Let Chilly Billy be your guide.
Clarksdale, Mississippi
CLARKSDALE, Mississippi So, are you thinking about coming to our little mecca in the heart of the Mississippi Delta but you aren’t too sure what to do when you get here? After all, could there really be that much to do in a town of 15,000+?
Before the list begins, we want you to know that you will meet some of the friendliest people on the planet but you must be open to them. Everyone speaks to each other around here. Speak to folks when you enter a room or a store, even if it’s just a nod of your head. And next, if you feel at all uncomfortable, just tell folks Madge and Billy told you to come here. You know. The Delta Bohemians. Everything should be alright, alright, alright after that!
Here goes. Here is your list of the Top 10 Things To Do In Clarksdale as of right now!
TOP 10 THINGS TO DO IN CLARKSDALE
BEFORE ARRIVING…..
Watch this to learn why people are making Clarksdale a destination!
TOP 10 LIST
Number 1: LISTEN TO LIVE MUSIC
The Delta Bohemian always has the most current SOUNDS AROUND TOWN IN CLARKSDALE posted on our front page. That’s your go-to for live music for the week. It also lists upcoming events to plan for.
Our live music locations include but are not limited to and their hours of operation vary.
Bluesberry Cafe
Cathead Blues & Folk Art (seasonal)
Club 2000 (seasonal)
Crossroads Cultural Arts Center (seasonal)
Delta Blues Alley Cafe
Ground Zero Blues Club
Hambone Music & Art
Hooker Grocery & Eatery
Hopson Commissary
Levon’s Bar & Grill
New Roxy (seasonal)
Our Grandma’s House of Blues (seasonal)
Red’s Blues Lounge
Shack Up Inn
Stone Pony Pizza
Get addresses HERE
Learn more about CLARKSDALE LIVE MUSIC VENUES
Number 2: VISIT A MUSEUM OR TOURISM CENTER
Delta Blues Museum
Tennessee Williams Rectory Museum
Visit Clarksdale Tourism Center
Get addresses HERE
Number 3: DINE IN THE DELTA
Abe’s Bar B Q
Atzimba
Bear’s Deli
Clarksdale Nutrition
Crossroads Restaurant – Home of Larry’s Hot Tamales
Daylight Donuts
Dutch Oven
Ground Zero Blues Club
Guadalajara
Hibachi Buffet
Hicks Bar B Q
Hooker Grocer & Eatery
Kathryn’s on Moon Lake
Levon’s Bar & Grill
Meraki Roasting Company & Coffee Shop
Our Grandma’s House of Pancakes
Ramon’s Italian
The Ranchero
Rest Haven
Sumner Grille
Stone Pony Pizza
Third Street Bistro
Yazoo Pass
Get addresses and more information HERE
Number 4: CHECK OUT AN ART GALLERY
Hambone Music & Art Gallery
Lambfish Art Company
Number 5: TAKE A CANOE TRIP
John Ruskey’s Quapaw Canoe Company
a memory you will never forget
Number 6: PERUSE THE LIBRARY
Carnegie Public Library
cool history in here
Number 7: SPEND SOME BUCKS AT A RETAIL STORE
Bluestown Music
Cathead Blues & Folk Art
Coahoma Collective
Deak’s Mississippi Saxophones
Delta Creations
Delta Blues Museum
Nellie May’s Gift Shop
Mag-Pie Gift & Art
Shack Up Inn
Shankerman’s Menswear Store
and more.
Number 8: TAKE A DELTA BOHEMIAN TOUR with CHILLY BILLY
Cruise around Clarksdale and the back roads of Coahoma County and surrounding counties with Chilly Billy on one of his private Delta Bohemian Tours.
Check out his TripAdvisor Reviews!
Delta Bohemian Tours Top 10 Things to do in Clarksdale
Delta Bohemian Tours Top 10 Things to do in Clarksdale
Number 9: CROSS THE LEVEE
To see the Mississippi River. You can do this on your Delta Bohemian Tour, too.
Number 10: SPEND A NIGHT OR TWO OR MORE
SEE THE BEST PLACES TO STAY IN CLARKSDALE
https://deltabohemian.com/best-places-to-stay-in-clarksdale/
WATCH THIS VIDEO TO GET A LOCAL FLAVOR OF CLARKSDALE. Music by Daddy Rich.
We highly encourage comments and sharing to your social media of choice.
From a plaque welcoming everyone into Clarksdale along the banks of the Sunflower River at the West end of the 2nd Street Bridge with a small statue in memorial of Louise Moss Montgomery.
Spirit on high, come down, come down…
“Spirit on high, come down, come down
And Rest Thy hand upon this town
And let Thy Love flow full and free
Through human vessels just like me.”
-LOUISE MOSS MONTGOMERY-
Poet Laureate of Mississippi 1973-1978
Plaque in Clarksdale Memorial to Louise Moss Montgomery
Originally published on March 31, 2014.
Visted Clarksdale for the first time in May of last year and stayed at the ShackUpInn and had a great time. Coming nack again next May and lookig forward to it.
Thanks for commenting and sharing about your visit to Clarksdale! Hope to meet you on your next visit. We love the Shacks too!
After visiting at least twice a year for the past six years we feel like we are at home. The Shack Up Inn is fantastic. Guy and Bill are so good to us. Sometimes hanging a sign to welcome us.,
Not sure how I miss replying to this awesome comment, Marilyn! Thanks so much! We love The Shack Up Inn and have known Guy and Bill all our lives since we all grew up together! How cool of them to hang a sign to welcome you! This is your home!!! Keep on coming back! And thanks so much for telling people about this special part of the world!
Madge
Clarksdale is such a friendly place with a vibrant blues scene that has to be experienced!!! I love this beautiful part of the delta.
Thanks so much for commenting Wwagner! So sorry for my delayed reply! Truly Clarksdale is a super friendly place like nowhere else I have ever been! May we continue to keep it real here and may you continue to come back and enjoy all this area has to offer, including our blues music 365 nights a year, 7 days a week!
Have you seen this old video we did a while back for fun about Clarksdale? Check it out! 🙂 https://youtu.be/xi4p3dAY2PA
Madge
I am thinking about moving to Clarksdale from Detroit. This video is so informational and wonderful!
Thank you for watching the video and for commenting! Very cool you are considering a move to this special place, Chase! We would welcome you!
Great video! I will have to check out Clarksdale!
Visit Clarksdale. We think you will like it. Although, Belize is a rather amazing place too.
How come no one mentioned the Devil’s Crossroads? You know… the place where Robert Johnson sold his soul for rock n roll.
Just open Google maps and find Clarksdale, MS. Devil’s Crossroads is right there, in plain sight, you can’t miss it.
Taking a Delta Bohemian Tour assures a visit to the storied place along with much history about The Crossroads. Check this out and thanks for reading and commenting, Bret.
http://deltabohemian.com/went-to-the-crossroad-fell-down-on-my-knees/
I went to the sunflower Blues Festival back in 2009 when y’all were honoring Sam Cooke and had the best time. Ground Zero Blues Club was amazing. Had some of the best barbecue, ate some of the best catfish ever. Friendliest folks, greatest music, literally saw people spontaneously jamming on the street. Can’t wait to get back there one of these days soon.
Thank you so much for commenting, Lisa. How cool you were here in 2009! This year was the 31st! Amazing. Love reading about your experiences while here. You are not alone. The place has a way of getting into the hearts and souls of everyone. It is a crossroads for many reasons. I’m so glad to learn of your wanting to return again soon! Please do! You will see many positive changes. We are still struggling in other areas but we are slowly but surely finding our way. Not wanting to make it a disney-worldesque of blues, ya know. Keeping it real!
Hoping to meet you when you return, Lisa. Thanks again for following The Delta Bohemian.
Buenas noches
Le escribo desde Barcelona , en un par de meses , visitaremos esta zona de Estados Unidos en nuestra ruta y me gustaría saber en que locales podremos entrar a escuchar musica en directo con nuestro hijo de 2 años.
Felicidades por la página , pues nos sirve de mucha ayuda.
Abrazos!
Thanks so much for commenting and checking out The Delta Bohemian. Awesome you are headed here soon. Check out our Live Music Venues Guide here: https://deltabohemian.com/clarksdale-live-music-venues-guide/ and keep up with weekly changes in music on our Sounds Around Town in Clarksdale by Roger Stolle. It is updated every Wednesday. https://deltabohemian.com/sounds-around-town-in-clarksdale/
If you have not already found a place to stay, consider one of our properties. https://clarksdalewhitehouse.com/ or https://www.deltabohemianguesthouse.com/ and one of our https://deltabohemiantours.com/ are not only fun but highly informative about this unique area!
Thanks so much for coming to the Mississippi Delta all the way from Barcelona! Sweet!
Madge
Whole lot of changes on Hwy One. Remember waking up in the early hours during drives from Minnesota to Clarksdale, Had to wake up and pay the ferry, then down One to Clarkdsale. Don’t remember anymore how to get to the section farm but remember it was close to the County Line Store, and back in the day O.L. Garman had the big farm that Grandpa sharecropped on. Lots of memories of stories of the folks, Daddy instructing for the Army Air Corps at Fletcher Field in Clarksdale, later cropdusting along Hwy One. The stories of what the instructors did to the students, the pranks and being able to later meet some of the student and other instructors. The less fun memories of going to the outhouse at the section and seeing crosses burning down the road (law I’m showing my age). The stories from Mr & Mrs Polis of Mom working for them after highschool. Daddy landing or Mr. Otis Merdith’s private air strip as it was closer to the section farm. Looking forward to a visit this summer. See what other memories rattle loose while I am there.
Thanks so much for reading and for commenting. Billy is looking forward to meeting y’all in July.