Delta Blues Museum – Clarksdale, Mississippi

Delta Blues Museum – Clarksdale, Mississippi

The museum is there to preserve, interpret and encourage a deep interest in the story of the blues.  Established in 1979 the Delta Blues Museum is the states oldest music museum.

Clarksdale is the Delta regions "the land where the blues began."  Nestled at the intersection of Highways 61 and 49 you will be right in the heart of blues country.

The museum is located in the historic Clarksdale freight depot, built in 1918 for the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad.  The former freight area of about 5,000 sq ft of ground floor space is devoted to permanent and traveling exhibits.  The museum was established in 1979 is is the state’s oldest music museum.  The building is a Mississippi Landmark Property.

The remains of the cabin from Stovall
Farms where Muddy Waters lived during his days as a sharecropper and tractor driver are displayed in the gallery.

Muddy Waters Guitar
Made from a plank of wood from Muddy Waters’ Cabin and used on tour by ZZ Top is on display at the Delta Blues Museum.

The Delta Blues Museum Stage is adjacent to the museum classroom, which hosts a year around music education program as well as lectures and symposia.  The Delta Blues Museum Stage serves as the main venue for local festivals such as the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival in August and the Juke Joint Festival in April.

Many now legendary musical artists were born and raised in and around Clarksdale; Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Son House, Ike Turner, Jackie Brenston, Same Cooke, Junior Parker, and W.C. Handy are some of them.  Clarksdale was a major market for the Delta’s constantly traveling musicians and the likes of Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, and Charlie Patton..  All of the history of the blues is available for you to learn about in the Delta Blues Museum.

Admission: Adult $7, Child ages 6-12, $5 and under 6 Free

Location: #1 Blues Alley, Clarksdale, MS 38614

Phone: 662-627-6820

It is handicap accessible

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