Clarksdale

The Mississippi Delta birthplace of the blues: the crossroads where Robert Johnson supposedly sold his soul, juke joints, and hotels in old sharecropper shacks.

Clarksdale sits on the Delta plain of northwestern Mississippi. The seat of Coahoma County, it has about 14,000 residents and lies roughly 120 km from Memphis, Tennessee. It is considered the heart of the Delta blues: Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Ike Turner, Sam Cooke and others all have ties to the town, and 'the Crossroads' where Highways 61 and 49 meet is the symbol of the legend of Robert Johnson selling his soul. There are no big-ticket attractions today; the appeal lies in juke joints that are still open, live music in the old downtown almost every night, the Delta Blues Museum, and characterful lodgings converted from sharecropper shacks.

The climate is humid subtropical, and spring (Mar–May) and fall (Sep–Nov) are the best times to visit. The Juke Joint Festival in mid-April, the Sunflower River Blues Festival in August and the King Biscuit Blues Festival in October across the river in Helena are the highlights of the year—book accommodation months ahead. Summers are hot, humid and buggy; winters bring the occasional cold snap.

A visit splits into two parts. The walkable old downtown (the museum, the Crossroads, Ground Zero Blues Club, Red's Lounge, the Riverside Hotel) takes a day. Beyond that, drive the Mississippi Blues Trail: south to Dockery Farms, the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi in Cleveland, the B.B. King Museum in Indianola and Robert Johnson's grave near Greenwood, or north via Tunica back to Memphis. The town has no public transportation, so a car is essentially a must; the nearest major airport is Memphis International (about 1.5 hours' drive), and Amtrak does not stop here. Plan on 2–3 nights, keeping at least one Thursday-to-Saturday night for the juke joints. Note that some blocks are quiet after dark, so go to night shows in a group and drive or take a ride-share there and back; most bars take cash only.

Top sights

• Delta Blues Museum – Mississippi's earliest music museum, housed in an old freight depot. Its highlight is the cabin where Muddy Waters lived as a child.
• The Crossroads – Where Highways 61 and 49 meet, three blue guitar signs mark the spot. Legend says Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil here in exchang…
• Ground Zero Blues Club – A juke joint co-founded by actor Morgan Freeman, serving Southern food and live blues in a graffiti-covered old cotton warehouse.
• Red's Lounge – Clarksdale's most authentic juke joint, with red lights, a grill and owner Red Paden presiding. Veteran local musicians often perform here.
• Shack Up Inn – A distinctive inn converted from the former sharecropper shacks and cotton gin of Hopson Plantation. Tin roofs, vintage furniture and instr…
• Riverside Hotel – Formerly a hospital for Black patients, where blues queen Bessie Smith died after a car crash in 1937. It later became a hotel that hosted…
• Downtown Clarksdale – The old town centered on Delta Avenue and Blues Alley, with red-brick storefronts, blues murals, record shops and small bars clustered toge…
• Dockery Farms – The old plantation known as the 'birthplace of the blues,' where Charley Patton grew up. Its red cotton gin, warehouse and gas station are…
• B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center – Located in Indianola, hometown of the 'King of the Blues,' this museum tells B.B. King's life story through interactive exhibits. Its groun…
• Robert Johnson Gravesite (Little Zion Church) – A graveyard behind Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church on the outskirts of Greenwood, widely believed to be the true resting place of the…
• GRAMMY Museum Mississippi – The only satellite of the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, located beside Delta State University. Its interactive galleries show how Mississip…
• Delta Cultural Center – A cultural center across the Mississippi River in Helena, Arkansas, and the broadcast home of the legendary radio show King Biscuit Time.
• Gateway to the Blues Museum – A small blues-themed museum and visitor center at the northern end of Highway 61, and the first stop for those heading south from Memphis i…

Where to eat

• Abe's Bar-B-Q – Long-standing barbecue joint at the legendary Highways 61 and 49 crossroads in Clarksdale, one of Mississippi's oldest…
• Yazoo Pass Café – Coffee bar and gastropub in a converted old store downtown, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, ranked No. 1 in Clark…
• Hooker Grocer and Eatery – Southern comfort food restaurant and bar in the blues district, with a courtyard and live music, near Ground Zero Blues…

Itineraries

• Deep South Music Road Tour – Drive from Nashville along Highway 61 through the Delta, passing Natchez to New Orleans.