Saturday April 13, 2019
Looking out the window, I could see the rain had already begun. It wasn’t too bad though. The heavy stuff was due a little later. Just how heavy, time would tell. The radar graphics certainly looked ominous.
I made it to downtown Clarksdale by late morning and stopped into a local coffee shop to get out of the rain and use their wifi. My room at the hotel was on the far end of the building and the wifi was a joke. Yeah, I know, first world problems.
It looked like all the outdoor music was cancelled unless under an overhang. Everything else was on. I felt bad for the vendors and musicians who had been scheduled. But, considering what was about to hit, it was understandable.
After poking my head into a few places, I wound up in the Crossroads Community Arts Center. There’s a nice stage and plenty of seating. It was also warm and dry. What brought me in was the music. The guitar was a familiar delta blues feel. The vocals were something else. The Senegalese guitar player/vocalist goes by the stage name Afrissippi. And yes, he brings a definite African flavor to the music. I grabbed a couch and settled it.
I was so taken by his music, I bought one of his CDs, which he signed for me.
The plan was to meet up with Tracy and Jennifer somewhere along the way. I texted Tracy and let her know where I was. The rain was starting to pick up when they arrived. When it became a downpour, we decided to just hole up and stay put. No worries, there was plenty of good music to go.
Next up was Rick Patton. He sets up a camera in front of the stage and live streams his shows. He found it all humorous, but loved that people were tuning in from around the world. This was exactly the kind of music I came to Clarksdale for.
Then Rip Lee Pryor went on. He describes his music as “50's Chicago.” It’s a little slower than the previous musicians and full of soul. His father was a blues man in Chicago and Lee was captivated. Yeah, I bought one of his CDs’, too.
The next band we had seen the night before. So, we decided to go check out a place called Hobson’s Cantina. It’s an interesting place with a slightly quirky vibe.
The rain had all but passed, so off we went. The first band, excellent, though I never got their name.
Big George Brock came on at 9P and had quite a few guests floating in and out. The place started getting crowded and loud from conversations. The cigarette smoke didn’t help. I made it until about 11P before I had to call it a day.
Coming Up:
So much for that low stress level
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