MS Follklife and Folk Artist Directory: UPDATES!

The Mississippi Folklife and Folk Artist Directory is the brainchild of my predecessor here at the MAC, Larry Morrisey. When Larry launched this site, he provided folk artists and traditions an online venue to be documented, celebrated and explored. Many researchers and enthusiasts look to the directory as a way to learn more about folklife in Mississippi, and we are very proud of the growing list of entries.

Fans of the Folklife Directory have a lot to look forward to this summer. We'll be adding nearly 30 new entries to the Directory covering a range of topics including blues, old-time string music, Celtic flute, Choctaw storytelling, folk art painting and luthiers. You'll get bio information, images and in some cases, audio and video, to help you better understand folklife in the Magnolia State. Documentary research was conducted by blues historian Scott Barretta, ethnomusicologist Chris Goertzen and writer Melanie Young.

Stay tuned and check back often for updates to Mississippi Folklife and Folk Artist Directory!

Two Interviews Now Online

Old-time banjo and upright bass player Valley Gordon inside the MPB studio.

Listen to my Arts Hour interviews with roots musician Valley Gordon and blues harp player Grady Champion via podcast.

Hot Tunes, Cold Winds in Clarksdale

I met up with my friend Randy, proprietor of the world-famous Ajax Diner in Oxford, on Jan. 23 for a night of revelry in Clarksdale.  We started the evening at the Uptown Motor Inn on 2nd Street. Clean, $50/night, and walking distance to Ground Zero, the Uptown Motor Inn is a great option for an overnight stay in Coahoma County.  Our friend Cleta joined us for dinner at Madidi, followed by the Oxford American Music Issue release party at Ground Zero.  We missed bluesman R.L. Boyce and Wiley & the Checkmates (their 2008 release, "We Call It Soul," is a hip shaking album perfect for late night dance parties), but we arrived just in time for Dale Hawkins, originator of "Susie Q"... baby I love you.... 

Later, we walked over to Red's, one of my favorite juke joints in Mississippi, to hear the dear "taildragger" T-Model Ford and his grandson (?), Stud, play a few tunes.

I'm not sure how old Stud is, but I'm guessing he is still in the single digits.  He keeps a good beat, but doesn't seem too interested in the crowd.  He watched infomercials on a television near the bar throughout the set. The kid is super-cute, and must be kind hearted and patient to play all these late-night gigs with a man eight-times his senior. T-Model seems to be doing well, although he is more frail each time I get to see him play.  

Our walk home that night to the Uptown Motor Inn was not near as pleasant as our early evening stroll through town.  The wind picked up and the sleet came down in icy sheets.  We stopped back by Ground Zero where the staff was closing shop, and a kind young man gave us a lift back to the hotel.  

This view of the Greyhound Bus station in Clarksdale is one I won't soon forget.