JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The state of Mississippi is joining with Arkansas and Memphis, Tenn., for a 12-day celebration of blues music.
Mississippi Delta Tourism Association President Wesley Smith said events will begin Thursday and run through Oct. 8.
Smith says “Bridging the Blues” is anchored on one end by the Highway 61 Blues Festival in Leland, Miss., on September 29; and on the other by the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Ark., on Oct. 4-6.
The event is a partnership between the Mississippi Delta Tourism Association, Arkansas Delta Byways, Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism, Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Division and the Memphis Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The kick-off event is a concert by Bobby Rush on Friday at Indianola’s Club Ebony.
Clarksdale bluesman “Super Chikan” Johnson will headline a Blues TweetUp at Tunica’s new Gateway to the Blues Visitor Center, which will soon house a new blues museum. The event is Oct. 3.
On Oct. 3-4 on Beale Street, in Memphis, the Memphis Blues Society is hosting a competition for entrants in the Blues Foundation’s annual International Blues Challenge at the Rum Boogie Café.
The King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena will feature Bobby Rush, Taj Mahal and Bonnie Raitt.
In Clarksdale, the Rock & Blues Museum, which houses the massive collection of Dutchman Theo Dasbach, will host the 2nd Street Blues Party on Oct. 6-7.
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Online:
Bridging The Blues, http://www.bridgingtheblues.blogspot.com
