Jackson,
Mississippi (April 15, 2010) – On May 6 and 7, 2010,
Mississippi will join Amtrak in celebrating National
Train Day with a series of whistle stops and other events
around the state.
As part of the National Train Day 2010 celebration,
Amtrak will explore the historic connection between
blues music and America’s railroads with a commemorative
train tour through the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace
of the blues, and conclude in Chicago. The tour will
host “Big Bill” and “Mud” Morganfield, sons of the great
bluesman Muddy Waters, on the three-day journey through
Mississippi to the Midwest. Harmonica player Grady Champion,
a Canton, Miss., native and 2010 International Blues
Challenge Winner, will accompany the brothers on the
train tour.
“From song lyrics to familiar imagery, we know that
blues music and railroads have a long history together,”
said Mary Beth Wilkerson, director of the Mississippi
Development Authority’s Tourism Division. “W.C. Handy,
‘Father of the Blues,’ was inspired to create the musical
art form while at a train station in the Mississippi
Delta. National Train Day is the perfect opportunity
to recognize those roots and continue to celebrate Mississippi
as the ‘Birthplace of America’s Music.’”
On May 6, the tour will visit several Mississippi
Blues Trail historical sites in Mississippi, including
McComb (Bo Diddley Blues Trail marker), Hazlehurst (Robert
Johnson Blues Trail marker) and Jackson (nine Blues
Trail markers). On May 7, the group will also tour Clarksdale,
Cleveland, Indianola and Rolling Fork, the birthplace
of Muddy Waters, before boarding the train again in
Greenwood. Blues great and former railroad man Bobby
Rush (who calls Jackson, Miss., home) will board the
train in Memphis, where the musical journey will culminate
at the historic Chicago Union Station on National Train
Day, Saturday, May 8, with free live performances by
“Big Bill,” “Mud” and Rush.
For more information about National Train Day, visit
www.nationaltrainday.com. For details on blues music
and the Mississippi Blues Trail, visit www.msbluestrail.org
or explore the state’s official tourism Web site, www.visitmississippi.org.
Note: Members of the media are invited to ride the
train from McComb to Jackson for photo opportunities
and one-on-one interviews with the Morganfields and
Amtrak representatives. Transportation to and from the
event venues would be the individual’s/media outlet’s
responsibility.
