Shared Experiences USA

05/14/2024

Can't wait for this weekend's Women in Blues -- bring your picnic blanket and come join us! This year's festival is on the grass behind Levon's, which opens at noon Saturday and will serve Southern food and drinks out the window all day long. You can and support live music with cocktails and mocktails featuring the award-winning, locally crafted spirits from Cathead Distillery and Delta Dirt Distillery. A full tasting is included with tix to Friday's VIP party, on sale at www.WomenInBlues.org help make Saturday's festival free to everyone!

We so appreciate the kindness of sponsors like Levon's. It's co-owned by Jonathan and awesome Woman In Business Naomi King... Who called out of the blue during our first festival to say they were making food for all the musicians, and where did we want it delivered?

That's the kind of community that people fall in love with when they Visit Clarksdale. And the kind of neighbors and businesses we're proud to support too!

As Jonathan and Naomi say, "Kindness Is King." You'll see so much of that, both onstage and behind the scenes this weekend.

The fabulous Charlotte Taylor is returning from Arkansas to play at Levon's for Friday night dinner after the VIP party, starting at 7pm. So make reservations now to join us downtown for great music, great food+drink, and a great time with the greatest of people. 💙

03/31/2024

Happy Easter! Here's a fun hop through downtown Clarksdale. We took our peeps on a stroll 4yrs ago and again today: happy to report Abes BBQ is now celebrating its 100th year, the The Riverside Hotel is fundraising and starting major preservation efforts, and Red's will reopen during Juke Joint this year. Musicians and venues did make it through the last few years thanks in part to their new Venmos and you! And we've got more sweet treats around the corner... Here's to renewal. Hope y'all have a great day and Spring ahead. 🐣

A sweet tour of Clarksdale, Mississippi for friends near and far -- with love from our Peeps to yours.

03/19/2024

Hooray for the farm workers who feed us -- and the future of American farming. "Precision ag" tech in these automated, GPS-guided tractors now helps farmers produce more, better crops. Cool robots like this are teaching future-farmers as young as 5yrs old in Mississippi State University Extension Service programs... AND they're still running the classic 4-H some of us remember from Back When!

Doesn't it feel "back to the future" to see kids learn about cooking with plants, canning fruit+veggies, and raising backyard chickens?

Love our local librarians for hosting and inspiring the next generation! THANKS to our farm community for coming downtown for the day -- and working hard to feed us, all year 'round. 💚

03/13/2024

Come celebrate Delta farming at our first downtown, this Friday 3-6p! Kids and grown-ups of all ages can learn about everything from 4-H to the latest "ag-tech" you see in fields across the Delta. Hear about what local ag-businesses do and how you can start a career here; meet farmers like the Young family (they even make wine in Clarksdale); and see how Julie and Clarksdale Cooks make plants delicious. Play games, read books books books!, and wear green to win prizes. ☘️💚🚜 It's rain or shine -- the library is open in all weather... and we hear farmers get especially bored when it rains. 😉

We'll be there with Mississippi State University Extension Service, librarians and farmers who can't wait to meet you. The Carnegie Public Library is at the corner of 1st & Delta, downtown Clarksdale.

03/11/2024

Proud to be a Delta advocate! See the story on the Delta Business Journal website, and stay tuned for more here soon -- including and Women In Blues... Thanks to Lyndsi Naron and all our local journalists shining light on good work in the Delta. Here's to more ahead. 🙌

02/09/2024

Question for our community: if you could get any services free, what would help? Financial, legal, medical, business...? THIS "Super Saturday" 2/10 is hosted by Clarksdale's Southern Bancorp. They're bringing local lawyers, doctors, and more offering free: tax prep; financial & business support; funeral & estate planning; legal record sealing (expungement); voter registration; health screenings like eye exams, blood pressure, diabetes prevention; higher learning prep...and more!

What else would help? Community support like is why we're proud Southern customers. And working to offer more things like this soon...

Even if you don't have ALL your life together yet (who does?!), come meet all these folks spending a Saturday to help us get there!

Saturday, Feb 10th, 9am-2pm
Expo Center, 1150 Wildcat Drive, Clarksdale

01/27/2024

Cheers to another fantastic Clarksdale Film & Music Festival and everyone who's made it such a success! We're about to screen Charlie Musselwhite's SFJAZZ performance (and celebrate his birthday!) then Jimbo Mathus' premiere of Postcards for Rosetta... SO STOKED.

11/01/2023

Loved the wizards and queens and superheroes of all sizes, growing up to save our world together! Tim and LUCIOUS SPILLER played at our HQ and might've enjoyed as much sugar as the kiddos did. 😂 A couple dozen local businesses passed out candy to make the night sweeter, for what our candy-count estimates was a few hundred kids downtown. Here's just a snapshot... Thanks to everyone who brought magic to the streets and joy to our hearts.

08/15/2023

Next Stop: Mississippi! We had a blast sharing Clarksdale with co-hosts Kamel & Germaine. They're as great in person as they sound on the radio. Tune in at 10am Fridays to travel the state with them live, and catch the latest episode on rewind now. It's our founder Colleen, Bubba from Visit Clarksdale, Maie from the Sunflower Blues Fest, Casey & Tameal from Ground Zero, and a whole lotta fun. 😍

05/18/2023

Our 2nd Women in Blues Festival kicks off TODAY! Come sample the bourbon, gin & 4 fabulous vodkas all by Cathead Distillery at the Governor's Mansion VIP kickoff party, 5-7p today. (For you blues travelers GPS'ing, that's 41 John Street, down the street from Clark House Inn on the corner of Clark Street.)

Heather Crosse then leads Women's Jam Night at Ground Zero Blues Club from 8p until... alllll night long.

You can buy tix, donate to support the festival, and find our full weekend lineup at www.WomenInBlues.org It'll be on the corner of 1st & Delta and FREE all Saturday thanks to our fabulous sponsors and YOU.

They ain't kidding when they say Cathead supports live music. Won't you? 😍

04/24/2023

Quiet on the set! Ok, not really: Charlie Patton plays as Jimbo Mathus now films his marionette masterpiece. YOU'RE welcome to watch -- or lend a hand! He's shooting at our HQ 10am-6pm this Mon+Tue. Visit Clarksdale and drop by for coffee, lunch, happy hour... and witness (or become part of) magic in the making.

Between takes, we+Jimbo love welcoming friends from down the street and all over the world. He shared Delta Italian roots with Aristide_Garofalo music, and almost hitched a ride back to Brasil with Taisa Palmeira and Mississippi Delta Blues Festival guru Toyo Bagoso.

We're at 1st & Delta, across from the library in what locals know as the former Atmos building: 121 Delta Ave. See you back on set soon! 🎬

04/22/2023

For y'all who wanted to hear snippets of our conversation with John Mohead & Jimbo Mathus about their shared 'mighty Delta roots': turn sound ON to hear about Frank Frost & Jack Johnson's steel guitar rag wafting across Moon Lake from Conway Twitty's... And the time Alan Ginsburg stopped by Wade Walton's for a shave and a haircut.

You can catch Mohead Music "across the ditch" at Helena's Delta Roots Music Festival this Saturday, and come Visit Clarksdale to help Jimbo Mathus film his marionette masterpiece about Rosetta & Charlie Patton at our 121 Delta Ave. HQ all weekend.

04/17/2023

THANKS to everyone who rocked Juke Joint! Missed it? Come Visit Clarksdale for fabulous Women in Blues May 18-20th -- or join Jimbo Mathus filming his marionette masterpiece THIS Thu-Sun. Filming is open to the public, and we'll kick off with a very special happy hour, Thursday 4/20 5-7p at our HQ.

Roger+Bubba had the vision to found Juke Joint 20 years ago, and still keep it going strong with Nan and a gazillion hard-working volunteers. It's now the biggest of a dozen festivals in this town where you can experience live blues ALL 365 nights a year.

It takes a whole village to make this magic happen -- bigtime at Juke Joint, and in small ways all year long. Big hugs and thanks to y'all for building+experiencing+lovin' on ours.

04/03/2023

What a great Young Family Farms tour with Community Engagement at the University of Mississippi! Ole Miss student leaders loved building planters with Mississippi Conservation, riding horseback, and touring the farm thanks to the Partnership for a Healthier America team. And we loved seeing great leaders from other orgs like Griot Arts Inc., Diaper Bank of the Delta & Enlightened to Heighten having fun and building community together.

Ernestine, Dorfus Sr., Dorfus Jr. & fam are readying this year's crop... and ready to sell more delicious wines soon. Stay tuned for where+when you can buy them and tour the farm yourself! 😉

04/01/2023

Join our journey: Visit Helena, Arkansas with Jimbo Mathus today! At 3pm we'll host a FREE conversation+performance: Jimbo will share memories of CeDell Davis and his own Delta roots, demonstrate marionettes in action, and play an intimate acoustic set. Then we kick off Delta Dirt Distillery's anniversary party across the street! It's a perfect Delta weekend:

🎸3pm Jimbo Mathus' Stories & Songs: in Kelly Courtyard, across the street from Delta Dirt
🍸4-8pm Delta Dirt anniversary with Charlotte Taylor, Billy Jones & Quicksand

☀️ STAY at the beautiful Edwardian Inn or beautiful redone Storm Creek campground up the road -- there's ONE cabin and a couple tent and RV hookups left tonight*!
☀️ EXPLORE history at Museum Phillips County (10a-4p) and culture at Delta Cultural Center (9a-5p)
☀️ ENJOY THE VIEW from the River Walk or top of historic Battery C
☀️ HIKE, BIKE & GET OUTDOORS on the Mississippi River and awesome new trails around Helena: www.helenaadventurecompany.com

🎸 Then Visit Clarksdale with us afterward for live music in SIX different spots tonight & Sunday blues brunch tomorrow, and...

🎨 See (+help!) Jimbo at work in his Open Studio back at our HQ, 121 Delta Ave, Sunday noon-3p.

Both Jimbo and the whole Delta Dirt family have been doing incredible work to honor their own Delta roots, and help our downtowns blossom. It's a beautiful weekend to see the revitalization in action -- and raise a glass to celebrate it! ❤️

* If you haven't seen the new Storm Creek cabins, they're gorgeous -- and affordable thanks to The State Parks of Arkansas. Peek below, and call to book just 1 night: 870.295.4040
* And the Edwardian is offering 15% off two nights if you mention Jimbo when you call: 870.338.9155 (home-cooked breakfast included!)

03/30/2023

Explore the Delta with Jimbo Mathus this weekend: Thu. 7p in Cleveland, Fri. 1-6p in Clarksdale, and Sat. 3p in Helena! He's in residence writing+shooting a film about Charlie Patton and his daughter -- with marionettes. Meet Jimbo and peek behind the scenes on:
🚗 THU 7p Visit Cleveland Mississippi for a "Words & Music" program with Jimbo & Delta Music Institute alum Schaeffer Llana at the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, then...
🚗 FRI 1-6p Visit Clarksdale to watch, learn & even help Jimbo build marionettes+sets at his Open Studio at our Clarksdale HQ (after which we'll barhop downtown), 121 Delta Ave.
🚗 SAT 3p Visit Helena, Arkansas to hear stories of CeDell Davis & Jimbo's own Delta roots. The program is FREE at Kelly Courtyard. Then we'll raise a glass across historic Cherry Street for Delta Dirt Distillery's anniversary party 4-8p.
🚗 SUN noon-3p Return to Clarksdale for blues brunch & another opportunity to roll up your sleeves with Jimbo in his Open Studio. ALL ages welcome, free.

Grab your Grammy event tix now at https://www.grammymuseumms.org/events and...

Plan your trip to and Visit the Mississippi Delta (or explore your own backyard!). The full schedule through 4/23 & details are at www.sharedexperiencesusa.com/jimbo

03/28/2023

Can't wait to welcome National Book Awards honorees Deesha Philyaw & Jonathan Escoffery tomorrow! Wed. 3/29 11:15a they'll be at Coahoma Community College's Whiteside Hall speaking about "Stories of Belonging." Ralph Eubanks is moderating; he published "A Place Like Mississippi." Both honored books are short story collections (debuts for both authors!) we loved. "If I Survive You" is intertwined stories of a Jamaican immigrant family in Miami, and "The Secret Lives of Church Ladies" is-- perhaps the best, most Southern book title ever.

The event is free, with RSVPs appreciated:
https://www.nationalbook.org/events/nbf-presents-stories-of-belonging/

03/23/2023

The combined talents of Superchikan and The Roxbury Latin School just lit up our world! (Super-snazzy new guitars helped too.) Roxbury Latin is the oldest school in the country, founded in 1645 -- and these gentlemen have been exploring some of the deepest roots of American music, right here in the Delta. Kudos to the burgeoning superstars jamming along with Chikan, and thanks to Delta Heritage Tours for bringing them to Visit Clarksdale with us. 🤩

03/21/2023

"She thinks my tractor's se-" (sound on!)... and we think it's a modern miracle. Precision "ag-tech" helps family farms like this one feed our whole country. All these Mississippi Delta rice grains are going directly to your table: 80% of the rice we eat is grown on American farms. It wouldn't be possible to harvest this many acres so quickly and efficiently without innovations like this combine... and the year-round work of the farmers who run it.

Happy y'all -- here's to a great season ahead.

Music: Kenny Chesney live at Farm Aid
Video: Delta Shared Experiences
Farm: Dulaney family farm in Coahoma County, Mississippi

03/18/2023

Starting today: Jimbo Mathus is now in residence at our downtown Clarksdale HQ! Come for the open house and marionette demonstrations 3-5p, and free Live From Clarksdale show at 5p. Or Visit Clarksdale to join him in creating the Secret World of Charley Patton at open studios and Delta events for the next 6wks. Details: www.SharedExperiencesUSA.com/jimbo

03/10/2023

YES cheers to incredible women: this month, all year, and especially May 18-20th for our Women in Blues festival that passes them the mic and spotlights them center stage! Book your tix now to Visit Clarksdale and stay tuned for great news ahead... 😉

02/28/2023

"We're proud of our town, and all the people here..." The old jingle sounds familiar to WROX fans. It was more than a moment of Black history -- it was PRESENT at City Hall today! The most inspiring people were honored as Modern Day Champions.

We're so proud of Brenda Luckett, whose acceptance speech started by noting she's the daughter of Joe R. & Edna Poindexter Luckett, and ended with this song. Fitting: those are her grandkids KJ and Bubba applauding at the end -- just before we scampered down to the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi to watch their momma Edna Nicole Luckett singing at The Black Legacy Project. What legacy!

See Edna Nicole with Keith Johnson, Trisha Walker, Alice Hasen Music & the very cool Project onstage at the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center 7p Tuesday or Coahoma Community College 7p Wednesday.

And when you see them in town, congratulate Brenda and Josephine Rhymes, Chandra Williams, Raquel Wells Williams, Lisa Dixon, Mary Frances Dear-Moton, Amanda Dear-Jones, Derrick Moore, Foluso Fakorede, Milton Williams, Milton Gardner, Christopher Coleman, Lorraine Cancer, J.J. Jackson Sr., Abe Hudson Jr. & Leonette Henderson for being honored today.

We all marveled at what an impressive group of people were in that one room, each doing incredible work. Many of them having traveled the world -- and ALL of them choosing to come home to Clarksdale, Mississippi.

We sure are proud of our town, and all the people here. 🖤

01/29/2023

We've loved hosting the Clarksdale Film & Music Festival here! If you missed the films, not too late to catch the music: Libby Rae Watson, Lady Australia Honeybee Jones, and Sean Bad Apple play starting at 1pm. We're firing up coffee at 11am for everyone who wants to start scheming+dreaming about what's next here: our 2nd annual! Women in Blues festival, May 20th -- save the date. 😉

THANKS to everyone who's come to see and support the Film Fest, and congrats to all the filmmakers, Roger & Nan, and sponsors including the Mississippi Film Office -- it's been an amazing weekend so far.

01/22/2023

Gong hei fat choy: wishing everyone a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year! It's a great time to appreciate family, food, and our rich history -- including this incredible, 100yo image from Marks, Mississippi. Gilroy and Sally Chow kindly shared it with us; that's Sally's grandmother on the far-right!

Gilroy writes, "This is a photo of Jones Sam Pang with his family in his grocery store on Main Street, Marks, Mississippi in 1922. He had settled there at the turn of the century and established himself in the community. Jone Sam was considered a founding father for Marks after immigrating from a village in Guangdong, China. He returned to his native China where he married Pang Shee and started his family with first daughter, King. He returned to Marks to continue to grow his business and his family.

This picture shows him in the center with children Andy, LK (Pap), LY (Ngee), Jone Sam, Walter, Pang Shee, Billy, (in lap) King, Shaw, and Gene. Not born were his last two, Doris and Tim. All except King were born in Marks, Mississippi.

The banners hanging in the store celebrate the occasion of new baby Billy and were cut and hand sewn by Jone Sam. The items in the picture were typical of stores of that day and included Wi******er ammunition, mule collars, beside clothing and the many food items for their customers."


Learn more at the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum when you Visit Cleveland Mississippi and the Delta State University Archives & Museum... Or come see this image (and sometimes Gilroy and Sally themselves!) when you Visit Clarksdale for this weekend's Film Fest at our new HQ.

THANKS to Sally, Gilroy, and their fam for sharing this snapshot of family and Delta history. ♥️

01/13/2023

Delta blues livin' storytime! This chapter is entitled, "It Takes a Village... to Return Ghalia Volt's Sunglasses." 😂 She called from somewhere along the Blues Highway to say she'd left them on the table, and the kind folks at Meraki found them but were about to close- so could we please run a couple blocks down to grab them? We did. So these are now en route from a Women In Blues mtg/Band Caffeination Session at Meraki... to our HQ... to drummer Lee Williams' car... before returning safely to Ghalia's hands at their gig tonight in Memphis, en route to Chicago. So, Blues Travelers: pop quiz! Herein lies a vignette of:
A) Small town livin
B)
C) The special relationship between woman and her sunglasses
D) How you help a sister out
E) All of the above?

3 guesses...😉

Seriously: we tease- but with so much love. Ghalia and the band rocked Live From Clarksdale last night.

Go see them at B-SIDE Memphis tonight, Mojo's Boneyard in Indiana Sat 1/14, and opening for Buddy Guy at Buddy Guy's Legends 1/15. And tell her those glasses are lookin good. 😎