Tour The Delta!

September 18, 2012 If there’s one thing the Delta does better than anyone else, it’s the Blues. From Thursday, September 27 through Monday, October 8, the whole Delta region including Mississippi, Arkansas and Memphis will be reverberating with the soulful sounds of America’s great blues artists. Savor the sounds of the deep South at Bridging the Blues a 12-day event full of art, culture and history, bookended by two legendary blues festivals, the Highway 61 Blues Festival in Leland, MS and the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, AR. Check out the Bridging the Blues calendar of events and learn more on the Bridging the Blues page. After all, blues music is only one way to experience the Delta. See the best of the rest during your Delta visit with these attractions. The Viking Cooking School in Greenwood, MS offer hands-on cooking lessons on everything from cooking basics to Southern specialties. Want all the Delta flavor without doing the cooking? Incorporate the Tamale Trail into your Delta travels for a unique culinary experience. Get out of the car and stretch your legs on the nature trails of Dahomey National Wildlife Refuge in Boyle, MS. The handicapped-accessible trails include a butterfly garden and observation tower. Fall is an excellent time for bird watching along the Mississippi Flyway.	Mid-South Fair Sept. 21-30, 2012 Southaven, MS Bridging the Blues at Club Ebony Sept. 28, 2012 Indianola, MS Annual Highway 61 Blues Festival Sept. 29-30, 2012 Leland, MS Indian Bayou Arts Festival Sept. 29, 2012 Indianola, MS Annual Cedar Hill Farm’s Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maize Oct. 1 - Nov. 3, 2012 Hernando, MS Terry Harmonica Bean and his Blues Band will perform at Po Monkey’s Oct. 2, 2012 Merigold, MS Blues Enthusiasts at Dockery Farms Oct. 3, 2012 Cleveland, MS Bridging the Blues #TweetUp with Super Chikan and Zak Hood Oct. 3, 2012 Tunica, MS Art Alfresco Oct. 4, 2012 Greenwood, MS 17th Annual Fall Fest Oct. 5-6, 2012 Vicksburg, MS Second Street Blues Party Oct. 6-7, 2012 Clarksdale, MS Otherfest Music Festival Oct. 6, 2012 Rosedale, MS Mississippi Blues Fest Oct. 6, 2012 Greenwood, MS Octoberfest Oct. 12-13, 2012 Cleveland, MS MS Delta Tennessee Williams Festival Oct. 12-13, 2012 Clarksdale, MS Yazoo County Fair Oct. 12-20, 2012 Yazoo City, MS Magnolia Crappie Club Crappie Tournament Oct. 13, 2012 Yazoo County, MS CVB Honors Oct. 18, 2012 Yazoo City, MS 150th Anniversary of Vicksburg Campaign: Battles of Raymond, Champion Hill, Oct. 19-21, 2012 Vicksburg, MS 1st Annual Delta Hot Tamale Festival Oct. 20, 2012 Greenville, MS Hambone Festival Oct. 26-28, 2012 Clarksdale, MS
Mississippi Delta Tourism Association P.O. Box 606 - Clarksdale, Mississippi 38614 Copyright © 2012 Mississippi Delta Tourism Association. All Rights Reserved. 1-800-626-3764

Visit The Delta!! From The Mississippi Delta Tourism Association

This is a great contest from the good people at the Mississippi Delta Tourism Association. Check out more information at their website.

Register for the trip at www.visitthedelta.com/sweepstakes

Enter the High Times in the Lower Delta Giveaway Register to win a 3-night stay in the legendary Mississippi Delta! Enter to win a customized 3-night stay in the legendary Mississippi Delta - Where Music Meets the Soul. This customized itinerary features the lower Delta cities of Greenwood, Yazoo City and Vicksburg. Register to Win Register to win today at http://www.visitthedelta.com/sweepstakes/. Entries will be accepted until November 24, 2008. A sample of what you can expect: Gaming action Free admission to the Delta’s finest attractions The best food and shopping the Delta has to offer Click here for more details Official Rules “The High Times in the Lower Delta” vacation is scheduled for December 5-7, 2008 and is nontransferable.

Mississippi Delta Tourism Association P.O. Box 68 - Greenville, Mississippi 38701 Toll Free: 800-467-3582 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Delta Tourism Association. All Rights Reserved. Web Services by Aristotle Web Design.

Mississippi Tourism Contest!!!

It is time for the Mississippi Tourism contest for blues lovers!!!!

CHECK THIS OUT

Enter the Mississippi Delta Road Trip Giveaway Experience the Mississippi Delta in a way you'll never forget. Enter for your chance to receive a customized 3-night stay in the legendary Mississippi Delta - Where the Music Meets the Soul. This customized itinerary features the mid-Delta cities of Indianola, Cleveland and Greenville. Escape to the Mississippi Delta! You'll be treated to wonderful accommodations, incredible food and exciting nightlife as you explore the Mississippi Delta. A sample of what you can expect: Gaming action Admission to the Delta's finest attractions such as the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center Blues heritage & live entertainment Festival fun and the best food and shopping the Delta has to offer Register Today Get more details. Official Rules View the official contest rules, and enter for your chance to experience the Delta as its own personal guest! To read what others had to say about their trips in the Mississippi Delta, visit the Mississippi Delta MySpace page at myspace.com/visitthedelta.

Mississippi Delta Tourism Association P.O. Box 68 - Greenville, Mississippi 38701 Toll Free: 800-467-3582 Copyright © 2008 Mississippi Delta Tourism Association. All Rights Reserved. Web Services by Aristotle Web Design.

New Contest From Mississippi Delta Tourism

just got this from the Mississippi Delta Tourism

View the full itinerary and official rules For more information on attractions in the Mississippi Delta, visit http://www.visitthedelta.com/ Register to Win Today Register to win the trip at www.visitthedelta.com/sweepstakes

“The Delta Gateway Getaway” Vacation Sweepstakes Register to win a 3-night stay in the legendary Mississippi Delta! The Mississippi Delta Tourism Association (MDTA) is giving away a three night Mississippi Delta getaway, featuring the gateway areas to the region – DeSoto County, Tunica and Clarksdale. How to Register Register to win the trip at http://www.visitthedelta.com/sweepstakes/. The promotion will be accepting entries until March 31, 2008. About the Trip The package features exciting activities such as Southaven Springfest and a night at a Casino Hotel Resort in Tunica. Other Gifts Include… Accommodations across the region Some of the Delta’s finest cuisine Visits to Delta attractions, including the Clarksdale Juke Joint Festival The “Delta Gateway Getaway” vacation is scheduled for April 17 – 19, 2008 and is non-transferable.

Mississippi Delta Tourism Association P.O. Box 68 - Greenville, Mississippi 38701 Toll Free: 800-467-3582 Copyright © 2007 Mississippi Delta Tourism Association. All Rights Reserved. Web Services by Aristotle Web Design.

Elvis Honored With Blues Trail Marker

Just found this article from the Associated Press, Elvis Presley is being honered with a Blues trail marker in Mississippi. The marker is being placed in his hometown of Tupelo Mississippi. To read the AP article Click HERE.

Tour Chicago With Buddy Guy!!

I just got this from the city of Chicago about the virtual tour of Chicago with Buddy Guy. A few months back I posted about the tour HERE. To go on the tour click here.

For more information, contact:

Christine Carrino, 312-744-2392

christine.carrino@cityofchicago.org

Joyce Rowe, 312-747-2036

joyce.rowe@cityofchicago.org

BLUES LEGEND BUDDY GUY GIVES TOUR OF CHICAGO MUSIC HISTORY

Multimedia audio tour exploring Chicago’s musical roots

has been downloaded by nearly 100,000 listeners within the first six months

CHICAGO – Exploring the “Home of the Blues,” the Chicago Blues Audio Tour narrated by Chicago-local Buddy Guy has found an astonishing audience in just six months. The podcast has been downloaded more than 97,000 times and is currently averaging over 1,000 downloads per day. The free, 50-minute tour combines an interactive map, tour stop directions, archival photos, video, music clips, and interviews – a true multimedia experience unlike anything else available.

Listeners are able to follow the tour either by downloading to a portable media player or by virtually experiencing Chicago on a home computer. Available in Mandarin Chinese, English, German, Japanese, and Spanish, the tour is able to reach international visitors and devotees of Chicago blues wherever they are.

In September, the podcast was featured on the front page of iTunes, the most popular repository for podcasts in the world. The tour was also awarded a 2007 MUSE Award from the American Association of Museums recognizing outstanding achievement in museum media. According to the judges, “while [the tour] would offer an evocative introduction to a visitor on the streets of Chicago, it is strong enough to be educational and engaging no matter where the listener may be.”

As Buddy Guy explains about Chicago, “This is the place where people just like myself came from the South to create new lives and a new kind of music. The generation just before mine came up here playing folk music. But soon they traded in their acoustic guitars for electric instruments. And when they plugged them in, they created a new, urban sound, that we call Chicago blues.”

Through Buddy Guy’s insider perspective and interviews with blues musicians and historians, visitors experience the Chicago blues historic and societal relevance, the worldwide impact on music and culture, and the city’s contemporary scene. Incorporating archival photos, music clips, and video, the tour highlights ten historic locations including Maxwell Street, Chess Records, and Muddy Water’s former home. Listeners, from blues club aficionados to those less familiar with the Chicago blues sound, will discover something new from the explanation of Chicago blues and profiles of five Chicago blues innovators: Jimmy Yancey, Tampa Red, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, and Koko Taylor.

In addition, the tour illustrates how Chicago continues to influence the international blues sound. Visitors can experience “Sweet Home Chicago” at the city’s many music clubs, including Buddy Guy’s Legends. Celebrating its 25^th anniversary this June 5-8, 2008, the annual Chicago Blues Festival is the largest free blues festival in the world and draws over 800,000 visitors. Also, the Chicago Blues Archives at the city’s Harold Washington Library preserves archival recordings of performances unavailable anywhere else.

The Chicago Office of Tourism produced the audio tour with the award-winning Acoustiguide, Inc. “We are pleased to have had the opportunity to work with the Chicago Office of Tourism on this project and are extremely happy with the results,” said Kathryn Glass, Acoustiguide vice president. “By the end of the first year, more than 150,000 people will have had the pleasure of hearing Buddy Guy talk about Chicago’s place in the history of the Blues, and that is something we are all very proud of.”

The Chicago Blues Tour is free and can be downloaded at www.downloadchicagotours.com or Apple’s iTunes. Media can find an electronic press kit for the tour at http://www.downloadchicagotours.com/bluesmedia/.

For information about the Chicago Blues Festival, the world’s largest free blues festival, visitors can call 312.744.3315 or visit www.chicagobluesfestival.us. Visitors and Chicagoans planning to entertain out-of-town guests can receive Chicago brochures, reserve hotel accommodations, and receive trip-planning assistance by calling 1.877.CHICAGO (1.877.244.2246) or visiting www.cityofchicago.org/tourism. Brochures and information on Chicago’s exciting events and activities are also available at the Visitor Information Centers. The centers are located at Chicago Water Works, 163 E. Pearson Street at Michigan Avenue, and the Chicago Cultural Center, 77 E. Randolph Street.

CHICAGO BLUES TOUR DESTINATIONS

1. Buddy Guy’s Legends – When Buddy Guy opened this club in 1989, he wanted it to have the feel of a dark, authentic storefront music joint, an experience like going to a club when the Chicago blues were born.

2. The Illinois Central Depot – Once Chicago’s largest train station, the Illinois Central Station became known as the Black Ellis Island, where many southern African American’s introduction to Chicago.

3. Maxwell Street – Alive with business in the Maxwell Street market, musicians congregated here and played the music that defined several eras of the Chicago blues.

4. Vee-Jay Records – Before Motown there was Vee-Jay Records, the largest and most powerful black-owned record label in America, recording the greats of R& B, doo-wop, and jazz in their studio on what was then known as ‘record row’ on Michigan Avenue.

5. Chess Records, Michigan Avenue – Generations of musicians have come to pay homage at the place where all the greats of the Chicago blues tradition – Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Koko Taylor, to name a few – recorded their hits. Today, the building is home to the Blues Heaven Foundation started by blues legend Willie Dixon, whose mission is to promote and document the blues, educate children about its history, and to support working musicians

6. The State Street Stroll – In the 1920s and 30s, people would dress their best and stroll down the street while music poured from the theaters, cafes, and “black and tan” nightclubs that lined the strip, notably the Pekin Theater, the Plantation Club, and the Apex Club.

7. 47^th Street – Now known as the ‘Chicago Blues District,’ this was the location of the famous 708 Club, one of the creative incubators responsible for transforming a kind of rural country blues into the highly-charged electrified blues unique to Chicago.

8. The Blues Brothers Mural – Created for the well-known movie, “The Blues Brothers,” this site was the home of “Ray’s Music Exchange,” run by none other than Ray Charles in the film. The mural is an homage to the neighborhood’s musical heritage.

9. Chess Records, Cottage Grove Street – The Chess brothers built their company in several storefront locations, including this one where Chuck Berry cut his demo for “Maybelline.”

10. The Original ‘House of Blues’ – Muddy Waters’ house was a community center for the blues. Muddy often took in struggling musicians and would stage impromptu jam sessions on the front steps.

For more information, contact:

Christine Carrino, 312-744-2392

christine.carrino@cityofchicago.org

Joyce Rowe, 312-747-2036

joyce.rowe@cityofchicago.org

Mississippi Blues Marathon!!

It's not what you think! Of course a marathon of blues would be a lot of fun, but this is an actual marathon! It takes place January 5th in Jackson Mississippi. (click here for more details) A portion of the proceeds are going to the Mississippi Blues Foundation to promote Mississippi blues artists.

Mississippi Tourism

So did you wonder who won the contest to the delta, and how did their trip go? Wonder no more! Our good friends down at Visit The Delta have a some blog posts from the winner as she took her trip down through the Mississippi Delta. You can check out her adventures on the Mississippi Delta myspace page HERE.

Memphis Minnie Gets Highway Sign

I have been reporting about highway signs for blues artists in Mississippi since the beginning of the blog, and now Memphis Minnie has hers!! Tommy Johnson also gets one!!! Hmmmmmm, wonder who made a deal with the devil for that one:-) Also the Rabbit Foot Minstrels will have a highway marker. (click here for story) Mississippi is really getting behind blues tourism, and it is a great story. For more on Mississippi Tourism click HERE.

St Louis Blues

The Student Life, a student newspaper from Washington University in St Louis has a great article about the blues in St Louis. Nice pics and a guide on where to go. St Louis has three great blue clubs within walking distance of each other, and apparently good BBQ can also be found there. Blues and BBQ are a must!!!:-) To read this fine student run paper, Click HERE.

Winner For The Mississippi Delta Vaction!!

Just received this from Mississippi Delta Tourism Association. They have announced a winner for the vacation in the delta, and it wasn't me:-( Well, it is probably a good thing I didn't win because people might think it was rigged:-)

Anyway the good people of the MDTA, sent this press release about the winner and her upcoming trip:

MORE INFORMATION:

Stephanie Coomer

Phone: 662-842-5040

moody-coomer@bkingassociates.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 6, 2007

MISSISSIPPI DELTA TOURISM ASSOCIATION WINNER TO BLOG ON MYSPACE

Vicksburg, Miss. – The Mississippi Delta Tourism Association (MDTA) has named a winner in the Rollin’ Down the River prize package.

Darla Webb of Pontotoc, Miss. was chosen to receive the prize package featuring giveaways such as gaming in Tunica and a night at the world-famous Alluvian Hotel in Greenwood. Other gifts include accommodations across the region, some of the Delta’s best cuisine and visits to Delta attractions including the Vicksburg National Military Park, the Delta Blues Museum and Brussel’s Bonsai. The trip wraps up in Greenville at the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival – a celebration of the musical heritage created for the world in the Mississippi Delta.

Myspace guests can read about Webb’s week through the Mississippi Delta on the MDTA Myspace page. Webb will post daily accounts of her trip in the Mississippi Delta on the association’s blog found at www.myspace.com/visitthedelta. MDTA recently joined over 100 million members of myspace.com, a social networking website and one of the most popular websites in the United States.

The service offers an interactive network of friends allowing members to post profiles, blogs, photos, music, videos and much more content that can be viewed internationally.

MDTA’s Myspace page provides a positive image of the Mississippi Delta by posting pictures of the region, paying tribute to the music that was born in the Mississippi Delta and linking to the association’s website.

“I can’t wait to explore the Mississippi Delta and share it on the blog!” stated Webb.

For more information on the Mississippi Delta, visit the website at www.visitthedelta.com or check their Myspace page at www.myspace.com/visitthedelta.

###

The Mississippi Delta Tourism Association is a regional marketing organization that promotes the Mississippi Delta and is made up of tourism organizations in the following Delta locations: DeSoto County, Tunica, Clarksdale, Greenville, Greenwood, Cleveland, Indianola, Yazoo County and Vicksburg.

Mississippi Tourism

Visit the delta website now has a myspace page. I think that they just set it up since I couldn't access it this afternoon. It might be tomorrow before it is online, but go check it out. I posted about their cool trip across the delta contest a few weeks ago. If you can't check out the myspace page, then check out their home page since it is very cool, and has a lot of great information about the home of the blues.

Win A Trip Across The Delta!!

The Mississippi Delta Tourism Association has a very cool contest going on. You can win a trip across the Mississippi delta. Click Here to enter the sweepstakes. If you win here is the itinerary from the website: Visit the delta.

Monday, September 10th – Arrive in Vicksburg for Gaming, Town Tour and Overnight

• Accommodations at the AmeriStar Casino
• Dinner at the Bottleneck Blues Bar located in the casino
• Vicksburg gift basket
• Passes to area attractions

Tuesday morning, September 11th – Travel to Yazoo City for lunch and town tour

• BBQ for two at “Memphis in May award-winning” Ubon’s
• Town tour
• Gift basket from the Yazoo County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Tuesday afternoon, September 11th - Travel to Greenwood for Town Tour and overnight

• 1 night stay for 2 at the Alluvian Hotel
• 2 free passes to Cottonlandia Museum
• Walking tour of historic downtown Greenwood
• Visit to Robert Johnson's gravesite
• Dinner for two at Lusco's on Tuesday night

Wednesday morning, September 12th – Travel to Indianola for lunch and town tour

• Lunch for two from the Crown Restaurant
• Gift basket and gift certificates from Taste of Gourmet and the Indianola Pecan House.
• Copy of Steve Cheseborough’s “Blues Traveling”
• Behind the scenes tour of B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, under construction
• Tour of Indianola blues sites

Wednesday afternoon, September 12th – Travel to Clarksdale for Town Tour and overnight

• Delta Blues Museum admission
• Ground Zero Blues Club Gift Certificate
• Gift Certificate for Dinner at the Silver Moon
• Gift Basket with Gift Certificates from Downtown
• Merchants
• Overnight Accomodations at the Big Pink
• Guesthouse
• Gift Certificate for breakfast at Resthaven

Thursday morning, September 13th – Travel to DeSoto County for County Tour and Shopping

• Complimentary breakfast in Olive Branch
• Tour of Brussel’s Bonsai including a gift certificate
• Travel to Old Towne to shop
• Travel to Southaven for shopping at Southaven Towne Center
• Travel to Hernando for a free lunch at Timbeaux’s
• Tour of DeSoto County Museum and the Historic Hernando Courthouse

Thursday afternoon, September 13th – Travel to Tunica for Gaming, Town Tour and overnight

• 1 night stay at one of Tunica' 9 Casino Hotel Resorts
• Admission to the Tunica RiverPark Museum including a Cruise on the Tunica Queen
• $100 in gaming coin

Friday, September 14th – Travel to Cleveland for Town Tour and overnight

• Gift certificates for dinner at the Pickled Okra and lunch at the Warehouse
• Tour Guide: Blues and Culture Tour
• One Night Accommodations: The Holiday Inn including continental breakfast
• Gift basket and discount shopping coupons

Saturday, September 15th – Travel to Greenville for Town Tour, MS Delta Blues and Heritage Festival and overnight

• Overnight accommodations at the Greenville Inn & Suites for Saturday, September 15
• Dinner for two at one of our local restaurants
• Tickets for two to the MS Delta Blues & Heritage Festival.

Sunday, September 16th – Depart for home

Transportation not provided.

It does look like you will have to transport yourself, which could be expensive given the current 3.00 dollar a gallon gas. However, it looks like a good time. So good luck!!!!

Willie Dixon Honored in Vicksburg.

More Mississippi tourism news. A highway marker, a mural, and a jam session this Thursday celebrate the life of hometown hero Willie Dixon. The Vicksburg Post has an remarkable article on the proceedings and a few nice quotes from Willie Dixon's daughter, Jacqueline. For more info on the ceremonies click HERE.

More Mississippi Tourism

Those who have been reading this blog for awhile know about my fascination with Mississippi tourism and blues. Tunica Mississippi has put out a press release about a new highway maker devoted to Son House. I think that Mississippi is on to something. By celebrating blues heritage and promoting tourism Mississippi is helping to keep alive a rural economy. Mississippi has a lot of blues history to promote so it is a good thing. Although all of this good news about blues tourism in Mississippi must be tempered with the realism that most of those great blues players left Mississippi! As good as Mississippi might be to the blues today, in the past race relations in the deep south was abysmal. African American who could leave, did leave and headed north for jobs, and better (although slightly better) living conditions. The north still had discrimination and some areas had Jim Crow laws like the south, but lynch mobs, and violence were less frequent in the north than the south. So while it is important to celebrate the blues in the south, it is also important not to forget why there was blues in the first place.

50 Years of Soul

Memphis will celebrate 50 years of soul music this year. They have a cool website filled with some great places to go the next time you are visiting Memphis. The website also has a music player that you can listen to some great tunes from the past. An a list of coming events celebrating 50 years of soul.

Mississippi Tourism

I know many think Mississippi is backwards, and I would tend to agree:-) But when it comes to tourism and the blues Mississippi is making money! Clarksdale, and Stoval's plantation have become destinations of European blues fans. The link above gives some more details about the plans for delta tourism. I personally have not made it down south yet, although Hal Reed did invite me down to see some of the old hill people this spring. I unfortunately couldn't get free from school to go, but maybe this summer.

I also found out that I am not the first Tom Gary to play the blues. I was looking at Eric's Blues dates on the Pre-war blues list, and I discovered my name!! I asked for more info on the list and here is what I got

Re: [pre-war-blues] GARRY, TOMMY [GARY] (hca/ADELPHI REC) b. 1910-0228, BROWNSVILLE, TN

Tom Gary (sic: although most Census spellings seem to be aural, anyway) was
enumerated for the 1920 Census at Civil District 9, Haywood County. He was aged
10, suggesting a birthdate in 1909 (the 1920 Census operated as of 1 January
1920).

He was living on Turnpike Road near its intersection with Fulton Road (State
Highway 87). Fulton Road runs west from just near Brownsville, to near the
border of Lauderdale County. The village of Turnpike is on State Highway 54,
just to the south of Fulton Road. Turnpike Road may have been what is now Shady
Rest Road. In that case, the next intersection would be Estes Lane (!).

Bob

----- Original Message -----
From: dhevans
To: pre-war-blues@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 2:10 AM
Subject: Re: [pre-war-blues] GARRY, TOMMY [GARY] (hca/ADELPHI REC) b.
1910-0228, BROWNSVILLE, TN


Hammie Nixon named Tommy Gary as one of the harp players he influenced,
which shouldn¹t be surprising.

David Evans

On 2/28/07 10:50 AM, "Stefan Wirz" <wirz.hannover@...> wrote:

>
>
>
>
> from Steve LaVere's liner notes to Adelphi AD 1010 (1971, The Memphis
> Blues Again Vol. 2):
>
> "TOM GARY, who accompanies John [Estes] on the mouth harp on DROP DOWN
> MAMA, was born January 9 [sic], 1919 in Brownsville, Tennessee. He
> became acquainted with John while he was in his early teens and John was
> already well into adulthood. Tom did extensive 'rambling' both as a
> youth and later, after his wife's death in 1943, travelling through the
> Mississippi River corridor, from Chicago to the Gulf. He still regrets
> that he didn't take advantage of the opportunity to record with John
> years ago; his first recording with Estes was not until 1969, for
> 'Memphis Swamp Jam' [Blue Thumb BTS 6000]."

This is pretty darn cool. I know I am not related directly to him, but who knows what distance relative that we could share:-)


Tom