Going down to the Crossroads

Exploring the Delta Blues Trail with two Mississippians-turned-Minnesotans.

By Jerry Holt , Star Tribune
February 02, 2023 - 8:53 AM

Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, 75 (standing at right) owner of the Blue Front Cafe, talked with his brother Carey Holmes, 82, in front of the cafe in Bentonia, Miss. The cafe is on the Mississippi Blues Trail and is considered the oldest active surviving juke joints in Mississippi.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Jimmy "Duck" Holmes owner of the Blue Front Cafe gave a small concert for group of German blues tourists in Bentonia, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Jimmy "Duck" Holmes owner of the Blue Front Cafe gave a small concert for group of German blues tourists in Bentonia, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

An old photo of owner Jimmy "Duck" Homes hangs on the wall of the Blue Front Cafe in Bentonia, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

German blues tourists outside the Blue Front Cafe in Bentonia, Miss. The cafe is on the Mississippi Blues Trail and is considered the oldest active surviving juke joints in Mississippi.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

The village of shotgun style rooms at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

The village of shotgun style rooms at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

The village of shotgun style rooms at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

The old cotton gin at the Dockery Plantation. The 25,600-acre cotton plantation and sawmill located in Dockery, Miss. is regarded as the place where the Delta Blues was born. Blues musician-residents at the Dockery have included Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, and Howling Wolf.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

The village of shotgun style rooms at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Portrait of Akeem Kemp of the Akeem Kemp Band in the cotton field outside the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Two tourists walked past a mural of Muddy Waters painted on the windows of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

A black granite marker engraved with B.B. King's signature is the centerpiece of a memorial courtyard outside the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Miss. B.B. King died May 14, 2015 when he was 89.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

A grave marker for Robert Johnson at the Little Zion Church in Greenwood, Miss. where most sources indicate he is buried. Robert Johnson is recognized as a master of the blues, particularly the Delta blues style. He died in 1938.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Street scene in Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Locals enjoyed street music in Helena, Ark. at the 2022 King Biscuit Festival.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Leon Atkins, better known as "Little Jimmy Reed," 84, is considered one of original Louisiana bluesmen. Reed played in Helena, Ark. at the 2022 King Biscuit Festival.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Mavis Staples, 83, and her band played the main stage in Helena, Ark. at the 2022 King Biscuit Festival.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Leon Atkins, better known as "Little Jimmy Reed," 84, is considered one of original Louisiana bluesmen. Reed played in Helena, Ark. at the 2022 King Biscuit Festival.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Calving Brown, lead singer of Jake and the Pearl Street Jumpers, posed for a portrait at the historic Dockery Plantation. The 25,600-acre cotton plantation and sawmill located in Dockery, Mississippi is regarded as the place where the Delta Blues was born. The band has been playing blues in Cleveland, MS for 45 years.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

The Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Miss. One of the club owners is Morgan Freeman.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

James "Super Chikan" Johnson, the nephew of Big Jack Johnson, played at Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, 23, a native of Clarksdale who won a Grammy award for best contemporary blues album, shook hands with fans at the annual Pinetop Perkins Homecoming.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Open mic night at a packed house at Red's Lounge, an authentic juke joint in the Arts & Culture District of downtown Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Akeem Kemp played for a packed house at Red's Lounge, an authentic juke joint in the Arts & Culture District of downtown Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Bluesman Lucious Spiller, plays for a packed house at Red's Lounge, an authentic juke joint in the Arts & Culture District of downtown Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

A packed house at Red's Lounge, an authentic juke joint in the Arts & Culture District of downtown Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Terry "Big T" Williams played for a packed house at Red's Lounge, an authentic juke joint in the Arts & Culture District of downtown Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

Blues guitar and harmonica player Watermelon Slim, (William P. Homans III), played for a packed house at Red's Lounge, an authentic juke joint in the Arts & Culture District of downtown Clarksdale, Miss.

Jerry Holt, Star Tribune

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