Thursday Roundup

Vicksburg - Blues Trail marker honoring Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Willie Dixon to be unveiled today.

Potts Camp - North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic: Friday - Bobby Rush, T-Model Ford, DuWayne Burnside and his Mississippi Mafia, Olga Wilhelmine Mathus, Danny Lancaster, Jocco Rushing and John Barnett. A "sunset jam" brings together roots rockers Mother Tupelo, Rocket 88 and Goshen of Santa Fe, N.M. Saturday - Blue Mountain, the Taylor Grocery Band and Alvin Youngblood Hart's trio Muscle Theory, the Rev. John Wilkins, the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, David Kimbrough and Garry Burnside of Burnside Exploration, the North Mississippi Allstars, Jimbo Mathus and Knockdown South. (Read the Clarion Ledger story here.)

Oxford - alt-country band Blue Mountain reunites

Thursday News Roundup

Yesterday, the Mississippi Blues Commission dedicated a Blues Trail marker for the Summers Hotel and Subway Lounge in Jackson. The Subway was featured in the Last of the Mississippi Jukes and was a longtime blues staple of Jackson.
WLBT has video and the Clarion Ledger also has a report of the event.

Delta Southern Bank has pledged $200,000 toward the BB King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola (full story).

Elvis Fest kicks off tonight in Tupelo (full story).

Tupelo Daily Journal: Country music star Marty Stuart will bring a host of artists to Oxford this weekend to celebrate American music. The stars will gather to perform for Oxford Sessions, a series of concerts to be videotaped live for a planned series of TV specials celebrating American Music. The two-night event will kick off Thursday at the Gertrude C. Ford Center on the University of Mississippi campus. The Williams Brothers, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Hubert Sumlin will take the stage Thursday, while the Blind Boys of Alabama and Charlie Mussellwhite will perform Friday. Marty Stuart will host and perform both nights. Tickets for each show is $5. For more information about the shows, call (662) 915-2787 (More on this at the University of Mississippi newsdesk.)

The Delta Democrat Times has this great feature on Greenville native Frank Vick, bluesman and longtime drummer for Little Milton and later Howlin' Wolf. The eighth annual Highway 61 Blues Festival, to be held Saturday in Leland, is dedicated to Vick and to the late James “Son” Thomas (Full Story Here).

Monday News Roundup

From the Gwinnett County Georgia Daily Post: "Mississippi is a state that’s hard to spell. It’s a place that divides East and West and a state steeped in Southern culture. More than that, the Magnolia State is the birthplace of some of our nation’s most prominent people, from music scene heavy-hitters to literary prodigies. We surfed the Web to find the top five highlights of any Mississippi itinerary." The story highlights Mississippi as the "Birthplace of rock" and "Birthplace of the blues" and the birthplace of the Muppets and the "birthplace of Southern drama" and the "birthplace of American fiction." (Read the full story here) 5/29

The Chicago Sun Times discusses the new book and CD to honor the late Larry Brown of Oxford. (Read the story here) 5/27

The Subway Lounge Blues Trail Marker will be unveiled in Jackson on Wednesday. (Full story) 5/25