Stuff I Liked This Week, Delta Edition

I traveled in Mississippi as a guest of Visit the Delta. Nearly all my travel expenses were paid for.

[dropcap]B[/dropcap]B King: I’m no good with chords. I’m horrible with chords.
Bono: That’s okay, we’ve got The Edge for that.
I did not expect to be completely suckered in by the BB King Museum in Indianola, but I ended up spending a good two hours, maybe more, watching the video clips, playing with the interactive exhibits that traced music history, reading about what it was like to be a black musician during segregation. I also loved all the clips of BB playing, he lit up when he had that guitar in his hands. I enjoyed Stax — that music speaks to me so much more — but because the audio exhibits weren’t as obsessively engineered (or as new, really), the leaky sound from whatever was next to me or behind me was distracting. Stax could use a pile of money to fix that, I’m looking at you, Atlantic Records.

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[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ell, I’ve done all this talking, and I didn’t tell you about the war. You know we had a war, right?

I slept somewhere different every night of my trip but by far the nicest place I stayed was the Main Street Hotel in tiny Yazoo City. It’s a gorgeously renovated and immaculately maintained property in a historic old brick building that overlooks Yazoo City’s brightly painted Main Street. I had a suite with a full kitchen because I was a fancy media guest, but all the rooms are gorgeous. And the proprietress, Miss Martha, well, I can safely say I’ve never met anyone quite like her before. Do not arrive in a hurry to check in.

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[dropcap]S[/dropcap]eattle? What are you doing all the way down HERE? — Artist Sarah Qarqish

Probably the highlight of my trip — from a destination perspective, there were so many good things about this adventure — was the Art and Soul Festival at Tallahatchie Flats. I enjoyed everything about this brand new little festival — the perfect location in the middle of Delta farmlands, the mixed crowd, the genuine warmth from everyone I talked with, that crazy roots version of Macklemore’s Thrift Shop by Tupelo based Bonfire Orchestra… and if my catfish wasn’t the best meal I ate while in the south, well, you could not beat the atmosphere. I hope the organizers make it a regular event and that it grows without losing any of that perfect small town mixed up this is a southern arts and culture utopia vibe. Man, that was a good time. There’s more from me on that day here.

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[dropcap]S[/dropcap]o rudely yesterday, you added me to another strange group
You didn’t even bother to ask me, just added me to another strange group
A group saying ‘global warming is a hoax but believes CO2 is good for you.

The last song I heard before returning my rental car was Anthony Dixon’s The Book of Faces Blues. (Okay, he’s not a Delta musician, but I was in the Delta when I heard it, and it’s blues.) I laughed all the way to the terminal and then some. Just listen to the whole thing. Enjoy.

4 thoughts on “Stuff I Liked This Week, Delta Edition”

  3. The South is complicated and my feeling is Northerners have a hard time with this, the racism, the poverty, the lack of opportunity. It is a region defined by struggle and loss and there are places where the antebellum days feel a bit too fresh. Even the touristy, pretty places like Savannah and New Orleans have this, and my guess is the rural areas can be somewhat jarring. It truly is its own region.

    Though the folks there *can* dance.

    Reply

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