Mississippi Mass draws on the full-throated, searing vocal style that has always been a local specialty, putting some of the state's hottest soloists in front of a huge and tightly rehearsed ensemble, and has dominated the choir field since it's inception a decade ago. Along with Malaco, the area's other big musical news in recent years has been the rise of regional festivals throughout the Delta. After a century of exporting its talent, the region is finally learning how to bring tourists in to support the artists at home. Greenville, Greenwood, and Clarksdale have all been hosting regular blues fests, but the best known of them all is across the river in Arkansas, where the memory of Williamson's and Lockwood's radio show is carried on in the King Biscuit Blues Festival. A free event that draws local families and tourists from around the world to multiple stages, King Biscuit also helps to tie the generations of blues and gospel talent together.
Older pioneers alternate with hot, young stars, and favorite sons and daughters return to visit.
Levon Helm, who normally fronts the Band, comes every year to get together with old playing buddies and relive the days when he was first hearing blues, trekking in from his home place in Turkey Scratch to sit in the radio station at the feet of the great Sonny Boy. Though the years have brought a lot of changes, it feels as if there is something timeless about this region. This is still a place where music, food, and life in general have remained close to the earth, and new ways are slow to penetrate. If this is sometimes regrettable, and hard on local residents, it has preserved intact a culture of unique depth and power, and music that no other place on earth can match.