Friday, November 11, 2011
Oktibbeha CountyBlues
Starkville, MS
2:00 PM
Starkville, Miss. — The Mississippi Blues Trail will unveil a marker Friday at the Oktibbeha County Heritage Museum in Starkville, Miss.
The marker will recognize Oktibbeha County, which produced several blues artists who achieved fame for their recordings and live performances in Chicago, California and other areas.
Blues Hall of Famer Big Joe Williams (1903-1982) was born close to Noxubee Swamp on the southern edge of the county. Others were Tony Hollins (1910-1959), who hailed from the Starkville-Osborn area, and Sturgis native Lou Thomas Watts (1934-1970), aka Kid Thomas.
Blues-related activities have included the Osborn Blues Festival in the 1980s, the long-running Down Home Blues Festival just north of the county line in West Point, and an event that honors a predecessor to blues Music, ragtime: the Ragtime Jazz Festival.