"Clarksdale # 8 on the Clarion Ledger's MS Bucket List
Katie Eubanks, Mississippi Clarion Ledger
Published 5:00 a.m. CT July 12, 2018 | Updated 9:51
a.m. CT July 12, 2018
Before the opening of Ground Zero Blues Club in 2001, Clarksdale was fortunate to have live music one or two nights a week. Now there's live music every night, including Wednesday through Saturday at Ground Zero. (Photo: Visit Mississippi/Special to Clarion Ledger)
Yup, this whole town made the list too. If you're at all into the blues, Clarksdale should be first on your Mississippi bucket list. It's got 11 Mississippi Blues Trail markers, multiple live music venues, two blues museums, tasty restaurants (try Stone Pony Pizza or Bluesberry Cafe) and Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art, where owner Roger Stolle can tell you what's going on that weekend. Also, playwright Tennessee Williams grew up in Clarksdale, and you can tour the neighborhood that inspired some of his plots and characters.
When: A great time to visit Clarksdale is during the annual Juke Joint Festival in April. But if you don't like crowds, just go anytime (but call Cat Head first to see who's playing at Red's and Ground Zero).
More info: visitclarksdale.com
PS: Blues enthusiasts should also visit the Blue Front Cafe, a Bentonia spot that's the oldest surviving juke in Mississippi, and the city of Cleveland, home of Grammy Museum Mississippi and possible birthplace of the blues, if we could pinpoint such a thing.
Read more: Clarksdale's blues and where the town stands now
Contact Katie Eubanks at 601-961-7050 orkeubanks@gannett.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.