The Thrill is Most Certainly Not Gone

The Delta Blues Live On

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mCe mississippi’s creative economy Red Hots & Deep Blues

TheiconicimageoftheDeltabluesisRobertJohnsonstand-

ingatthecrossroadsmakingadealwiththedeviltoplaythe

guitarlikenoonehadbefore.Soitwouldbeclichétosay

Mississippiisatacrossroadswhenitcomestotakingadvan-

tageofpromotingthebluestotouristsfromaroundthe

globe.Italsowouldbewrong.WithplaceslikeGround Zero Blues Club inClarksdale,thesparklingnewBB King MuseumandDelta Interpretative CenterinIndianolaandtheBlues Heritage Traillinkingsitesaroundthestate,bluesintheDeltaandbeyond

havemovedbeyondthecrossroadstotakeaplaceonthe

mainstreetofeconomicdevelopment.

Itwasn’talwaysthisway,andindeedthethoughtofbasinga

tourismindustryonthebluesoncemighthavebeenseenas

impossibleandpossiblyevensacrilegious.Afterall,thetradi-

tionalblueswerebornoutofpoverty.Musicianssangabout

growingupintoughcircumstancesandoftenusedtheirmusic

notasawaytocelebratetheirhometown,butasapathway

toescapeit.Howdoyouattractvisitorstothatenvironment?

Infactsomepeoplewouldpreferthatyounoteventry.

“Some people don’t want to promote the blues,”saysLuther

Brown,DirectoroftheDeltaCenterforCultureandLearningat

DeltaStateUniversityinCleveland,Mississippi.“These ‘blues

Nazis’ say you can’t have blues unless we are living in poverty.”

Signs, Signs, Everywhere a SignInyearspast,peopleweremakingtheirwaytotheDeltaon

theirown,andlittlewasdonetopromotetheareaasatour-

istdestination.Whilethereisalonghistoryofbluesfestivals

insuchtownsasGreenvilleorClarksdale,mosttouristshad

torelyonwordofmouthtofindlocaljukejointswhereblues

musicstillisplayedorgravemarkerswherelegendswereput

torest.

Then,tohelppromotetheblues,agroupoforganizationsand

individualsformedtheBluesHighwaysAssociationtoformal-

izeeffortstoincreasebluestourisminthestate.Accordingto

Brown,oneofitsfounders,theAssociationhadthreemaingoals.

“First we needed better maps and guides,”hesaid.“If you

come without a guide, then all you see is poverty. Second,

we worked to publish a dedicated issue of Living Blues maga-

zine focusing on the Mississippi Delta. And third, we put up a

marker at Club Ebony in Indianola that got everyone excited

about the potential for blues markers.”

Itwasthelattereffortthathasbornethemostobviousfruit.

In2003,theMississippiBluesCommissionwasreestablished

bytheStateLegislature,andoneofitsmajoractivitieswas

thecreationofaBluesHeritageTrail.TheTrailfeaturesmore

than100markersthathighlightcriticaleventsorindividuals

inthehistoryofthismostAmericanofmusicforms.Thetrail

alsofeaturessixmarkersoutsideofthestateandBrownhas

avisionofmarkersgoinguparoundtheworld.

“Eventually, we need to see markers outside the country,”

Brownnoted.“For example, there is a big blues festival

in Notodden, Norway. Having a marker there would be

a relatively inexpensive and targeted way to promote the

Mississippi Delta.”

Anotherexcitingdevelopmentisturningthemarkersinto

morethanjustsignsonthesideoftheroad.Thegoalisto

havethemarkersbecomemulti-mediasothattouristscan

hearthemusicthesignscommemorate.

Brownandothershavenoticedachangeinattitudeabout

thebluesthatcanbeinpartattributedtothesuccessofthe

trail,althoughunderstandablyitcanbehardtomeasuredol-

larsgeneratedbysignsonthesideoftheroad.

6Riley B. King (B.B. King) Blues Trail Marker, Indianola, MS

mCe mississippi’s creative economy Red Hots & Deep Blues

“At first, local businesses expressed doubts about the blues

trail,”Brownsaid.“They said things like ‘Why would anyone

care about the blues. I don’t like the blues.’ Now people say

things like ‘I don’t really like the blues but when I was travel-

ing in Germany everyone was excited to hear I was from the

Delta because of the blues.”

The Whole Delta is a StageAsexcitingasthetrailis,thekeytogettingvisitorstospend

moretimeandspendmoremoneyinthestateisensur-

ingtheyhavesomethingtodowhiletheyareinthestate.

Clarksdale,inparticular,hasworkedtopromotetheblues.

OscarwinnerMorganFreemanalongwithpartnerBill

LuckettopenedtheGroundZeroBluesClubinClarksdale.

Theclubshowcasesbluesartistsfromaroundthecountry,

andonselectednightsyoucanseeinternationallyrenowned

musiciansreturntotheDeltatoplay.

But,thefestivalcircuitcontinuestobetheheartandsoulof

thebluesindustryintheMississippiDelta,acrossthestate,

andevenacrosstheMississippiRiver.Festivalsrangefrom

theoldest,theMississippiDeltaBluesandHeritageFestival

inGreenville,tosmallereventssuchasBentoniaBlues

Festival.LargeeventsinHelena,Arkansas,andMemphisalso

havespilloverbenefitsinMississippi,withtouristsstaying

athotelsandstoppingtovisitmuseumsandhistoricalsites

ontheMississippisideofthestatelines.Thesheernumber

ofbluesrelatedfestivalsisimpressivein2009,fromAprilto

themiddleofNovember,therewereonlyeightweekends

withoutascheduledfestivalinthestate.Thefestivalsmean

thousandsofvisitorswhospendmoneyonfoodandlodging

duringtheirstay.

The Original Guitar HeroAtoneofthosefestivals,youjustmightbefortunatetocatch

aglimpseofperhapsMississippi’smostfamousbluesexport,

B.B.King,whowasborninthelittledeltatownofIttaBenna.

Butnoworriesifyoudon’tcatchhimrockingthestageat

thelocalfestival,anewandimpressivemuseumistellinghis

storyinawaythatnotonlypreservesbluesheritagebutalso

isservingasaneconomicenginefortheregion.

TheB.B.KingMuseumandDeltaInterpretiveCenterin

Indianolasitsonthesite,andactuallyincludespartofthe

originalbuilding,anoldcottonginwhereKinghimselfonce

worked.Themuseum,whichopeneditsdoorsin2008,has

anambitiousaim.

“The museum is the story of music, the story of civil rights,

and the story of Mississippi told through the life experience

of B.B. King and through the people of this community,” said

formermuseumdirector,ConnieGibbons.“It is really a pow-

erful, compelling story.”

Exhibitsarefullymulti-media,andvisitorsareabletonotonly

seeartifactsfromKing’smusicaljourneybutalsotolearn

aboutthehistoryoftheDelta,inthe20thcentury,fromthe

greatfloodof1927tosegregationtothecivilrightsmove-

mentandthecreativespiritthatgrewoutofthosestruggles.

Visitorsareexposedtothebeautyandintricacyoftheblues

throughsuchactivitiesasmashinguptheirownbluessongs

orcombiningaclassicfromKinghimselfwithahip-hoptrack

fromOutkastorotherartists.Alloftheseactivitiesareaimed

atmakingsurethatthebluesremainalivingpartofAmerican

musicallife.

Althoughthemuseumisyoung,theeconomicimpacthas

alreadybeentremendous.SunflowerCounty,whereIndianola

islocated,sawa12.5percentincreaseinitsestimatedtravel

andtourismexpendituresinfiscalyear2009,theyearthe

museumfirstopened,comparedtothepreviousfiscalyear.

Themuseumisfundedinpartbyalocaltourismtaxand

attractsvisitorsfromaroundthenationandtheworld.Within

thefirstthreemonthsofopening,themuseumhostedvisitors

fromall50statesandmorethan30foreigncountries.

7B.B. King Museum, Indianola, MS

Red Hots & Deep Blues mCe mississippi’s creative economy Red Hots & Deep Blues

Oneofthekeystothemuseum’searlysuccesshasbeenthe

goalofitsplannerstomakesurethatitisaworldclassfacil-

ity.Nationallyrecognizedexhibitandarchitecturalfirmswere

broughtintomakesurethatthemuseumwasahistoricalplace

thatoperatedwitha21stcenturysensibility.Itwasnotneces-

sarilyacheapendeavor,butakeytoitssuccesswastheextent

towhichthelocalcommunityboughtintothevision.Supporters

ofthemuseumraised$1.7millionfromIndianolaresidents

alone—animpressivefigureforatownofonly12,000people.

Involvingthecommunityisoneofthemajorgoalsofthemuse-

um.Themuseumissponsoringchildren’sprogramstomake

surethatthemusicreachesyoungchildrenwhootherwise

mightnothaveexposure.Themuseumsponsorsafter-school

programsforelementaryschool-agedchildrenthatextend

beyondtheblues.

“Blues are the foundation for all American music,”Gibbons

said.“For instance, so much of rock and roll is based on the

blues, so we don’t have to limit ourselves in our school pro-

grams to blues. This is what allow us to keep music relevant to

young kids.”

ShellyRitter,whodirectsanoldermuseum,theDeltaBlues

MuseuminClarksdale,whichalsooperatesabluesprogram

foryoungpeople,agreesthatthebluesareagatewaytohelp

youngpeopleunderstandthepowerofmusic.

“I see us as preserving music heritage; it just evolves into new

music,”shesaid.“I encourage it by keeping the roots music

alive and keeping it viable. Like the kids that come into our

program, they start new music and it is usually a rock band, but

it is based on the blues licks they learn in the class.”

Increasing the ImpactAllthoseinvolvedinbluestourismrecognizetherearereal

challengestomakingsurethatbluesandbluesrelatedtourism

succeeds.Onebigproblemismakingsurethereareenough

placesforpeoplewhovisittoseemusicbeingplayed.

“There are great musicians in the Delta and they don’t always

have a place to play,”Gibbonssays.“The biggest challenge is

having live music where it is consistent. That is one thing that

Clarksdale is doing. But it is expensive to establish consistency.”

Indeed,GroundZerotookthedeeperpocketsofitsinvestorsto

beabletostickthroughtheinevitablegrowingpainsthatany

musicvenuefacesasitbuildsitscustomerbase.TheMuseumis

workingtorecreateClubEbony,anoldmusichauntinIndianola,

establishingitasaplacewherepeoplecanspendthedayatthe

museumandreturnatnighttoseebluesmastersinaction.

Anotherchallengeismakingsurethatthebenefitsofbluestour-

ismflowthroughoutthecommunity.Makingsure,forinstance,

thatlocaltourguidesaregiventheopportunitytoleadtourists

aroundthecommunityandtoencouragevisitorstoeatatlocally

ownedshops.Brown,forinstance,whoorganizeslargetour

groupsthroughhisprogramatDeltaState,alwaysmakessureto

takehisgroupstolunchattheSenator’sPlace,alocallyowned

restaurantservinghome-cookedmealsinCleveland.

Brownandotherswouldliketoseemorelocalbusinessestake

advantageoftheopportunitiesthatheritagetourismoffers.For

instance,therearefewgalleriesorplacesintheDeltawhereyou

canbuyhand-craftedartorsouvenirs,amissedopportunityto

markettothethousandsofvisitorswhoarelookingtobringbacka

pieceoftheDeltaalongwiththememoriesofthemusictheyhear.

Despitethechallenges,mostpeopleareoptimisticaboutwhat

thefutureholdsforbluesandbluesrelatedtourisminthestate.

“Lots of people are looking for authenticity and real stuff,”

Gibbonssaid.“Mississippi can offer that in ways others can not.

We’re in paradise and we don’t even know it.”

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