laura hough smith

When our oldest child was 3 and I was very pregnant with our second, Wesley had another baby: Bridging the Blues.
That’s the name of the two weeks in the fall when blues clubs, universities and other venues from Memphis to Vicksburg host blues musicians, lectures, symposiums and other events to entertain locals and tourists visiting Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi for King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Ark., and Mighty Mississippi Music Festival in Greenville.
For years, Wesley dreamed of starting something like this, and he and friends came close a couple of times with other incarnations. In Greenville though, all the puzzle pieces finally came together for the perfect fit.
He wanted and believed Mississippi needed an anchor festival to bookend King Biscuit, the festival hugely popular with European blues fans. Drawing on his Beale Street and The Blues Foundation experience, he knew that thousands of tourists make an annual pilgrimage from Memphis to Helena, stopping at blues landmarks along the way. He wanted to capitalize on that. He wanted Mississippi to benefit in a bigger way. He wanted to make sure those tourists saw and fell in love with The Delta not in spite of but because of all its grit, diversity and flourish.
His path eventually crossed with those of Steve Azar and Jason Fratesi, who had the same mindset. After several meetings and help from Billy Johnson in Leland and Allan Hammons in Greenwood and a lot of support from sponsors, Bridging the Blues had its other anchor festival: Mighty Mississippi Music Festival.
Wesley and his colleagues at the Mississippi Delta Tourism Association asked a lot of their friends – club owners, professors, blues fans – to put their best foot forward for the two weeks between the festivals, and then they called their contacts across the pond and said the party’s on us.
The rest would be history except it’s taken many more people to make it work: governors from the three states and federal assistance from the Delta Regional Authority, namely. The people on the ground here, though, are its lifeblood. BTB wouldn’t be possible without Steve, Jason and Jamie at Mighty, of course, but behind the scenes Billy Johnson, Carson Lamm on Beale and all the CVB directors from the MDTA make this happen every year. State officials in all three states are also big helpers as are, most importantly, the blues musicians.
Each year, Bridging the Blues and Mighty have gained ground. As of last week, people from four countries and 18 states had purchased tickets to Mighty.
That is the reason behind Bridging the Blues: tourism. Of course Wesley wants the tourists here so they’ll spend their dollars here, but just like anything else, there’s more to the story.
My husband wants them here so he can visit with them. He wants to be with those German writers who worship Muddy Waters when they actually see the muddy water at Warfield Point Park.
That is who he is. He will want to see Steve and Jason or his old friend Will Pleasants jamming in the amateur tent until the wee hours; he most likely will be jamming in the tent with them until early morning.
Wesley and the folks at Mighty are passionate about this, and it may seem that they’re having a lot of fun. They are. They are also working their tails off.
The testimony of Delta people can be seen through that hard work. Through this festival and Bridging the Blues, Memphis folks are promoting Delta folks, Arkansas Deltans are helping their friends across the river, and vice versa.
Right now, the Mighty crew is working long hours to pull off a heck of a festival. It kicks off week two of Bridging the Blues this weekend at Warfield Point Park. The lineup includes Chris Stapleton, Ole Crow Medicine Show, Band of Heathens and dozens more local and blues musicians. They have SEC football on the jumbotron, award-winning barbecue and a kids movie night.
There is no bigger weekend for Greenville in the calendar year. The festival is a true celebration of this region. It celebrates the river, the agriculture and the music.
If you enjoy the outdoors or music, go. Support Greenville. Support the Delta. Support the blues, and thank Steve and Gwen Azar, Jason and Jaime Fratesi, Jamie Murrell — and my sweet husband — on your way out.