Ground Zero Blues Club

Ground Zero is a blues club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, US that is co-owned by Morgan Freeman, Memphis entertainment executive Howard Stovall, and businessman Eric Meier. Attorney Bill Luckett was also co-owner until his death in 2021.[1] It got its name from Clarksdale being historically referred to as "Ground Zero" for the blues.[2] It opened in May 2001[2] and is located near the Delta Blues Museum. In the style of juke joints, it is in a repurposed, un-remodeled building, vacant for 30 years, that had housed the wholesale Delta Grocery and Cotton Co.[3] Mismatched chairs, Christmas-tree lights, and graffiti greet one everywhere. Blues fans in Clarksdale welcomed it as a place where local musicians have a chance to work regularly.[4]

Ground Zero Neon Sign/Logo
Exterior of Ground Zero Blues Club, 2019.
Interior of Ground Zero Blues Club, 2019. Performer is Lala Craig.

The menu consists of traditional Southern foods, and the restaurant has live blues music playing Wednesday through Saturday. Super Chikan is a performer. In addition to the food and music, there are seven upstairs apartments that can be rented.

In media

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Ground Zero has appeared in many television shows and publications, including:

Video

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  • Robert Mugge, Director (2003). Last of the Mississippi Jukes. Clarksdale and Jackson, Mississippi: MVD Visual. OCLC 971052576. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  • Live at Ground Zero Blues Club: Bobby Rush

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Co-owner of Clarksdale's Ground Zero Blues Club and former Mississippi mayor dies".
  2. ^ a b Ground Zero Blues Club (2014). "About Us". Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  3. ^ * Robert Mugge, Director (2003). Last of the Mississippi Jukes. Clarksdale and Jackson, Mississippi: MVD Visual. OCLC 971052576. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  4. ^ Stephen Kinzer, In Search of the Blues, at Its Roots; Musing on a Genre's Purity, Fans Flock to Mississippi, NY Times, March 25, 2003, Section E, Page 1
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34°12′00″N 90°34′28″W / 34.2°N 90.57453°W / 34.2; -90.57453