The Mississippi Blues Trail marker commemorating the Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival is on the grounds of the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi. There is another Mississippi Blues Trail marker nearby commemorating the Delta Blues Museum.
This marker reads:
“SUNFLOWER RIVER BLUES & GOSPEL FESTIVAL – The Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival, a preeminent showcase for homegrown Mississippi talent, began in 1988 as a promotion to draw area shoppers to downtown Clarksdale. The festival’s dedication to presenting authentic blues soon made it a renowned attraction for blues enthusiasts from around the world, as local favorites began sharing the stage with an international cast of great stars.”
The Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival is held on the Delta Blues Museum stage every August.
The Mississippi Blues Trail marker outside the Delta Blues Museum reads:
“DELTA BLUES MUSEUM – The Delta Blues Museum, the world’s first museum devoted to the blues, was founded on January 31, 1979, by Sid Graves, director of Clarksdale’s Carnegie Public Library. originally housed in a room of the Myrtle Hall Elementary School, the museum moved to the library in 1981, and to this location, a former rail depot, in 1999. Exhibits here have paid long overdue tribute to the history of the blues, while the museum’s education program has trained many young musicians to carry the blues into the future.”
Across the street from the Delta Blues Museum is the Ground Zero Blues Club, which is co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman.
