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NOVEMBER 2021
(a couple days early, y'all)
CAT HEAD UPDATE NEWSLETTER
"All the blues that's fit to print."
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Clarksdale, Mississippi, is Bluestown, USA — and a 'moveable feast' for those who make the pilgrimage.
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“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” — Ernest Hemingway.
For all y'all who've visited here and soaked up an amazing night of Mississippi blues in one of our many down-home haunts, Hemingway's observation also works for Clarksdale (regardless of age or gender). Clarksdale stays with you. That's why dozens of us 'former tourists' have moved here over the past couple decades. And it's why so many of our friends around the globe have been missing the 'Crossroads' and dreaming of their triumphant return.
Whether you've already visited or simply dream about it, now is the time to plan your 2022 pilgrimage (unless, of course, you can get here ASAP for this weekend's event double-header). See below for our 'so-far' list of 2022 festivals and special events. Then, find your lodging — from hotel to hostel, from shack to loft, and beyond — at VisitClarksdale.com.
Visiting this week? Then, partake in the Hambone Festival and Cruzn The Crossroads events detailed below. Clarksdale rocks! Truly.
MUSIC CALENDAR: cathead.biz/music-calendar
TOURISM APP: VisitClarksdale.com
LIVE-STREAMING: LiveFromClarksdale.org
SHARED EXPERIENCES: SharedExperiencesUSA.com
BLUES TRAIL REVISITED: podcast
Hey y'all... The holidays are coming, so please consider shopping small (and/or local) first, before you head to the big-box stores or that mighty River of online debauchery.
Consider shopping CAT HEAD early for best selection and often for all the elves on your list. Visit us Mon-Fri 11am-4pm; Sat till 5pm; Sun till 3pm. Or ONLINE at www.cathead.biz.
Thanks and best,
Roger (shown with late-great Big George Brock; I'm the smaller personality on the left) and Ayler Pug (shown giving a tutorial on how to properly a sanitize a cheese container).
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If SLEEP is more important to you than MUSIC, then please do NOT visit Clarksdale, Mississippi...
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Clarksdale's Halloween DOUBLE HEADER FESTIVAL WEEKEND! Hit the pedal on the right...
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Have y'all been busy? Clarksdale and its festivals sure have! Here's a quick review of October music...
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CAT HEAD's "Brocktober Fest" month of live blues events wraps up today with Lucious Spiller.
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Thanks to the fabulous musicians and cooperative attendees, CAT HEAD has enjoyed a fun, safe October of special music events in tribute to the big man who graced our front porch dozens of times — Big George Brock.
Today (Saturday), in the midst of all the exciting Hambone Festival and Cruzn The Crossroads happenings, please drop by to hear the one and only Lucious Spiller perform at 12 noon. Oh, and remember, it's hip to tip!
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"One for you. One for them!" Start ho ho ho holiday shopping early in CAT HEAD's WEB STORE, y'all!
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I know. I know. It's just now Halloween, and Thanksgiving's still a few weeks away. BUT... this "supply-chain" stuff is for real! CAT HEAD is stocked with lots of new and classic shirts, hats, vinyl LPs, CDs, DVDs, books, artwork and drinkware today, BUT we can't guarantee tomorrow. That said, we also have some late restocks coming soon (mainly on certain shirt sizes). Anyway, maybe buy something for yourself and something for someone on your gift list that's coming sooner than you think. WEB STORE: www.cathead.biz. Or, SHOP IN-PERSON Mon-Fri 11-4, Sat till 5pm and Sun 11-3. Thanks, y'all.
 
 
            
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LATEST BLUES, MISSISSIPPI, CLARKSDALE, JAZZ AND RELATED NEWS. Check out the links below...
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Blues and Jazz VINYL LP news... Clarksdale's Kingfish and the universe's Coltrane...
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New Kingfish and Coltrane VINYL released! Buy now at www.cathead.biz/music-video. If you haven't heard Christone "Kingfish" Ingram's new "662" (named for Clarksdale's area code), then what the heck have you been listening to?! The excellent, modern blues CD came out this summer, and now the purple vinyl record is also available ('supply-chain issues' delayed it). I predict our young friend has some Grammys, BMAs, etc., in his future.
In other music news, it only took half a century for jazz legend John Coltrane's latest LP to see the light of day. "A Love Supreme: Live in Seattle" is a two-mic club recording that features the "A Love Supreme" suite with additional interludes and special guests. If you don't yet own the original, studio album "A Love Supreme," then buy it first; it is one of the great albums — regardless of genre — of recorded history. If you're already a fan of '60s Coltrane, then check out the new live recording. Sure, the mix is a bit off (due to the impromptu recording conditions), but overall, it's still pretty fascinating and enjoyable. And the mastering, packaging, liner notes, etc., got the full Impulse Records treatment, of course.
PS - Speaking of vinyl, I was listening to the new LP reissue of the excellent-if-weird (just Google the history) "Let It Be" by The Beatles this morning. I had to smile when the Fab Four name-checked both BB King and Elmore James, in two different songs. Nice.
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Clarksdale, Mississippi, loses a tireless promoter, friend and leader — BILL LUCKETT.
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Like everyone else in Clarksdale, Mississippi's blues tourism and downtown revitalization communities, I was stunned and saddened last night to hear of Bill Luckett's untimely passing. He was a tireless champion of our town.
Beyond his visible efforts as an entrepreneur, promoter and civic leader, Bill was also a one-man welcome wagon. He was always quick to greet new visitors and make those of us who ultimately moved here feel like part of the community.
Shortly after I took over the music bookings at Ground Zero Blues Club in 2002, Bill asked me if I had gone fishing since moving here. I said, "Yes, but with little success!" The next morning, he picked me up, and we headed to the water. After maybe 40 minutes of personal conversation, I brought up "business." Immediately, I realized my mistake. This wasn't a meeting. This was just Bill being nice, being welcoming, being human.
Once back on shore with our sizable catch of crappies, Bill proceeded to clean all of the fish and insist that I take home the entire haul. I did. I also took home a bigger, better understanding of Bill Luckett, the man.
A brief fishing trip nearly two decades ago may seem trivial, but it was just the first of many times I saw Bill reach out to folks in an effort (and sometimes it was) to make others feel they were a part of something bigger.
Some folks called him "Big Bill." Based on the size of his heart, I would say they had that about right.
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'MOONSHINE & MOJO HANDS' series interviews then-mayor Bill Luckett in Episode 8 at around 10:40, moonshineandmojohands.com/episodes.html.
INITIAL NEWS REPORTS OF BILL'S PASSING:
1. wjtv.com/news/state-news/reports-former-clarksdale-mayor-bill-luckett-has-died.
2. wlox.com/2021/10/29/bill-luckett-former-mississippi-mayor-co-owner-ground-zero-blues-club-dies.
M&MHs PHOTO by Lou Bopp.
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GoFundMe campaign aims to take Clarksdale's historic RIVERSIDE HOTEL into the future, y'all...
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Smithsonian magazine covers the oldest surviving juke joint in Mississippi and blues playing owner...
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Our buddy Charlie Musselwhite forwarded this one to me...
On a pale morning in Bentonia, Mississippi, a village of 400-odd souls, one of the few signs of life are the half-dozen pickup trucks parked or idling outside Planters Supply, the local feed and seed. The Blue Front Cafe sits at one end of the street, next to the rusted husk of a former cotton gin and across the railroad tracks from a string of long-shuttered storefronts and sagging rooflines...
Read on at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/bentonia-mississippi-blues-jimmy-holmes-180978356/
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"BOOKER FEST" returns to 100 MEN HALL in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi!
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Update from the Black Prairie Blues Museum in West Point, Mississipppi...
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From our friend Bob Brzuszek: Director Deborah Mansfield has been keeping us hopping at the Black Prairie Blues Museum and attached are the latest board meeting minutes and happenings. BPBM Advisory board member Birney Imes will be having an exhibit of his award winning juke joint blues photographs (his works have been exhibited in museums across the nation including MOMA, the Met, Getty Center, etc.) at the Blues Museum at the end of this month through September. In addition to Birney signing copies of his book “Juke Joint”, the amazing blues guitarist and singer Terry Harmonica Bean will be performing, as well as the stellar food and drinks by Magnolias Restaurant and The Smokestack. We hope that you can join us for the opening Sunday August 22 from 4 pm to 7 pm...
More info at http://blackprairiebluesmuseum.com/.
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Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola's Solo/Duo Blues Challenge tomorrow (Sunday)!
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Attend if you can... Solos/Duos - Sunday, October 31, 2021 | Artists arrive at 2 PM | Show starts at 3 PM. Blue Biscuit | 501 Second Street, Indianola, MS... more info at https://indianolabluessociety.org.
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That's all for this month's CAT HEAD UPDATE, y'all. Be nice, stay well, and come see us when you can!
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A little rushed to get this out, so if I missed any stories or events, I certainly apologize. Thanks for your support, Roger
PS - Please check out our WEB STORE at www.cathead.biz.
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