15 minute read

The Final Itinerary: A Masterclass in Mississippi Blues

This is the culmination of our work, a meticulously planned pilgrimage built around the once-in-a-lifetime 77th anniversary of the Blue Front Cafe. Every road is chosen, every stop is intentional. This is a journey designed to be felt, not just seen.

Part 1: The Sacred South (Bentonia, The Delta & The Kings)

Day 1: Friday, September 26th - The Pilgrimage to Bentonia

  • Driving: Approx. 3 hours (160 miles).
  • Route: A direct mission. I-55 South from Memphis toward Jackson, then US-49 West to Bentonia.
  • The Mission: Today is about arriving at a specific place at a specific time. The journey is the prelude to the main event.
  • The Stops:
    1. Grave of Elmore James, Ebenezer, MS: Your first sacred stop. Just off I-55, visit the Newport M.B. Church Cemetery to honor the “King of the Slide Guitar.” A pilgrimage to the man who gave the world the definitive version of “Dust My Broom.”
    2. Insider Intel: As you drive, keep an eye out for the distinctive silver and blue Mississippi Blues Trail Markers. You will see them on the roadside all week; they are your guideposts.
  • Afternoon Arrival:
    1. Check-in, Yazoo City: Drop your bags at your lodging.
    2. Fuel Up: Grab a quick, late lunch in Yazoo City.
  • The Main Event (5:00 PM):
    1. The Blue Front Cafe’s 77th Anniversary Party, Bentonia: Arrive at one of the oldest and most significant juke joints in America. Shake the hand of the proprietor, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, the last living master of the Bentonia School. The music, the food, the people, the very air in this place—this is the soul of your journey.
  • Lodging: Yazoo City.

Day 2: Saturday, September 27th - The Bentonia Immersion

  • Driving: Minimal.
  • The Mission: To absorb the unique, haunting, minor-key sound of Bentonia blues at its source.
  • The Stops:
    1. Return to the Blue Front Cafe: The party continues. Spend the day. Talk to the musicians. Hear the stories. This is a living history lesson.
    2. Bentonia Blues Trail Markers: Find the official markers for the Blue Front Cafe itself and for the ghostly father of the style, Nehemiah “Skip” James.
    3. The Graves of the Bentonia School: In the New Jerusalem Cemetery (ask a local for precise directions, as it can be tricky), you will find the graves of Skip James and the duo of Jack Owens & Bud Spires, completing the trinity of this unique musical style.
  • Quirky Find: In Yazoo City’s Glenwood Cemetery, seek out the strange and wonderful grave of the “Witch of Yazoo,” a cornerstone of Southern Gothic folklore.
  • Evening: The grand finale of the anniversary celebration. Go all in.
  • Lodging: Yazoo City.

Day 3: Sunday, September 28th - The Quest for the Three Kings

  • Driving: Approx. 1.5 hours (65 miles).
  • The Mission: Today you walk in the footsteps of a phantom and pay tribute to a king.
  • The Stops:
    1. The Three Graves of Robert Johnson: This is a sacred rite of passage for any blues pilgrim.
      • Grave #1 (Morgan City): Begin at the Payne Chapel Memorial Baptist Church.
      • Grave #2 (Greenwood): The “official” site at the Little Zion M.B. Church.
      • Grave #3 (Quito): The obelisk memorial at the Mount Zion M.B. Church.
    2. Mississippi John Hurt Blues Trail Marker, Avalon: A slight detour, but you must find the marker for the gentle songster in the town he made famous.
    3. Hubert Sumlin Blues Trail Marker, Greenwood: Honor the legendary guitarist for Howlin’ Wolf.
  • Lunch: The legendary Crystal Grill in Greenwood. A Mississippi landmark.
  • Afternoon: Drive to Indianola, your home for the next two nights.
  • Lodging: Indianola.

Day 4: Monday, September 29th - The Deep Delta Triangle

  • Driving: Approx. 2.5 hours total (a loop).
  • The Mission: With the B.B. King museum closed, you have a gift: a full day to explore the deep, rich heart of the central Delta.
  • The Stops (The Leland-Greenville-Belzoni Triangle):
    1. Highway 61 Blues Museum, Leland: Your first stop. A magnificent, heartfelt museum packed with treasures.
    2. Leland’s Outdoor Museum: Walk the town to see its fantastic blues murals and find the numerous Blues Trail Markers (Johnny Winter, James “Son” Thomas, etc.).
    3. Grave of James “Son” Thomas: Find his unique, self-sculpted gravestone in the Bogue Memorial Cemetery.
    4. The Mississippi River Levee: Drive a portion of this massive earthen wall for a breathtaking perspective of the Delta’s vastness.
    5. Nelson Street, Greenville: Drive this historic strip, once a bustling hub of blues and R&B. Find the Blues Trail Marker telling its story.
    6. Belzoni - The Heart of the Delta: Drive south to this town, rich in blues history. Find the Blues Trail Markers for local luminaries like Denise LaSalle, Eddie “Guitar” Burns, and Paul “Wine” Jones.
  • Lodging: Indianola.

Part 2: The Clarksdale Immersion & Hill Country Finale

Day 5: Tuesday, September 30th - The King’s Farewell, The Journey North

  • Driving: Approx. 1 hour (55 miles) to Clarksdale.
  • The Mission: Pay tribute to the King of the Blues, then make the pilgrimage to the “birthplace.”
  • The Stops:
    1. B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center (10:00 AM): Your appointment with royalty. Spend two hours exploring the life of the world’s greatest blues ambassador.
    2. B.B. King’s Grave: A quiet moment of reflection on the museum grounds.
    3. Dockery Farms: The essential first stop on your way north. This is the beautifully preserved site where the blues arguably began.
    4. Po’ Monkey’s Lounge, Merigold: The iconic photo op. A monument to folk art and the juke joint spirit.
    5. Charley Patton Grave, Holly Ridge: Visit the resting place of the “Father of the Delta Blues.”
  • Late Afternoon: Arrive in Clarksdale. Check into your lodging for the next five nights. Your first stop is Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art to get the full week’s music schedule from the experts.
  • Lodging: Clarksdale.

Day 6: Wednesday, Oct 1st & Day 7: Thursday, Oct 2nd - Deep Clarksdale & The Arkansas Pilgrimage

  • The Mission: To fully embed yourself in the world’s greatest blues town and make a necessary journey across the river.
  • The Clarksdale Stops (spread over two days):
    • Delta Blues Museum (a multi-hour visit)
    • Riverside Hotel (where Bessie Smith died)
    • Hambone Art & Music
    • Deak’s Mississippi Saxophones
    • WROX Museum & Radio Station
    • The many Blues Trail Markers scattered around town.
  • The Arkansas Pilgrimage (Thursday):
    1. Delta Cultural Center, Helena, AR: Your first stop. An excellent museum.
    2. King Biscuit Time: Be part of the live studio audience for the longest-running daily blues radio show in the nation. A true slice of living history.
    3. Helena Markers & Graves: Find markers for Robert Nighthawk and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Then find the grave of legendary drummer Sam Carr.
    4. Sonny Boy Williamson II Grave, Tutwiler, MS: On your way back, complete the pilgrimage at the harmonica king’s final resting place.
  • Food & Music: Eat at Abe’s Bar-B-Q, Hooker Grocer, Stone Pony Pizza, and Yazoo Pass. Evenings are for live music at Red’s Lounge (the real deal) and Ground Zero Blues Club (the big stage).

Day 8: Friday, Oct 3rd & Day 9: Saturday, Oct 4th - The Legends’ Haunts & The Grand Finale

  • The Mission: To explore the territory of the Delta’s most famous son and to experience a full-blown Clarksdale weekend.
  • Friday’s Field Trip:
    1. Muddy Waters’ Territory: Drive to the Stovall Plantation area. Find the Blues Trail Markers for Muddy Waters himself and for his iconic song, “Hoochie Coochie Man.”
    2. Mound Bayou: Visit this profoundly historic all-black community and learn of its cultural importance.
  • The Weekend: Friday and Saturday nights are the pinnacle of a week in Clarksdale. The town will be alive with music. Hop between venues. Stay out late. This is the crescendo of your journey.
  • Lodging: Clarksdale.

Day 10: Sunday, October 5th - The Great Migration (Delta to Hill Country)

  • Driving: Approx. 1.5 hours.
  • The Mission: To transition from the flat Delta to the rolling hills, from one distinct blues style to another, for a perfect final act.
  • Morning in Clarksdale: Enjoy a slow Sunday. Have a final Southern breakfast. Make a last stop at Cat Head to buy the music of the artists who moved you.
  • The Stops en Route:
    1. Grave of Mississippi Fred McDowell, Como, MS: As you head east, stop to honor the undisputed master of the Hill Country slide guitar.
    2. Oxford, MS: Spend the afternoon in this beautiful university town.
      • Rowan Oak: Walk the grounds of William Faulkner’s hauntingly beautiful home.
      • Square Books: Browse one of America’s greatest independent bookstores.
      • Faulkner’s Grave: Pay respects at St. Peter’s Cemetery.
  • Evening in Holly Springs:
    • Dinner: The quirky, beloved Phillips Grocery.
    • Lodging: A charming B&B like The Wynne House Inn.

Day 11: Monday, October 6th - The Hill Country Finale & The Road Home

  • Driving: Approx. 1 hour to MEM Airport.
  • The Mission: A final morning of pilgrimage to the titans of the Hill Country sound before your departure.
  • The Final Stops:
    1. Hill Country Markers, Holly Springs: Find the Blues Trail Markers for the Hill Country Blues style itself and for the Mississippi Sheiks.
    2. Graves of the Hill Country Kings: Venture into the countryside to find the final resting places of Junior Kimbrough (at the Kimbrough Chapel Missionary Baptist Church) and R.L. Burnside (at Free Springs CME Church). The search is part of the experience.
    3. Otha Turner Marker, Gravel Springs: A short drive south of Holly Springs, find the marker honoring the master of the fife and drum tradition, a unique and ancient branch of the blues.
    4. Grave of Jessie Mae Hemphill, Senatobia: On your way toward Memphis, make one last essential stop. In the cemetery of the St. Peter’s M.B. Church, find the grave of the “She-Wolf” of the Hill Country, a powerful female voice in this pantheon of greats.
  • The Drive to the Airport: Head to Memphis International Airport (MEM) with a phone full of new music and a soul full of the Mississippi Blues.

This is your journey. It will be challenging, rewarding, and unforgettable. Travel well.

Of course. It is my absolute pleasure to provide the academic and cultural context that will transform this journey from a vacation into a deep, resonant study of the blues. A trip like this is amplified immeasurably by the stories and histories you carry with you.

Here is a curated list of sources and the requested “Family Tree of Mississippi Blues Artists” to enrich Alex’s Masterclass in Mississippi Blues.

The Traveler’s Library: A Blues Reading & Watching List

These sources are chosen to align directly with the artists, locations, and themes of your itinerary.

Essential Online Resources (For the Road)

These are perfect for reading on a phone in a hotel room after a long day’s drive or for quick reference at a historical marker.

  1. The Mississippi Blues Trail (Official Website)
    • Link: msbluestrail.org
    • Why it’s essential: This is the single most important resource. Before you visit any grave or town, look it up on their interactive map. You can read the full text of every single marker you plan to visit, giving you the complete story and context on-site. It is, quite literally, the official guidebook to your journey.
  2. Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art Blog
    • Link: CatHead.biz
    • Why it’s essential: Run by Roger Stolle (your first stop in Clarksdale), this is the living pulse of the current Delta blues scene. He posts gig guides, news, and observations. This will tell you about the artists you are seeing in the juke joints right now.
  3. “Trail of the Hellhound - Robert Johnson” (National Park Service)
    • Link: nps.gov/features/delta/hellhound.htm
    • Why it’s essential: A fantastic, concise, and beautifully presented online feature dedicated to tracing the life and mythology of Robert Johnson. Perfect reading before you begin your “Three Graves” quest.
  4. Living Blues Magazine
    • Link: livingblues.com
    • Why it’s essential: The premier publication for blues scholarship and journalism for over 50 years. Their archives contain deep-dive articles on nearly every artist on your itinerary.

Foundational Books (For Pre-Trip Immersion)

Reading one or two of these before you go will fundamentally change how you experience the landscape.

  1. Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta by Robert Palmer
    • Why it’s essential: This is the bible. If you read only one book, this is it. Palmer, a Memphis music critic, masterfully weaves together the stories of Charley Patton, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, and the culture of the Delta that birthed the music. It is the definitive narrative of the region.
  2. The Land Where the Blues Began by Alan Lomax
    • Why it’s essential: Lomax was a legendary musicologist who made field recordings in the Delta in the 30s and 40s. This book is his firsthand account of meeting the musicians, visiting the plantations (including Dockery Farms), and capturing the sound and feel of the place. It’s less a linear history and more a powerful, atmospheric immersion.
  3. Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues by Elijah Wald
    • Why it’s essential: A fascinating and provocative book that provides crucial context. Wald argues that we often view early blues artists through the lens of rock and roll fans, and he re-examines their careers in the context of their own time—as professional entertainers playing a wide variety of popular music, not just “the blues.” It will make you think.

Essential Documentaries (For Visual & Auditory Context)

  1. Deep Blues (1992)
    • Why it’s essential: The film companion to Robert Palmer’s book. It’s a gritty, beautiful road trip through the region that features incredible, raw performances by Hill Country legends R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough in their prime. Absolutely required viewing.
  2. The Soul of a Man (2003) - from Martin Scorsese’s “The Blues” series
    • Why it’s essential: This film, directed by Wim Wenders, focuses specifically on Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, and J.B. Lenoir. The segments on Skip James are a perfect primer for your pilgrimage to Bentonia, capturing the eerie, otherworldly quality of his music.
  3. M for Mississippi: A Road Trip through the Birthplace of the Blues (2008)
    • Why it’s essential: Produced by Roger Stolle of Cat Head, this is a modern-day road trip documentary that proves the blues is still very much alive. It will introduce you to many of the living musicians and juke joints you might encounter.

A Family Tree of Mississippi Blues

This is not a rigid chart, but a descriptive tree showing the flow of influence. The blues is a web, not a straight line, but these are the primary branches relevant to your journey.

The Trunk of the Tree: The Delta Patriarchs

These are the foundational figures from whom nearly everything else grows.

  • Charley Patton (c. 1891-1934)
    • Contribution: The first “superstar” of the Delta Blues. A powerful, percussive guitarist, a gravel-voiced singer, and a consummate showman. He created the blueprint for what a bluesman could be.
    • Influenced: Son House, Howlin’ Wolf (directly), Robert Johnson, Roebuck “Pops” Staples. His DNA is in almost every branch of the tree.
  • Son House (1902-1988)
    • Contribution: Raw, emotional intensity. He was a master of the bottleneck slide and possessed a preacher’s fire. He embodied the struggle between the sacred and the secular.
    • Influenced: Robert Johnson (his primary, direct mentor), Muddy Waters.

Branch 1: The Chicago Migration (The Electrified Delta)

This branch represents the Delta sound moving north and becoming the foundation of modern rock and roll.

  • Muddy Waters (from Stovall Plantation)
    • Influenced By: Son House, Robert Johnson.
    • Contribution: He electrified the Delta sound. He took the acoustic slide guitar style of his mentors, plugged it into an amplifier, and created the template for the modern blues band (two guitars, bass, drums, piano, harmonica).
    • Influenced: The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin—basically all of rock music.
  • Howlin’ Wolf (from the region around Dockery)
    • Influenced By: Charley Patton (showmanship and rhythm).
    • Contribution: A primal, terrifying vocal power and hypnotic, one-chord grooves. He was the raw, untamable foil to Muddy Waters’ cool. His longtime guitarist, Hubert Sumlin, was a master of stabbing, unpredictable licks.
    • Influenced: Captain Beefheart, Tom Waits, The Doors.

Branch 2: The Phantom King (The Mythic Taproot)

This is a singular branch dedicated to the man at the center of the mythos.

  • Robert Johnson (The Crossroads)
    • Influenced By: Son House, Skip James, Lonnie Johnson (a more sophisticated recording artist).
    • Contribution: Technical virtuosity, complex song structures that hinted at modern pop, and an enduring, powerful mythology. He synthesized all he heard into something new and otherworldly.
    • Influenced: Elmore James, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan.

Branch 3: The Bentonia School (An Ancient, Twisted Bough)

This branch is distinct, characterized by its unique tunings and haunting, minor-key sound.

  • Skip James (The Originator)
    • Contribution: An eerie, high falsetto and a complex, fingerpicked style in a unique “cross-note” tuning. His music is dark, spiritual, and deeply personal.
    • Influenced: Cream (who covered “I’m So Glad”), a generation of folk revivalists, and modern artists like Beck.
  • Jimmy “Duck” Holmes (The Living Master)
    • Influenced By: Skip James, Jack Owens.
    • Contribution: He is the last active practitioner and torchbearer of the Bentonia style, keeping the tradition alive at the Blue Front Cafe.

Branch 4: The Hill Country Hypnosis (A Rhythmic Forest)

This branch is defined not by chord changes, but by a relentless, hypnotic, rhythmic drone. It’s juke joint dance music.

  • Mississippi Fred McDowell (The Bridge)
    • Influenced By: Older, pre-blues folk traditions.
    • Contribution: A masterful, rhythmic slide guitar style. He was the key figure who brought the Hill Country sound to a wider audience during the folk revival.
    • Influenced: Bonnie Raitt, The Rolling Stones (who covered his “You Gotta Move”).
  • R.L. Burnside & Junior Kimbrough (The Titans of the Juke Joint)
    • Contribution: Together, they defined the modern Hill Country sound. It was raw, unpolished, and built on an irresistible groove. Their juke joints were legendary.
    • Influenced: The Black Keys, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, North Mississippi Allstars (whose members include sons of Jim Dickinson and grandsons of Otha Turner).
  • Cedric Burnside (The Torchbearer)
    • Influenced By: His grandfather, R.L. Burnside (“Big Daddy”).
    • Contribution: He is the living heart of Hill Country music today, a Grammy-winning artist who fuses the hypnotic power of the tradition with incredible soul and modern energy.

Enjoy your studies. They will make the wind in the Delta and the music in the juke joints speak to you on a much deeper level.

Updated:

You May Also Enjoy

Road Trip Maps

2 minute read

Every road trip I take, the first thing I do is create a Google Maps project. I then plan my a theme or a rough route. For most of my trips, I usually plan o...