Blues is My Business (And Business is Good?)

This work focuses on the social, political, and economic trends that govern the blues music scene in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Clarksdale is seen as a sort of “ground zero” in the blues world, it is often referred to as, “the land where blues began.” This claim is not without merit but it is not strictly historically accurate. Many of the town’s spokespeople use euphemisms that distort the troubled history of race relations in the town and its music spaces. This investigation centers around the economic state of the town’s tourism industry, the individuals who act as the town’s promoters, and the general trends observed in the blues audience