this weekend I attended the mississippi sax festival in downtown....there was great lineup with carson diersling,terry bean,paul oscher,billy boy arnold,deak harp and kim wilson....I was surprised it was not very well attended but so happy I made the trip from east tennessee
Let's face it, those guys are having a hard time coming up with something new. Don't get me wrong; they are the tops for tone, but really, it's all been done. ----------
aside from attendance by groups like us, is there really any magical draw for events like this that really brings in the "citizens"? I like the Hummel Blues Harmonica Rolling Thunder Revues, but also wonder if they are still a solid draw. ---------- The Iceman
still mystery to me.....its clarksdale.....capital of the delta......but thats just me......hated the disco era.....rap/hip hop is even worse.....would rather wind my watch and sit and listen to it tick......theres good music......and theres pig shit
Groyster1 - one reason the festival may have been under attended is that Clarksdale is, unfortunately, God's own shithole. The downtown is kinda cute, but in the rest of the town the level of poverty, disrepair and crime is staggering. Most folks from Mississippi would never set foot there and don't really give a shit about the problems there. So the place is utterly underfunded for providing the educational & recreational opportunities the kids living there need. And as for meaningful employment opportunities, fagidaboutit. So yeah, middle aged blues aficionados turn up to get their hip card punched, but the place keeps sliding downhill - it is probably the one place in America that is the closest to being how it was in the 1920s.
Last Edited by Sundancer on May 31, 2017 1:14 PM
crime is staggering????if you go north to memphis thats a given.....most folks from mississippi would never set foot there???much worse parts of mississippi.....people there are very warm......gods own shithole????do you live there?
Groyster - my mom is from Biloxi. Wife from Memphis. Yep, been to the Delta, travelling back in time - eyes wide open. Google "Clarksdale crime" or just log onto the website of the Clarksdale Press Register. Clarksdale has a long history violence and oppression and hardship. Hasn't stopped yet. The blues came from that town for a reason ya know. And it ain't because of Ground Zero.
Last Edited by Sundancer on May 31, 2017 7:03 PM
groyster1 - I would have been there, but I just got back from the Juke Joint Fest, and couldn't squeeze in another trip from the Northeast. I have gone to C'dale for many years and have never had any issues. The folks are friendly - the food is good, and never been robbed, hassled, or SEEN any criminal activity. I would move there if my wife was not still employed here in Syracuse. Judging from the thousands of people that travel there from all over the world I would have to say that the Blues - are not dead. ----------
I concur that Clarksdale is a great place if ya limit your travelling radius to the patch between Ground Zero and the Shack Up Inn. And as Groyster points out, Clarksdale is indeed safer than Memphis (good ole Bill Shakespeare referred to this as "damning with faint praise ")
I was there for the Festival. Stayed from Thursday thru Monday night. Mostly at the Riverside Hotel and then one night at the Shack Up Inn. This is my 3 rd trip to Clarkesdale. Went Primarily to see Kim Wilson. The Festival lineup was great to watch. Felt safe walking around, but was warned by the owner of the Riverside to stick to the main roads. What I dislike, and what I believe keeps people from returning, is the local cover charges and the attitude It is OK to overcharge a Tourist. (Festival $35.00 Locals $10.00) I am used to just buying a drink to listen to a bar band. Hardly ever a cover in a bar. Just a Tip Jar. (Not talking about a special show). In Clarkedale $5.00 Thursday night Ground Zero. $10 Friday night Ground Zero and $10 Reds. $35 Festival (fair price for Special acts) $10 Ground zero and $10 Reds. Ordered one beer at Levons- $7.00 Never went back. If my wife and I went to see all the local venues for the weekend that would be $160 Just to get in the door and listen to the local bar band. Probably will not go back--
I couldn't make it, but it sounded like a great event.
I went to Hill Country 2 in 2011 and HC3 in 2012. On the Thursday night before HC2 in 2011 I stayed at Shack Up in Clarksdale so I could see Deak at Red's before going to Oxford and Rooster's on Friday. That trip was my only Clarksdale experience.
Clarksdale was hot, poor, and redolent with the blues. The old plantation grounds at Shack Up and the nearby fields in the heat evoked images of where the Delta Blues originated. Red's was a run down masterpiece of a juke joint, and would not pass any code for occupancy in my town. I saw/heard Deak play at Red's and even played a couple with his band when he stepped out and took a smoke break.
My opinion is that the Blues Trail and blues music are what bring people to Clarksdale. To hear the music is the only reason they bring their money with them.
Where I live in Illinois we have an active music scene with many good bands. The covers are small most of the time ($5 or over is only for a large band or a really good band) and often a tip jar is used with some additional small support from the venue. Unless they pack the house, a band makes very little. Fans love the cheap entertainment.
Where I live, musicians can barely scrape by and almost all work other jobs just to make their way at near poverty level. Good local bands have to play out of town to make money, because here in town they are taken for granted and are making about the same as they would have in a band in the '70s.
If a band has 5 members it takes $500 to let each of them make $100 for the night. Around where I live that is the pay for only a few top bands on Fridays or Saturdays. Most take home $50 to $75 each at the end of the night, and many venues may offer less. On special occasions such as holidays or playing private parties a good musician may make $200 each for a night playing music, but that is not often. Many bands have small acoustic sub-bands, trios or duos, to play on weeknights to make extra money.
If you believe in supporting live music, and the blues, then paying enough to support the musicians should not be a big deal. The festival price of $35 seems fair, and so far as venue covers go, I would just pick one or two places and not hit all the spots. Or, I could just be ready to spend a lot just to bar hop on my blues vacation. The money from blues fans is what keeps the music and the venues going. Yeah, it may seem pricey, but you are paying for the experience and supporting the music. ----------
Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Jun 02, 2017 12:43 PM
irregardless of your negative comments about clarksdale.....there are people who come from far and wide for the juke joint festival every april.....if you dont care for the place then stay home.....they dont need you there
Went to the Juke Joint festival once, Tour busses showed up from Arkansas. Dropped an extra 200 people in downtown. No chance at all to get into a music venue. You are right - will not go back. That is the problem, most people will never go back. However my point is --That They DO need me there. Very few of the local businesses seem to stay open. One big weekend a year does not create a economy.
no cotton.....they will do just fine without you and your negative attitude.....clarksdale juke joint is great event.....try getting a room during this event......just stay where you are
Clearly what they are doing --is NOT working. If it was-- new business downtown would stay open. I can think of 4 restaurants (one a motel) that is not there on this trip that was open on a previous trip. Pointing out problems is not negative. It is a way forward, it is customer feedback that business people need in order to grow their business or in this case grow their community. They are clearly doing something wrong if multiple downtown businesses that cater to tourists cannot stay open.
it seems to me that any lover of blues music would enjoy clarksdale.....so much history there such as sam cookes birthplace....memorials all over town...delta blues museum,rock and blues museum,entertainment at ground zero and reds.....its a very old village with many old buildings in state of disrepair and not much wealth there....but the good people in clarksdale would surely be hurt by people trashing their town
I grew up in the St. Louis area and later relocated to Illinois. My career in social services took me all over Illinois and I traveled through or visited people in many communities similar to the depiction in the Clarksdale video posted by Sundancer. Poverty and gangs are present in or nearby ANY community.
All over Illinois there are areas like those depicted in the Clarksdale video. I have also seen such areas in every state through which I have traveled. I was not surprised by the poverty I saw during my own visit to Clarksdale and also in areas of Oxford, MS, a town with more opportunities. Communities need well paying jobs for a town to thrive. Even in relatively prosperous areas there will be pockets of poverty. These poor areas include a wide range of racial groups, sometimes one race segregated in an area, sometimes racially mixed areas. The presence of substance abuse, domestic violence, broken homes, gangs, drug dealing, poverty, poor low income housing options, substandard education, and lack of employment opportunities create a miasma of helplessness and hopelessness in these areas. Blues, Rap, Rock 'n Roll, and Country music often were created by people living in such conditions.
I would not choose to go hang on the corner in these areas, because as an outsider I would stand out as an intruder. However, the presence of such areas in a community would not stop me from visiting for other reasons, such as hearing good music. Vibrant music often springs from grim circumstances. There is a significant portion of our nation's population that live in these circumstances. If you choose to travel anywhere, you will encounter these areas. The only way to avoid them is to stay home.
Usually in a community with an arts area that brings money, such as an area of music performances, the town/city will provide policing to assure a degree of safety while people attend events and bring in the much needed cash. If crime grows too frequent, attendance drops and so does cash flow.
There is no assurance of safety anywhere. I don't seek out trouble and I try to maintain an awareness of my surroundings, but I WILL travel as I choose to hear music or engage in other activities. I will not let the presence of poverty and social problems in an area cause me to forgo seeking out music and instead hide in my home. I do have a preference for smaller events, as the large crowds at some festivals do not interest me.
I guess I need to look into another Clarksdale trip in the next year or so. Didn't Adam say there would be a Hill Country Harmonica in 2018? Maybe I can plan a side trip.
@ Cotton - Most people DO go back - year after year. Thousands show up every year - from all over the world. And I've never had an issue getting into any Venue. Some of the smaller spots (like Red's) - you need to plan ahead and get there early. Something MUST be working....folks are buying buildings downtown and turning them into apartments - rooms -and Condos. ----------
The point ain't about prosperous gringos going & coming from Clarksdale, and getting their hip cards punched at a Juke. Like most other places in the USA, Clarksdale is smart about treating tourists well. The point is what would your life be like if you were born there? Educated there? Trying to find your place in the world & be employed there? It'd be a tough row to hoe. Something worth keeping in mind when you say your daily gratitudes. Or when you let your mind wonder to what it would be like to sell your house and take your equity and buy something in Clarksdale that the locals most likely could never afford.
what youre saying has absolutely no bearing on my 3 trips to clarksdale.....no dont live there but will revisit.....its the capital of the delta.....highway 61 and 49.....famous federal highways leading north to memphis and chicago with more opportunities....but these blues musicians who made that trip quite sure they never forgot where they came from
I went to Clarksdale in 2008 and there didn't seem to be much there other than Ground Zero and Cathead Blues Shop.I went again last year and noticed quite a few new businesses and a lot more activity. I walked the streets on a Tuesday night and never felt uncomfortable.I talked to a couple from, I believe Austrailia, who were making plans to retire there.It seems a lot of fairly affluent white people are moving there either to retire or start a business. Tourisim is probably a pretty good source of income for the locals,as I don't see any major industry there.
Doug hit the nail on the head in respect to poverty.I've seen worse in Central America and Jamaica.Even in my own area there is some pretty run down neighborhoods. I may be more aware of my surroundings but I'm not going to stay out of them.
How about a round of applause for Clarksdale resident Deak Harp for taking a huge chance and throwing this thing, brining in the heavy hitters and making music and spreading joy regardless of anyone's opinions on the town, crime, poverty, gentrification or otherwise? Nobody's getting rich out here. Thanks Deak. www.mooncat.org
Last Edited by Moon Cat on Jun 04, 2017 11:54 PM
I thought Deak's move from up here to Clarksdale made a lot of sense musically and in terms of his custom harp business. He lived out in the country in Illinois, and gigs in our Champaign-Urbana music scene didn't pay enough to make it worth his while to drive back and forth from his home. He wasn't near any market for his harps where he could work his marketing magic.
Clarksdale was the perfect place for him to put his business and music.
Applause given!
Visiting with Deak and seeing his store is one reason I want to make another Clarksdale trip. ----------
Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Jun 05, 2017 10:04 AM
yes, hats off to Deak Harp and the others that put the show on. Producing concerts and making them successful is a time consuming job full of details that seem never ending. A lineup like this in a big city would probably do very well economically, but in a small, remote locale, it is a significant challenge on a variety of levels.
Last Edited by 6SN7 on Jun 05, 2017 10:27 AM
deak is very popular in the village of clarksdale....there is a fellow named stan street who has a shop where I bought paintings of sonny boy and howlin` wolf and is an accoplished musician himself....clarksdale has so much history....highway 61 and 49 crossroads.....I just dont understand trashing that little village where any self respecting lover of blues would love to visit
