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]
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
editGround Zero has appeared in many television shows and publications, including:
- 60 Minutes[full citation needed]
- NPR
- Stephen Fry in America (BBC Documentary), 3rd episode, aired 26 October 2008.
- The Mighty Mississippi[full citation needed]
- "The Story of God W/Morgan Freeman, S1/E3(Who is God)" ([NatGeo])[full citation needed]
Video
edit- 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
edit
References
edit- ^ "Co-owner of Clarksdale's Ground Zero Blues Club and former Mississippi mayor dies".
- ^ a b Ground Zero Blues Club (2014). "About Us". Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ * Robert Mugge, Director (2003). Last of the Mississippi Jukes. Clarksdale and Jackson, Mississippi: MVD Visual. OCLC 971052576. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
- ^ 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