The Field Is Empty, The Drums Silent
A friend of mine in Senatobia had heard that there might be fife and drum going on at a party on the Compress Road between …
Hurt Family Fife and Drum Band
Hill Country Traditions at the Hulette Picnic in Senatobia
Although it was the weekend of the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival in Clarksdale, R. L. Boyce’s daughter Sherena had mentioned something about a …
Celebrating the 4th of July and the Legacy of Fife and Drum Music at the Hurt Family Picnic
The Frontline has discussed the legacy of Black fife and drum music at length in the past, but I continue to devote a considerable amount …
Celebrating West Tennessee’s Lost Fife and Drum Tradition
Last summer, the Tennessee Arts Commission began a Folklife Apprenticeship program to preserve endangered folkways in the state, and one of the areas of interest …
The Hurt Family Celebrating The 4th of July With Fife and Drum
As I have discussed before in this blog, Black fife and drum music is an endangered form of pre-blues that probably played a role in …