Bands & Musicians in Mississippi

Mississippi is the birthplace of the blues: Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, and Muddy Waters came out of the Delta, and B.B. King carried the style worldwide. Tupelo produced Elvis Presley, Meridian gave country music its father in Jimmie Rodgers, and the Hill Country around Holly Springs spawned its own raw blues offshoot. Gospel and Jackson soul round out the legacy.

Clarksdale is the blues capital, where Ground Zero Blues Club hosts nightly sets and the Sunflower River Blues Festival honors the Delta tradition. Jackson's Hal and Mal's books roots and regional acts. Up north, Oxford's Square surrounds small clubs tied to Ole Miss, and Tupelo's Blue Canoe and Gulf Coast casino stages fill out the circuit.

B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, and Charley Patton define the Delta blues. Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Jimmie Rodgers in Meridian, Jimmy Buffett in Pascagoula, and Faith Hill raised near Jackson, a span few states can match.

Jackson's Fondren district holds the state's busiest run of bars and open mics, while Oxford and Hattiesburg offer college-town scenes anchored by Ole Miss and Southern Miss. Blues jams welcome newcomers in Clarksdale and the Delta. Casino stages on the Gulf Coast hire steadily; line up players statewide on BandMate.