborhoods to open up to African-American …
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 …
A Sunday Night in the Hill Country
Mattie B’s is an old ballfield and juke joint in far western Marshall County, where for the last month or so, they’ve been having live …