Jaunted - MS

Get the Blues at the Mississippi Delta's Robert Johnson Festival

juliab — 2011-10-05T14:48:16-05:00

You, Robert Johnson’s ghost, and some live blues artists. Just what the doctor ordered.

Last time we were down in the Mississippi Delta we were getting stuck in on local radio, but now here’s a reason to go back down there (and it’s not even related to The Help).

This year is the 100th anniversary of the birth of father of the blues Robert Johnson; and to mark it, next weekend, the people of Greenwood are throwing a blues festival. Not only that, but it’s a festival right in the cottonfields next to where Johnson is purportedly buried.

The King of the Delta Blues 100th Anniversary Remembrance Festival takes place October 15-16 on Money Road, outside Greenwood and by the premises of the fabulous WABG radio station. The lineup includes Rory Block, Dr Feelgood Potts, Maria Muldaur and Bobby Rush, and there will be tributes to blues artists who died this year, like Honey Boy Edwards, Pinetop Perkins and Mississippi Slim.

Moonlighting as a DJ on a Mississippi Blues Radio Station

juliab — 2011-08-03T13:13:25-05:00

WABG and the surrounding plantation

One thing you’ll notice as you road trip through the Mississippi Delta is that listening to the radio can be a problem. There are country stations, pop stations and talk stations—but finding a blues station takes a bit of work. Which is silly, because the reason you’ve come to blues country is to hear the blues, right?

Luckily, one station hears your pain: WABG, aka The Awesome AM, based in Greenwood. You can listen to it on 960 AM or online at awesomeam.com, where it plays blues and classic rock. Not that it’s always been that way—at launch in 1950 it was a “farm/talk/country station” and when the present owners bought it in 2007 it was all talk.

But the very best thing about WABG is that it’s open to visitors. “Poe," the sole DJ and one of three owners of the station, spends half his life in the little whitewashed shack in a field in the middle of a plantation on the outskirts of Greenwood. And what may be bad for his social life is great for you, because it means that if he’s around when you pop by (and he most likely will be), he’ll invite you in, give you a little tour of the station, interview you about your travel plans live on air and even, if you're well behaved, let you indulge in a spot of DJing.

Why Visiting Ground Zero In Mississippi May Make You See Red

juliab — 2011-08-01T16:15:01-05:00

The unassuming Red’s by day

If you’re following the Blues trail around the Mississippi Delta, you’ll almost certainly have Clarksdale down on your hitlist. Not only is it the biggest of the blues towns (well, technically Greenville is bigger, but there’s not much going on round there these days), but it’s also the closest to ~~civilization~~ Memphis (75 miles south) and the town that’s adapted best to visitors with (gasp) a choice of nice places to stay, as well as restaurants and shops all within the teeny town center.

The blues clubs are what you’re really going for, though. Ground Zero is the most famous, possibly because it’s the largest, possibly because it’s the most geared towards tourists (announcing musicians well in advance and keeping to published opening hours) or possibly because it’s owned by Morgan Freeman.

Ground Zero

There’s just one problem with Ground Zero: having given it a go on three separate visits, we can’t help but conclude that it’s just not that great. It’s obviously very touristy and the clientele are, um, one of a kind – lots of girls in daisy dukes and cowboy boots without the figures to match, and guys whose hookup modus operandi is by asking you to come to their farm and “see my animals” (100% true story). Everyone’s too blitzed to listen to the music and the general atmosphere is one of meat market/country bachelorette party.

It May Not Look Much, But This is (Kinda) the Place Where The Blues Was Born

juliab — 2011-07-28T16:00:13-05:00

Think this is a railway track just like all other railway tracks? Nuh uh, reader, it is not—and not just because it has a funky mural on the wall opposite. These railway tracks are historic. Because it was right here, in 1903, that the blues were born.

Or rather, if we don’t get carried away by the excited notices on entering town, it’s here that the blues stepped from local musical style to national movement.

See, it was here, on the railway tracks in Tutwiler, Mississippi, that composer WC Handy was waiting for a train and watched a man press a knife on the strings of his guitar, sing, and produce “the weirdest music I have ever heard.” Handy then started putting the blues to paper and took the previously regional style national (and then global).

Where to Get the National Geographic Degree in Geotourism

Jennifer Kester — 2010-08-05T09:02:13-05:00

You may not be able to travel full time, but now there's a way for you to at least study it full time. Missouri State University is offering the world's first bachelor's degree in geotourism.

National Geographic worked with the university to create the new field of study, which will look at tourism that sustains an area's environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of its residents. The program also will examine the effects of local and global tourism, focusing on enhancing the quality of life of all affected by tourism development. As part of the program, you'll learn about cultural and environmental geography, community planning, development and tourism.

Mississippi's Jet On eBay: Thanks, But No Thanks

egw — 2009-02-02T13:41:00-05:00

Desperate times call for desperate measures: Under pressure to balance the budget, the Mississippi state legislature is contemplating selling its private jet, Sarah Palin-style.

House Appropriations Chair Johnny Stringer cited Palin as an inspiration when he proposed putting the $3.7-million Cessna Citation 8-seater, which costs $1,600 an hour to operate, up for sale. That would leave just three state-funded planes for lawmakers to share, including the jet's most frequent passenger, Republican Governor Haley Barbour.

Critics of the plan call it a partisan stunt and mention that the state still owes $500,000 on the jet. eBay might not even be the way to go after all: When a buyer for Alaska's $2.7 million jet fell through online, the state took a $600,000 hit and got rid of it privately.

Related Stories:
· Miss. may sell state jet on eBay [Clarionledger.com]
· Opinion: Think It Over Before Selling Governor's Jet [Hattiesburg American]

[Photo of Gov. Barbour, who may be forced to drive everywhere: DayLife.com]

Where America's Second Most Famous Teen Mom Shops

egw — 2008-10-15T08:45:45-05:00

Now that she's been overshadowed by a certain vice presidential candidate's daughter, Jamie Lynn Spears has been given a longer leash to operate, both by the media who dogged her (yeah, we know!) and the critics who saw her as a symbol of everything that was wrong with America. No wonder the girl has been frequenting a local Wal-Mart for a little retail therapy.

Aside from a recent trip to California with daughter Maddie Briann to meet her cousins Sean Preston and Jayden James, Jamie Lynn has been hanging out at the big box, sometimes with boyfriend and possible fiance Casey Aldridge (the Levi Johnston of Mississippi).

A savvy star would try and get an endorsement out of it, at least in the next 20 days before we forget again that teenage girls can get pregnant.

Related Stories:
· Family Travel: Britney and Jamie Lynn Plan Playdate [Jaunted]
· Celebrity Magazine Editor Shacks Up at the Mondrian [HC]
· Celeb Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Celebrity Gossip]