Rolling Stone ranks these 3 Coast music venues as ‘must-sees’ in Mississippi
Aug. 11 is the sixth month anniversary of the grand opening of Ground Zero Blues Club Biloxi and already is drawing national attention from Rolling Stone.
The renowned music magazine listed Ground Zero in Biloxi and Clarksdale among 10 of “Mississippi’s Must-See Music Venues.”
Also making it on the Top 10 list are Government Street Grocery in Ocean Springs and 100 Men Hall in Bay St. Louis.
A post on the Ground Zero Biloxi Facebook pages thanks actor Morgan Freeman, a co-owner of Ground Zero, along with co-founders Bill Luckett and Eric Meir for bringing their vision to the Coast.
The Rolling Stone article paid tribute to Mississippi’s claim to the title of ‘birthplace of American Music,” and the state where B.B. King, Faith Hill and Rae Sremmurd got their start. Now visitors from across the U.S. and abroad follow the Mississippi Blues Trail and Country Music Trail into communities like Biloxi and Bay St. Louis where the greats played.
The original Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale was described as “an anything-goes juke vibe with a world-class stage, food, and fixins.”
Coastal Mississippi — “a place known more for beach and Jimmy Buffett than the blues” — is the new location of Ground Zero in downtown Biloxi, the article says. The venue is helping lead the revitalization of the downtown.
In addition to the musicians who take the stage throughout the week, Ground Zero Biloxi is adding special events to the schedule. It starts Aug. 20 with Arts in the Alley from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., an indoor/outdoor crafts market plus live music by Jamie Hyatt.
Coming up at Ground Zero are a Women in the Blues month-long celebration and a blues festival in the fall.
Government Street Grocery in Ocean Springs was described by Rolling Stone as having a “beachy boho vibe,” and said it “is also atop the list of prestigious places for musicians to play, with a clientele that has a deep love for original live music.”
The venue posted on Facebook: “We’ve always tried to do big things with a small footprint (aka budget), it’s nice to get some national recognition from Rolling Stone magazine but the real honor is serving fans year after year.”
The article says 100 Men Hall, which is celebrating 100 years in Bay St. Louis, “was a community gathering place that became a stop on the chitlin’ circuit after World War II, hosting artists like Etta James, Irma Thomas and Professor Longhair.”
The venue, listed on the Mississippi Blues Trail, has a year of special events planned. Coming up on Aug. 17 is a Summer Dance Party with DJ Side Hustle, followed by Booker Fest Sept. 2-4 and Monsters Monday on Oct. 3.
This story was originally published August 4, 2022 at 12:55 PM.
