Blues Pilgrimage - June 2013

I know I am way late posting about this trip.  We were very busy enjoying ourselves and I did not have time to update this blog during the trip itself.

On June 20 we drove to Clarksdale, MS in the Mississippi Delta.  We stayed at the Shack Up Inn which a collection of sharecropper's shacks on an old plantation.  There was air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and a TV that had only one channel, the Sirius XM blues channel.  Otherwise it was very authentic.

The Crossroads Shack

The interior of our shack

We arrived a the shack early thanks to the one hour of time we got by crossing into the Central Time Zone.  We were in the mood for a little music, having driven all day, and chose to go to Red's.  Red's is an authentic juke joint in Clarksdale.  The place is an absolute fire hazard and I expect it to either burn or fall down withing the next few years.  Like I said, it was very authentic.  There was a little three piece blues band playing headed up by Big A, the guitar player.

Red's Lounge

Big A playing the blues in Red's Lounge

This was our first real experience with a juke joint, but we would become very familiar with these the next few days.  Feeling tired and little drained we headed back to our shack for the night.

Tomorrow I will continue posting about this trip.  Check back then!