Highlights

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Itinerary

Day 1 – Clarksdale, MS

Arrive today in Clarksdale, MS, home of the Blues and many Blues music legends including Muddy Waters and Sam Cooke.

Check into your Clarksdale hotel for the night.  Enjoy dinner tonight at a local restaurant. (B,D)

Day 2 – Clarksdale, MS – Delta Blues Museum – Lunch at Ground Zero – Cleveland, MS – Grammy Museum w/program – Local Entertainment

The morning is spent in Clarksdale, MS, located at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49 (“the crossroads.”) Clarksdale and the surrounding Delta region are known as “the land where the blues began.” Here you visit the Delta Blues Museum, an internationally acclaimed museum that showcases the history and significance of the Blues in this region. The museum features a wax figure of Blues great, Muddy Waters and the famous Muddywood Guitar.

Many now-legendary musical artists were born and raised in and around Clarksdale: Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Son House, Ike Turner, Jackie Brenston, Sam Cooke, Junior Parker and W. C. Handy. The likes of Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf and Charley Patton are also associated with the museum.

Next, enjoy a Southern Barbecue lunch and live music at Ground Zero, a restaurant/juke joint that is co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman. Clarksdale, Mississippi has long been described as “Ground Zero” for blues aficionados from around the globe. It all started here. That’s why Ground Zero Blues Club was created — to celebrate the area’s rich blues heritage and to provide a forum in which it can continue.

Head this afternoon to Cleveland, MS for a visit to the GRAMMY Museum. Per capita, Mississippi is the birthplace of more Grammy winners than anywhere else in the world! Learn about the music industry, see outfits and instruments of many of your favorite musicians while learning more about the star-making quality of the music industry and the important contributions Mississippi has made to America’s music.

An Educational Programs will be included with your visit today.  Plus, with interactive exhibits you can write and produce your own work! You can even come up with dance moves for it, too!

Check into your Cleveland hotel for the night.  Tonight, enjoy dinner at a local restaurant plus local entertainment as available. (B,L,D)

Day 3 – B.B. King Museum – Vicksburg, MS – Mississippi Blues Trail – Catfish Row Museum & Cooking Demonstration – Natchez, MS – Biscuits & Blues Dinner

This morning, visit the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, MS. Your tour begins in the theater and leads you on a journey through the Mississippi Delta and into the life of B.B. King. The Center features the very latest in high-definition projection and audio technology.  You are immersed in the sights and sounds of the Delta and then introduced to the remarkable legacy of a man known as the King of the Blues.

This afternoon, stop in Vicksburg, MS part of the Mississippi Blues Trail. Vicksburg has six Blues Trail markers: The Blue Room, Highway 61 South, Marcus Bottom, The Red Tops, Willie Dixon, and William Ferris. The life and music of Vicksburg’s best-known bluesman, Willie Dixon, is also celebrated in one of the 32 depictions of Vicksburg’s history found on the Vicksburg Riverfront Murals along Levee Street.

While in Vicksburg, enjoy a tour of the Catfish Row Museum and a cooking demonstration.  The Catfish Row Museum provides a cultural heritage experience showcasing the unique and diverse aspects of Vicksburg — from its music, history and storytelling to its vibrant food heritage, worship and the visual arts. Included today is a cooking demonstration with a local chef where you will learn about the culinary traditions of the region and enjoy a nice lunch. (Demonstration kitchen can accommodate up to 40 people).

Travel today ends in Natchez, MS.  Natchez is also part of the Blues Trail with markers located through town honoring local blues legends and significant events in music history.

Check into your Natchez hotel for the night.  Tonight, enjoy dinner at Biscuits & Blues which is dedicated to the preservation of Hot Biscuits & Cool Blues! (B,L,D)

Day 4 – Frogmore Plantation’s Delta Music Tour – Depart for Home

After breakfast, head to nearby Ferriday, MS for Frogmore Plantation’s Delta Music Tour. Featuring rhythm and song with one or two vocalists who blend African cultural songs with hymns learned in America, guests listen to the mistress to learn history like never before, as she intertwines narration with the songs. You will be seated in a rare 1800’s plantation church with original handmade pews. Discover the musical history learning the “double voicing” lyrics used on plantations for communication.  Group members may even get to participate.

Depart for home following the tour. (B)

Tour Map