Key to Mississippi Delta Blues Trip
Visitors from around the world come to the Mississippi Delta to experience the birthplace of American music. Many of Vicksburg’s early Bluesmen made that journey to the North on Highway 61 to Memphis, St. Louis and Chicago.
With them they took the songs of the fields and of the juke houses. The music was electrified and reverberated around the world and welcomed jazz and rock ‘n’ roll. Vicksburg’s greatest native son of the Blues is Willie Dixon.
Day 1: Arrive in Vicksburg and check into your hotel or bed and breakfast inn. Have dinner at one of our signature restaurants to make sure you have plenty of fuel to get you through a night of following the Mississippi Blues. Be sure to check the live music calendar to see if one of our restaurants or bars are having featured blues music at www.visitvicksburg.com/events. Get ready to dance the night away with some great tunes.
Day 2: After breakfast, head out to explore the Mississippi Blues Trail in Vicksburg. The success of the Blues Trail has been phenomenal. Visitors from across the globe come to Mississippi in search of the roots of American music. Here in Vicksburg we have six Blues Trail markers: The Blue Room, Highway 61 South, Marcus Bottom, The Red Tops, Willie Dixon, and William Ferris. The life and music of Vicksburg’s best-known bluesman, Willie Dixon, is also celebrated in one of the 32 depictions of Vicksburg’s history found on the Vicksburg Riverfront Murals along Levee Street. (2 hours)
After all that driving, stop in our Downtown District and visit two art galleries that have been influenced heavily by Mississippi Blues – HC Porter Gallery and the Attic Gallery. In HC Porter Gallery, you will find original paintings, serigraphs, and fine art prints and photographs many of which feature Mississippi Blues artists. Have lunch at one of our downtown restaurants then head into the Attic Gallery, Mississippi’s oldest independent art gallery featuring Southern folk art, contemporary fine art, handmade pottery, glass jewelry and many “blues” related items with funk mixed in. (3 hours)
Vicksburg’s location halfway between Memphis and New Orleans on U.S. Highway 61, America’s Blues Highway, makes it a favored stop for visitors to the Mississippi Blues Trail. More importantly, Vicksburg’s live music scene is exceptional.