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Fate? Karma? Purgatory? Help me put a good spin on this.

My wife and I are heading out to Clarksdale, Mississippi for the Juke Joint Festival which is primarily a blues festival for local delta and hill country blues acts. It is a ton of fun.

We are staying with some old friends in a nearby town. They have graciously invited us to a music series hosted by local country music singer and songwriter Steve Azar. The event occurs every couple of months and features a meal by a prominent local chef (featured in Southern Living, Garden and Gun, etc) as well as cocktails and a casual performance and interview with other songwriters and musicians. It is a small group and the guests interact with the guest musicians. The tickets are fairly pricey and our friends have insisted on buying our tickets.

Other than their love of country music our musical tastes are similar to our friend's. They are going with us to the blues festival. They are also into Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, etc.

The guest musician/songwriter is named Anthony Smith. I'd never heard of him. Apparently he has written songs for some big names in the country music world as has the host, Steve Azar.

Now, I don't hate country music per se. But I have a hard time with contemporary pop country. Here is a video of Anthony Smith's:

https://youtu.be/sbNVTh2QA7k

It is going to be a long night. Fortunately the music will be acoustic. Just the guest with his guitar. I suspect the food will be great and there will be plenty of booze. And I guess it will be interesting to get some insight into the singer/songwriter world even if it is pop country.

I just think it is funny that the one type of music I can hardly stand is what is being featured. I'd prefer hip-hop or rap to pop country ;-)
n80
whart's avatar
whart
3,037 posts
 
Yep, we visited the Delta a few years ago. I had this image in my mind of sepia-tones, it was quite lush and beautiful. Obviously a lot of history there, some pretty scary. I did see the road to Parchman Farm but I doubt they wanted visitors.
We wound up staying the night in Greenwood, lodging and eating at that upscale place that is tied to the Viking Stove company. Did not really stay to explore -- we headed on to Arkansas, through to Dallas, en route to Austin on our move from NY.
We were a little like the Beverly Hillbillies; my wife’s car was packed to the gills. We did have fun though, even though it was a tiring trip from NY.
Be thankful there’s no polka revival movement there.
We just had the Honk Festival here- street bands, the odder the better. Same day as the Chihuahua Beauty pageant, so I was conflicted. :)
rmclain
18 posts
 
Mississippi is a lush and beautiful state for sure @whart - but troubled. You gotta do the backroads, the single blue-line highways on the map. Meet a local. There tends to be a high quotient of colorful people, “characters.” They’ll probably invite you over for dinner and may even offer a place to stay. Vicksburg National Military Park is really interesting.
thepigdog's avatar
thepigdog
257 posts
 
You can hope that as a solo he might perform some folky style cause that youtube song will make your ears bleed and your musical soul cringe. He sure "don't know what country is". 
n80 OP
2,116 posts
 
We like going to the delta. It is a different world for sure. Our favorite thing to do is to drive down highway 61 from Memphis to New Orleans stopping along the way to enjoy good food, listen to blues and visit friends. We do not have time to make that trip this year.

@mclain, agree with you about the Vicksburg National Military Park, especially the huge gunboat they pulled out of the river and reconstructed. Vicksburg is a neat little town altogether. A bit depressed like much of Mississippi but doing okay. There is a casual rooftop restaurant on one of the taller buildings there with great views of the river. The old court house up on the bluff is also really cool and has a real throwback of a museum in it.

@thepigdog : I've lived my entire life in the deep south and the comic book, Tobacco Road, Dukes of Hazard images that pop country loves are such worn out and stupid cliche's. The musical heritage here is among the richest on the planet. It is a shame what the pop industry has done to much of it.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,974 posts
 
Keep an open mind and you might be surprised. Talent is talent. 
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