In Memphis, the Hunt-Phelan estate on the city's legendary Beale Street was recently a creaky 172-year-old mansion locked behind barbed wire.
The commercial neon-lit clubs on the two blocks of Beale Street that are still occupied are lively and usually packed at weekends.
ECONOMIST: Letter from the Mississippi Delta: The rebirth of the blues | The
Beale Street is packed with bars, restaurants, shops and most of all live music venues, with the sounds spilling into the street nightly.
On the day the river crested, it was near 90 degrees and sunny, the motorcycle riders and music fans partied on Beale Street, and the show went on.
FORBES: When the Levee Doesn't Break -- What's Wrong With the Media's Weather Coverage
Even so, Beale Street offers a somewhat Disneyfied blues experience.
ECONOMIST: The music of poor blacks enriches America��s deep south
Hayes taught himself to play the piano, and after cutting his teeth on the Beale Street club scene, he worked his way into a gig as a house musician at Stax.
Handy park in the middle of Beale Street often hosts live outdoor concerts, and the charming minor league stadium for the Tennessee Redbirds is a two minute walk away and a great way to spend an afternoon.
King's, which is part-owned by the renowned black bluesman. (Poor blacks frequent the authentic but obscure underground clubs that dot sections of the city where most white tourists fear to tread.) What Beale Street lacks today is spontaneity.
ECONOMIST: Letter from the Mississippi Delta: The rebirth of the blues | The
Last year, fewer tourists than usual went to Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee, one of the birthplaces of the blues, and this was widely blamed on the fact that nearby Tunica is awash in cheap liquor and discounted motel rooms.
Have dinner downstairs at Grill 83 and feast on dishes like shrimp and lump crab spring rolls and salmon marinated in a red curry, before debuting your own shocking dance moves at one of the many spots on Beale Street.
应用推荐