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August CONTENTS 2019 • VOLUME 16 • NO. 8
features
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Dolly Parton’s Loving Legacy
The Beat Goes On at King Biscuit Festival
Sweet Dreams at Musically Inspired Hotels
departments 12 Living Well Babies & Music
40 On the Road Again Austin, Texas
16 Notables Manuel Cuevas
42 Greater Goods 68 Homegrown ReStrung Jewelry
20 Exploring Art Houston Llew Spiritiles
72 Southern Gentleman Music for the Ages
24 Exploring Books The Birth of Loud
76 Southern Harmony Songwriters
28 Southern Roots Keeping Plants Alive
78 In Good Spirits Landry’s Fleur de Lis
32 Table Talk Edge Alley 36 Exploring Destinations Murphy Arts District
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80 Exploring Events 82 Reflections The Gift of Music
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editor’s note | AUGUST
Hitting the High Notes Much to the chagrin of my parents, the two little girls in the photo did not become pianists. And much to our own regret, neither my sister nor I continued playing the piano after we left home. Nevertheless, music is a part of our family history. My mother was a talented piano player well into her 80s, and my father played acoustic guitar with his bluegrass friends, often doing volunteer gigs at retirement homes around east Mississippi. Remembering their love of music continues to inspire me. This month, we offer stories about how music enriches our lives, from the cradle to the grave. Before you read those stories, though, we know you’ll flip to our cover story about the legendary Dolly Parton and her exclusive interview with writer Jackie Sheckler Finch, who has been fortunate to meet the iconic performer several times. To millions of children, Dolly is more than a superstar… she is the “Book Lady.” In 1996, she started the Imagination Library and today 1.4 million children receive free books each month through the program. She shares with DeSoto readers how reading one particular book as a child changed her own life. Travelers needing changes in latitudes and attitudes will find rockstar accommodations at one of the musically inspired resorts featured in my story, “Sweet Dreams.”
AUGUST 2019 • Vol. 16 No.8
PUBLISHER & CREATIVE DIRECTOR Adam Mitchell PUBLISHER & ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Paula Mitchell MANAGING EDITOR Mary Ann DeSantis ASSISTANT EDITOR Andrea Brown Ross ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Bridgett Jordan
Several long-running music festivals take place this fall, including the King Biscuit Blues Festival which has been a cultural highpoint in the region for more than 30 years. Karen Ott Mayer writes about the festival’s history and founder. This month’s issue hits a lot of high notes, especially with stories about how music benefits babies as well as the elderly. It’s never too early or too late to take up an instrument… or return to those piano lessons from long ago. Happy reading!
Mary Ann
CONTRIBUTORS Rebecca Bingham Deborah Burst Cheré Coen Mary Ann DeSantis Jackie Sheckler Finch Verna Gates Jason Frye Karen Ott Mayer Andrea Brown Ross Karon Warren Kevin Wierzbicki Pam Windsor PUBLISHED BY DeSoto Media 2375 Memphis St. Ste 208 Hernando, MS 38632 662.429.4617 ADVERTISING INFO: Paula Mitchell 901-262-9887 Paula@DeSotoMag.com
on the cover
Superstar Dolly Parton talks about her “loving legacy” in an exclusive interview with DeSoto Magazine.
Photograph courtesy of the Dollywood Foundation.
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©2019 DeSoto Media Co. DeSoto Magazine must give permission for any material contained herein t o b e re p ro d u c e d i n a n y m a n n e r. Any advertisements published in DeSoto Magazine do not constitute an endorsement of the advertiser’s services or products. DeSoto Magazine is published monthly by DeSoto Media Co. Parties interested in advertising should email paula@desotomag.com or call 901-262-9887. Visit us online at desotomagazine.com.
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living well | MUSIC AND BABIES
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Music Therapy in the NICU By Andrea Brown Ross | Photography courtesy of CHOC Children’s Blog and aer-worldwide.org
Research shows music therapy is beneficial to preterm infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU), but it entails much more than soothing background music. In 2015, one baby in 10 was born before 37 weeks of gestation, or preterm, in the U.S, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Preterm babies are at higher risk for disability or death, and those that survive often face a myriad of challenges, such as developmental delays and trouble breathing and eating. More and more, though, medical professionals are helping preterm babies not only to survive, but also to thrive with new treatments and therapies. One of those therapies involves music, but it’s a lot more than playing elevator-type music in the background of the hospital wing. This type of music therapy – also called
multimodal neurological enhancement – involves a specifically trained therapist, using research-based techniques on the individual needs of the baby. Pregnant women often expose their unborn children to music, which has shown to be beneficial to both mother and baby. Now, music therapy has been gaining credibility among neonatal researchers as well. Being born early and not completely prepared for the world outside of the womb can cause significant stress on a stilldeveloping baby. While the noise, lights, pokes, and prodding in a neonatal unit may be necessary to sustain the baby’s life, the DeSoto 15
overstimulation can lead to stress which may affect the brain. The baby’s gestational age, or how far along in the pregnancy the infant would have been if not born early, usually dictates the therapy. For example, humming may be the only therapy a very premature baby can handle, especially if the baby must be left in an incubator. Therapy is typically provided in small increments of 10-to-20 minutes per session a few times a week. Therapists are mindful of overstimulating the baby and watch for signs that a baby may be responding thusly. The baby’s face turning red, a facial grimace, arching their back, or sticking their arm straight out are signs that the baby is being overwhelmed. Therapists can adjust treatments accordingly. Director of the National Institute for Infant and Child Medical Music Therapy, Jayne Standley, Ph.D., provides caution regarding music therapy. Because each baby is developing at its own rate, therapy must be individualized and closely monitored as overstimulation can damage the brain, according to Standley. As a pioneer in the field of music therapy for premature babies at Florida State University, Standley advises therapy is much more than a volunteer playing gentle music in the background. Following rounds of humming, babies may progress to therapists singing lullabies. Therapists closely monitor the baby’s vital signs to determine the effectiveness. If babies respond well, they will eventually progress to being caressed while being sung to. Benefits to using music therapy in the NICU include masking the sounds of machines and other background noise and positively affecting the respiration rate, heart rate, and oxygen saturation levels by pacifying the infant. Facilitating neurological growth and development, as well as reducing the baby’s hospital length of stay, are all positive results to using music therapy as an intervention.
Bringing Baby Home:
How to Continue Benefitting from Music Music continues to benefit babies once they are home. Rhythms for Living, an online resource, offers the following suggestions for incorporating music into your child’s everyday life. Parent-Infant Bonding
When parents sing or talk to their infant, they are promoting a bond. Slow, soft lullabies are soothing and comforting to the baby. As the baby gets older, start introducing different types of music. This offers a comforting environment and experience for baby, which promotes growth and development. Hold the baby close and sing while gazing into its eyes. Social and Emotional Skills
Singing lullabies teaches babies how to self-calm. Making music or dancing makes a child proud with a sense of accomplishment. Sharing instruments or singing back and forth with baby (call and response) teaches waiting and sharing. Singing about feelings teaches different emotions. Music is a social experience that encourages relationship building. Make this a regular part of family time. Physical Skills
Music offers many physical benefits – from the muscles in the hands to hold and play instruments, to the muscles in the legs for balance and movement during dancing, to the muscles in the mouth forming words to sing. Sing songs that get hands moving like “Wheels on the Bus” or “Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Sing the “Hokey Pokey” or “The Twist” to get the whole body moving. Academic and Language
Babies’ brains are sponges soaking up all kinds of material which will have an impact on the rest of their lives. Singing simple children’s songs are a great way to introduce language and academic concepts. Children who have music as part of their daily lives do better in school. Music in Everyday Life
Music can be a cue for an activity like play time, clean up time, bath time, quiet time or getting ready to sleep. A familiar song can be very soothing and reassuring to a child, so find songs that baby likes and use them regularly. Source: rhythmsforliving.com
Andrea Ross Brown is the Assistant Editor of DeSoto Magazine and wakes every morning to the sound of farm life in Como, Mississippi.
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notables | MANUEL CUEVAS
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Suit Manuel designed for Porter Wagoner
Jacket for Rosanne Cash
Designing for the Stars By Pam Windsor | Photography by Pam Windsor
He’s created clothes for Elvis, the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Elton John, Prince, Lady Gaga, and so many more. At 86, the man known simply as ‘Manuel’ is still turning out one-of-a-kind designs. Manuel Cuevas is the designer behind the iconic looks of some of the biggest names in film and music over the past six decades. He was the first to put James Dean in jeans in “Giant;” he crafted Clint Eastwood’s look with that signature poncho in those spaghetti westerns; and he designed the wardrobe for John Travolta in “Urban Cowboy” – just to name a few. The man who learned to sew as a young boy in Mexico, then moved to Los Angeles and later Nashville, has influenced pop culture fashion every decade since the 1950s. Manuel put Sonny and Cher in bell-bottoms and Elvis in a jumpsuit. He created the cowboy look for Dwight Yoakam, and famously decided Johnny Cash should wear black. He recalls when Cash first came to him for several outfits all those years ago.
“He ordered a few jackets and some pants, “Manuel says, “and when they came, he was shocked that everything was black.” When Cash asked why, Manuel explained he saw something special in the singer and musician that seemed best reflected by an all-black ensemble. Cash, who was getting ready to head out on tour, had little time to debate the issue. A month or two later, he called Manuel to order more outfits. When Manuel asked about the color, the singer replied, “Color is no longer a question. I want everything in black.” Manuel, who remained close friends with Cash until his death in 2003, said they laughed about that for years. He has stories about the many other famous names he’s dressed like Marlon Brando, Michael Jackson, June DeSoto 19
Boots by Manuel
Carter Cash, Emmylou Harris, Porter Wagoner, George Jones, Kid Rock, Chris Stapleton, and more. He remembers his first meeting with singer and musician Marty Stuart, the Mississippi-native who began playing with Lester Flatt and his bluegrass band as a very young age. “At 12 years old, he was a hell of a mandolin player,” Manuel says. “He came into the store and I figured this was the kid everybody was talking about. We met and he told me he wanted to buy a rhinestone suit. He said, ‘I’ve been saving money forever and I have $250.’” Manuel told him it wasn’t enough for a suit, but he would give him a shirt. “I put it on him and he walked out like he was walking on foam,” Manuel says with a smile. He knew then, Stuart would go on to achieve great success. Today, he and the Grammy-winning artist are good friends. He recalls another chance meeting with a child who would go on to become a well-known actor. “He was about six years old and he came into my former father-in-law’s store. (Manuel worked for years with designer Nudie Cohn in California and was previously married to Cohn’s daughter). His mother was buying him one of those lace-brimmed hats and I asked, ‘Are you a cowboy?’ He said, ‘Yes!’ so proudly. So, I went to the back of the store for a rhinestone scarf and I put it around his neck.” Years later, he says, actress Debra Winger came into his shop and asked if he knew John Travolta. He said he didn’t think he did. She was starring with Travolta in the film “Urban Cowboy.” Manuel had been asked to work on the wardrobe 20 DeSoto
and already had measurements, but hadn’t met Travolta. When they finally met, Travolta told him he still had that rhinestone scarf Manuel gave him all those years ago. Last year, Manuel was awarded the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) National Heritage Fellowship. It’s the country’s highest honor in folk and traditional arts. Always humble, Manuel says he was overwhelmed to receive it. As Manuel continues turning out designs at his shop in Nashville, some of his previous work is currently on display at the Country Music Hall of Fame. It includes pieces he made for Johnny Cash, Rosanne Cash, Porter Wagoner, Zac Brown, Hank Williams, Jr, and others. The exhibit will remain through February 2020. Manuel, who still designs for a number of current artists he won’t name to protect their privacy, says his work has never been about fashion. It’s about style. “Fashion is what hangs on the racks all over the world. Style is what you have in your closet, what you choose to wear to adorn you as a person.” Manuel believes style should highlight that special something unique to each and every person. His success has come from helping people find it.
Pam Windsor is a Nashville-based freelance journalist who writes about food, travel, music, culture, and extraordinary people.
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exploring art | HOUSTON LLEW
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Filled with Spirit By Karon Warren | Photography courtesy of Houston Llew
With subjects ranging from music to the moon and back, Spiritiles are collectibles that combine beautiful art with meaningful quotes. Houston Llew didn’t plan to become a full-time artist. Creating was something he enjoyed as a hobby. He actually graduated from Auburn University with a business degree. However, like many others in the 2008 recession, Llew found himself unemployed and needed a way to pay the bills. “I liked tinkering with stuff, playing with things, writing, but I had no formal art training,” Llew says. Even so, he decided to go for it, and started making art. He learned enameling from master enamellist Zingaro and applied what he learned to create what would become his signature format: Spiritiles. These rectangle pieces are
composed of vitreous enamel, or glass heat-fused to metal, and copper. To create a Spiritile, Llew draws his image, which he prints out on a manila folder. He then cuts out the design to create a graffiti stencil. Next, he takes a clean, thin sheet of copper, and applies a base coat of finely ground glass that serves as a foundation or background. Then he places the stencil over the initial layer of glass, and adds additional glass using the colors he wants to bring out the design. Once complete, the piece goes in the kiln. Once it’s done, you have glass fused with the metal. DeSoto 23
“It’s a lot like doing cloisonné jewelry without the wires to hold the glass together,” Llew says. Along with the image, Spiritiles contain a quote or saying, which Llew calls stories. “They tell different stories,” he says. “Sometimes you start with a story and work with an image until I find an image that goes with the motive of the story. And vice versa.” On occasion, his mother, Wanda Spencer, a writer, helps him with the quotes. “A lot of times I’ll run into a block where I’m just like, ‘Hey, I need something that really hits home on this particular motive or inspiration,’ and she helps me quite a bit walking through a lot of that stuff,” Llew says. Llew is continually creating new pieces, and releases new collections three or four times a year. Primarily, those collections usually are grouped together based on their release date rather than a specific theme. He does have six or seven pieces that make up a group of music Spiritiles. Although his favorite Spiritile is usually the one he’s currently working on, he does like his GTO Spiritile, which was released in February 2011, and features an image of a Pontiac GTO. The accompanying quote is a song lyric from Bruce Springsteen: “Tramps like us, baby we were born to run.” 24 DeSoto
“That one is pretty cool,” Llew says. “I like that one a lot. At the time, that was the car that I always wanted.” Sadly, for the rest of us, that piece was retired in January 2015. In fact, Llew retires pieces two or three times a year to keep the current offerings down to approximately 74 pieces. Two of his current musical Spiritiles include “In Tune” featuring a guitar and a Johnny Cash quote, “Life and love go on. Let the music play,” and “Euphony” with a violin and the anonymous quote, “Art is how you enrich your space. Music is how you enrich your time.” One of his most recent creations, though, celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. Llew designed the Summer Limited Edition Spiritile to celebrate the men and women who made this extraordinary feat of American ingenuity possible. The colorful scene is surrounded with a quote from NASA on the sides that says, “Pioneer the future for the benefit of all.” He is donating the profit of each “Apollo” Spiritile to the National Math & Science Initiative, which is dedicated to advancing science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. So why choose this particular format for his artwork? “I was trying to find something that would fit in one
hand and have a collectible feeling [to it],” he says. Initially, he began making Spiritiles for friends because he didn’t have money to buy them gifts. “People liked it,” Llew says. “I started selling them. I’ve been working on it ever since. It became a full-time job rather quickly.” Llew reached out to home furnishing stores, retail shops and art galleries, anyone who would give him the time of day, he says. Today, his work can be found in stores around the country including Embellish Interiors by Alisa in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Kademi in Philadelphia, Mississippi. Alisa Her ron, owner of Embellish Interiors by Alisa, says she loves how unique Spiritiles are. “They do such a beautiful job of choosing meaningful quotes and combining them with gorgeous artwork,” she says. “They speak to the heart and soul.” At Kademi, owner and buyer Dawn Lea Chalmers seconds Herron’s sentiments, saying how the artwork and quotes bring people together. “People converse and explain when they buy one,” she says. “The art binds us all together with feel-good stories of human interaction, emotion and thoughtfulness. I love selling Houston Llew’s Spiritiles because I love for someone to feel good about what they buy. That’s what buying a gift should feel like, like you’ve just found the perfect thing.” And that is exactly why Llew does what he does. “ [ S p i r i t i l e s ] a r e h a p py, cheerful and uplifting,” he says. “The artwork is just a medium for me to sell what I really sell. I make and sell happiness. That’s my goal. That’s my product.” houstonllew.com
Karon Warren is a freelance writer based in Ellijay. Georgia. She is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi.
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exploring books | THE BIRTH OF LOUD
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George Fullerton testing out a new Fender Stratocaster in the expanded Fender factory in Fullerton, CA.
A Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry By Kevin Wierzbicki Photography Credits: Book cover: Courtesy of Scribner, Ian Port photo: Tory Williams, 3 black & white photos: Richard R. Smith
Les Paul and Leo Fender changed music history, and this new book explores their friendship and collaboration – and eventual estrangement – as they created rock n’ roll’s most influential instrument. If you’ve ever played air guitar to “Free Bird,” scooted your boots to a twangy country song or daydreamed to the sublime jazz of George Benson, then you’ve been seduced by the electric guitar. Chances are you’ve never given much thought to how the now ubiquitous instrument came into being, but the tale of how six string met electricity is actually quite intriguing, and author Ian S. Port turns the story up to 10 in his new book “The Birth of Loud.”
Subtitled “Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the GuitarPioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock ‘n’ Roll,” the book finds Port delving into the blood (literally!), sweat and tears that Fender and Paul expensed as they struggled to create and perfect their versions of the electric guitar. Port, a guitar player himself since the age of 10, already knew quite a bit about the workings of electric guitars when he got the idea to write “The Birth of Loud,” but he was curious about “why our music sounds the way it does, and who made it that way.” DeSoto 27
After about a year of pondering, Port decided to research the lives of Fender and Paul. “Immediately Leo’s life story got me,” Port tells DeSoto Magazine. “How did this guy, who couldn’t play an instrument, who had only one eye – how did he create the most influential electric guitars and amplifiers in the world? That just seemed like a puzzle I wanted to solve,” he continues. “And then learning too that he knew Les, that the two were kicking around L.A. at the same time together, I realized that this was a special time and place in music history; a really fertile, influential milieu, and I wanted to chronicle that.” Port devotes about the first half of “The Birth of Loud” to the creative process that Fender and Paul employed in their quest, picking the story up in the mid-to-late 1940s. It is Port’s attention to detail that makes the book such a fun read; his depiction of Fender as a frumpy, obsessive tinkerer is vivid and amusing while the image of Paul as an innovative guitarist and performing artist wanting more from his instrument is equally entertaining. Fender worked on his innovations first in his radio repair shop and later his makeshift factory in Fullerton, California, while Paul, who lived nearby, worked mostly out of his home. The pair eventually became estranged, but while they were friends they often held bull-and-brainstorming sessions in Paul’s backyard, where Fender was inspired by Paul’s early prototype of a solid body electric guitar, a clunky piece affectionately known as “The Log.” Because of the quirkiness that enveloped both men, as it did the other assorted characters present at the backyard meetings, Port is able to put the reader so into the scene that the smell of spilt beer and electronics is almost palpable. Once they finally came up with electric guitars that were marketable, now in the 1950s, Paul and Fender had to figure out details like the best positioning of tuning pegs and how to keep guitar necks from warping. Paul’s early guitars were so sensitive to heat that they would often go out of tune when exposed to stage lighting. As to marketing, Paul had a deal with Gibson Guitars while Fender was on his own, relying on a few personally-selected salesmen. About this same time musicians across the country began featuring electric guitar in their live performances. Not all of them played Les Paul or Leo Fender creations, but the big electrified noise being made by players like Muddy Waters in Chicago, Buck Owens in Bakersfield and a kid in Lubbock named Buddy Holly began to win fans over with a new sound. While Paul and Fender obsessed over electric guitars, they did, of course, otherwise live their lives. The author put the tragedies that befell both men into perspective as he recounts how Fender was electrocuted while tinkering and how Paul, in a moment of genius, had surgeons set his arm, nearly lost in a car wreck, permanently in position to allow for guitar playing. Paul’s hit records and career with his adoring wife Mary Ford is covered; Fender’s wife is portrayed as a dedicated woman often frustrated with the time Fender devoted to his obsession. The latter portion of “The Birth of Loud” finds Port chronicling how the Gibson Les Paul, the Fender Telecaster, the Fender Stratocaster and the Fender bass became stars of rock ‘n’ roll and the ever-present instruments used in all genres of music 28 DeSoto
Ian Port
today. Leo Fender and Les Paul passed well before Port began writing “The Birth of Loud.” “I would have asked Leo if he ever learned to appreciate the sound of distorted guitar,” says Port, adding, “I would’ve asked Les about simplicity versus complexity in playing the guitar.” You also have to wonder what the pair would’ve thought of all those fans playing air guitar to “Freebird,” playing it loud without any electricity at all. “The Birth of Loud” contains more than 20 vintage photographs of Leo and Les and famed musicians using their instruments. Ever since he was old enough to buy records, writer Kevin Wierzbicki has been a big fan of music featuring electric guitar and he likes it loud. Over the decades, parents, siblings, friends, neighbors and Johnny Law have been among those urging him to “turn it down!” He now realizes he can blame all that on Leo Fender and Les Paul.
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southern roots | KEEPING PLANTS ALIVE
Passion flower
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Black-eyed Susan
Yellow Hibiscus
Lots of Water,
but no Heavy Metal Story and photography by Verna Gates
Experienced gardeners know beneficial ladybugs abhor heavy metal music and plants love classical tunes. This and other tips will keep your garden healthy during the dog days of summer. It’s the thirsty month of August when the Southern air feels like moving through a bowl of grits. Unless something rare happens, you can’t buy a drop of water from the merciless, deep blue skies. Gardening morphs from the carefree spring blooms coming up of their own accord into sunburnt blooms that typically grow taller, leaner and deeper in color as if foreshadowing fall. Now is the time for the darker blues, purples and golds of late summer. The best garden tip for an easy-care August is to plant natives. Plants already acclimated to your soil and conditions will naturally rise up as survivors, no matter how hot. Seeds
procured from local sources, or a pass-around plant increases your chances of success and spare time on Saturday. Good examples are Black-eyed Susans, virgin’s bower clematis, passionflower and Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana). That said, all plants can benefit from deep watering. In August, plants are heavy with growth. The roots need to pump water to keep leaves, buds and flowers working to seed and store food for winter. As my grandfather once said, “watering means more than passing by with a hose.” Soaker hoses are best for this time of year, as the hot air sucks up moisture like a vacuum. If you DeSoto 31
do have a sprinkler system, turn it down a notch to reduce water loss. The best time to water is early morning. The second-best time is early evening. During the mid-day heat, you are just misting the air. Common wisdom dictates one inch per week with one, thorough watering – 35 seconds (one-thousand-one, onethousand-two) generally results in an inch. Frequent, shallow waterings make for shallow, weak roots. Do it once a week, and do it right. August is your final round with weeds. If you don’t wrangle these tough competitors out of the ground now, they will only gather steam for a full-throttle assault next spring. Many of these weeds are going to seed and will gaily spread future frustration for you throughout your flower beds. If you can’t pull the roots out, like with some tough vines, cut it as far down as possible and paint the stem cut with an herbicide. While transplanting during the hot weather is the equivalent of plant homicide, it is a good time to spread your seeds. The best way to learn how to grow flowers is to watch what the plants do naturally. This time of year, coneflowers, Indian Paintbrush, coreopsis, and Black-eyed Susans are going to seed. The plant will drop the seeds on nearby soil, with leaves to follow soon after. To mimic the plants’ process, spread seeds onto loosened soils, them cover with a thin layer of soil, no more than one-inch thick. Then cover with a thin layer of mulch and, very soon, leaves from your trees. Keep the space moist, not wet, until the fall rains come to nourish the seeds. Plants under stress can fall prey to disease and predators. You don’t have to spend a lot of money on chemical sprays to combat the varmints. First, try a teaspoon of dishwater to a half-gallon of water to spray on plants. If that doesn’t work, tobacco is an excellent pesticide. Get a can of snuff, put it in the blender with water, and spray your roses to your heart’s content. In August, you may be tempted to play rock music as you grill in the backyard. Realize if you do this, your ladybugs will rebel and you will lose a vital garden ally. A study by Mississippi State University proved that both the ladybugs and the plants will go on strike if exposed to heavy metal music. The aphids, however, love it and are probably playing air guitar along with the beat. Play classical instead, for best results. When your iris bed is finished, it’s time to separate the roots and get them ready for spring. Store them in a cool place to replant for spring. Take out that catalog and order the tulips and narcissus bulbs you look forward to seeing in three seasons. A good haircut can also help your August garden. Deadheading freshens up the look of the plants, and also helps build strength.
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Obedient plant
Your roses and shrubs can benefit from trimming stalks before they get a chance to bud out before fall. Late summer cuts give them time to shore up the stem in time for winter. Fertilize with plenty of water. If you are growing vegetables, go ahead and pick them before they get too tough and make too many seeds. Squash and okra can turn bitter if they spend too much time lingering on the mother plant, much like adult children. Harvest and enjoy the tastes of summer. August bloomers While the sedums like live-forever sprout deep colors, dahlias come into their prime. One flashy bloomer includes the campfire favorite, the marshmallow. Passionflowers lose their purple fringes as they give way to Gulf fritillary butterflies – for two months of color. The pushed Obedient Plant flower (Physostegia virginiana) won’t move back. Blue sage and late phlox will bring sky colors to earth. Some daylilies will bloom late while asters bloom early, connecting summer to fall.
A renowned native gardener, Verna Gates has taught in colleges, universities and botanical gardens for nearly 30 years. Her quarter-acre garden in Birmingham is home to more than 60 species of plants, including four rare and endangered species.
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table talk | EDGE ALLEY
Art on display
Classic Steak Frites
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Chef Tim Barker
Lena Barker
On the Culinary Cutting Edge By Karen Ott Mayer | Photography courtesy of Chef Tim Barker
Combining his love for art and uncomplicated menus, Chef Tim Barker has created an innovative Memphis restaurant that is fun and edgy. Sometimes things happen. Or more likely, someone like Chef Tim Barker makes things happen. Edge Alley Restaurant in Midtown Memphis represents both what’s happening in this part of the city and perhaps a culmination of Barker’s own evolving talents. Chef or Entrepreneur? It depends on the day. With more than 25 years working in kitchens, Barker worked as sous chef under Andreas Kisler at the Peabody’s Chez Philippe and at the former Encore restaurant at Peabody Place. He then led the kitchen for four years at Karen Carrier’s Beauty Shop Restaurant.
Barker’s lifelong interest in the culinary arts began as a teenager growing up in Martin, Tennessee. “I was 13 and I wanted to save for a car, so my dad said ‘get a job’. I went to Shoney’s and got a job as a dishwasher.” From those early years, his culinary pursuits took him to Kentucky, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Martha’s Vineyard, South Boston and eventually Memphis. He values mentorship and remembers his early experiences working with “tough but caring” chefs. “Cooking is transformative,” he says. DeSoto 35
Bloody Mary
His daily routine now is part culinary and artistic. Barker founded Table and Bar Consulting Group, a design service specifically for restaurants and the food industry. He’s helped design spaces from Tennessee to Colorado and his connection to Edge Alley originated through a design request. “I left the kitchen, opened this consulting business and was asked to take a look at the space next door for High Cotton Brewing Company,” he says. The craft brewery opened in 2014 and has been a community builder through the neighborhood. Edge Alley’s name reflects its historical location on Monroe Street, which was once the edge of Memphis and at the heart of the automotive row. The restaurant shares half of the building with High Cotton Brewery where Nash Motors, a national car dealership, used to fill the space. Investors began looking at restoring the building in 2010 with the tap room open in 2015. Barker’s vision even extended to the well-designed, street side patio, which connects the two separate businesses with an interesting combination of wood planters and a steel pergola. The area around Edge Alley is experiencing a renaissance of sorts and poised for more growth. Just this spring, Orion Bank set up its headquarters in the historic Wonder Bread building, bringing more than 250 employees to the area. Plans for future residential growth include a four-story residential unit. It’s just the type of atmosphere that’s attracting dog walkers, craft beer enthusiasts, and baby strollers. Creating a place where community, art, and food come together has always been at the forefront of Barker’s mind. Edge Alley attracts a diverse community for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Barker, who studied artistic photography at Murray State University in Kentucky, is also keenly interested in supporting artists. Inside the open-concept restaurant, he offers an artist-in-residence space with the intent of giving artists an opportunity to sell art. A former micro-retail space has been converted to another informal photography gallery, which opened in June 2019. Behind the coffee bar, a large piece of shiny equipment draws quizzical stares. “That’s our coffee roaster,” laughs Barker. Fresh baked breads and hot coffee are just the start of Edge Alley’s menu which Barker makes it clear isn’t just a coffee shop. “We’ve fought that stigma from the start,” he adds. The menu itself reminds customers that quality always ranks over quantity. Tailored with intention, the choices reflect Barker’s curated approach to food. He wants it accessible and true.
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“I don’t want to price anyone out of dinner and we don’t plate food with tweezers,” he says. While the menu holds some classic Southern fare like shrimp-and-grits and chicken salad, the dishes take a veer with his unique style. Across the board, however, he strives for light, fresh offerings and informality. Sunday brunch, live music and to-die-for desserts also keep things hopping at Edge Alley. Located within walking distance of Sun Studio and Memphis’ Medical District, Edge Alley sets its sights on being a place for everyone to drop in, from business executives to students. “We want to reflect all walks of life,” says Barker. With seating for more than 60, there’s room for everyone. And if full? “We want people to have the option of strolling back and forth between the brewery and restaurant. Maybe they grab a beer and then eat here, or maybe have lunch and then head next door,” says Barker. Edge Alley reflects Barker’s casual outlook and dedication to his community, inspiring both in and out of the kitchen. edge-alley.com
Karen Ott Mayer, a freelance copywriter and editor for 20 years, writes from her farm located in Como, Mississippi.
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exploring destinations | MURPHY ARTS DISTRICT
2019 Performers: Gone West featuring Colbie Caillat Brett Young
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Going MAD with Music in El Dorado By Rebecca Bingham Photography courtesy of Bob Tarren of Murphy Arts District
The upcoming MusicFest 2019 is only a part of the Murphy Arts District’s plans for a music boomtown in El Dorado, Arkansas. When I heard Rolling Stone and The New York Times were sending writers to El Dorado, Arkansas, for a music festival last fall, I scratched my head and wondered what I’d been missing – especially since I live only two hours away in Hot Springs. This wasn’t any ordinary music festival. It was a multiday event, filled with headline acts and genres you definitely don’t expect to find in a sleepy little town two hours’ drive south of Little Rock. A couple of decades ago, I would slip into El Dorado a several times a year to play cello with the South Arkansas
Symphony. I was always impressed by the enthusiasm of a core group of arts aficionados who bragged about the history of their “City of Gold.” The primary underwriter of our performances was Murphy Oil Corporation. And thanks to descendants of Charles H. Murphy, who took over the company in 1941, El Dorado is still world headquarters for the family’s business. These days, an authentic 1940s oil derrick gushes with water to pay homage to El Dorado’s glory days. The symbolic derrick anchors the town’s newest claim to fame, the Murphy DeSoto 39
Arts District, a 50-acre complex named for the hometown family that has consistently locked arms with the local business community and state politicians to bet on the future. Madison Murphy, the company’s current chairman, says the Murphy Arts District’s acronym is MAD, because building a music city in the middle of nowhere is, well, insane. “No one used to know where Woodstock was, either,” he says. That same sort of passion for his city is what drives Murphy to reverse the trends of job scarcity and population decline. In 2007, Murphy Oil funded a full college tuition scholarship called the El Dorado Promise for students who attended El Dorado public schools for 12 years. Four years later, they built a new conference center for business meetings and conventions. “We stemmed the tide,” he says, “but we needed something more.” In search of answers, El Dorado hired Destination Development International (DDI) to devise a sure-fire action plan to keep folks from leaving town for good. DDI suggested a tourism umbrella with some sort of arts and entertainment district as a way to create fulfilling jobs, enliven the community, and promote new pathways to education. From that effort, El Dorado’s Festival and Events Initiative was formed and soon took the lead in matching public and private funds to jumpstart the idea. El Dorado stepped up with $11 million; the State of Arkansas followed with $5 million. The Murphy and Walton Foundations poured more money into the coffers, which spurred additional corporate funding. More than 100 donations put the wheels in motion, and MAD was officially born to catapult El Dorado into a magnetic destination for arts, culture and music in the South. The crown jewels of the first construction phase were two state-of-the-art concert venues: the MAD Amphitheater, which accommodates 7,500, and the Griffin Music Hall, an indoor venue that holds a more modest 2,500.
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Chief marketing officer Bob Tarren says success isn’t just about money; it’s also about reputation. “MAD metes out its funds by locking in acts that will provide a variety of monthly entertainment to people of different ages and ethnicities,” he explains. “We would rather bring in a Shakespeare theater company several times a year rather than blow everything on one epic Bruno Mars concert.” Once the acts arrive in El Dorado, the MAD staff kicks into high gear to make sure everything goes smoothly at the MAD performance venues. “It really means something when someone like Jason Isbell, after he performed in November, goes on Twitter to tell other artists to consider El Dorado,” says Tarren. “We didn’t ask him to do that.” MAD finished 2018 with zero debt. Private capital partners are paying attention, and plan to add a boutique hotel to El Dorado’s downtown. For now, historic Union Street Guest Quarters provides accommodations within walking distance of 50 specialty shops and 10 restaurants, in addition to the MAD performance venues. Whether you’re looking for ‘70s-‘80s funk, classic rock, blue-collar country, blazing hot hip-hop or a family friendly festival, it’s all available in El Dorado’s new music boomtown.
MUSICFEST 2019
Murphy Arts District (MAD) and Main Street El Dorado are presenting two days of family fun and great music Sept. 27-28. This year’s lineup includes Country, Rock and Alternative artists who have won national awards, generated millions of downloads, and crafted chart-topping singles. Tickets may be purchased as two-day packages or individual one-day admissions. Prices increase the week of Sept.22. For ticket information, visit eldomad.com.
Rebecca Bingham is a travel writer and photographer from Hot Springs, Ark. When she is not on the road, she plays cello with a professional string quartet.
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• 3-day, 2-night stay in a beachside one-bedroom (Luau) • Dinner for two at Marina Bar & Grill • Beach chairs for two each day • Couples Swedish massage and couples pedicure • Two (2) complimentary 4-hour bicycle rentals each day of your stay • One hour of free kayak rentals and one hour of boogie boards, weather permitting • One hour of free tennis court time • Free access to Sandestin Fitness Center • Free seasonal transportation tram service • Preferred beach parking Based on availability. Black-out dates: 3/15-4/28, 5/23-8/11, 8/29-9/2, 10/10-10/14 and 12/29-1/2 Register to win by returning the entry form below to DeSoto Media, 2375 Memphis Street Suite 208, Hernando, MS 38632 or by visiting DeSotoMagazine.com and clicking on the DeSotoGetaway link. Limit one entry per person. Deadline to enter is Sept 30, 2019. Drawing will be held on October 1, 2019. Must be 21 years or older. By entering you are agreeing to receive marketing communications from Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort
Name__________________________________________________________________________ Address_________________________________________________________________________ Phone Number___________________________________________________________________ Email___________________________________________________________________________ Open to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia. Must be 21 years or older. Void where prohibited. Entrants release DeSoto Magazine/DeSoto Media from all claims/liability arising from this Sweepstakes or acceptance/use of any prize. Copyright 2019 DeSoto Magazine. All rights reserved.
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on the road again | AUSTIN, TEXAS
, n i t s Au Texas
apital Live Music Cld of the Wor !
9:00 Breakfast at Magnolia Cafe on South Congress. The original cafe opened 40 years ago, and the second location on Congress was added in 1988. Both locations are open 24/7. Favorites include the omelets, French toast, pancakes and Huevos Rancheros. Both locations offer daily specials as well. 10:00 Stroll the shops of South Congress, also called SoCo. The area is full of funky shops and chic boutiques, offering everything from jewelry and apparel to handmade art and gifts. Be sure to check out Allen’s Boots. The Austin landmark has over 4,000 boots and cowboy hats! Noon - Lunch at Torchy’s Tacos. Start with homemade green chile queso, guacamole and chips. Of course, tacos are on the menu. Toppings include smoked beef brisket, Jamaican jerk chicken, pork carnitas or fried avocado. Torchy’s also serve burritos, salads and breakfast tacos. 1:00 Spend the afternoon exploring the area. If you prefer historic sites, visit the state capital building, Bullock Texas State Historic Museum, or LBJ Presidential Library. If you like outdoor adventures, hit the trails for biking and hiking or the lake or river for tubing, boating and kayaking. If you enjoy the outdoors but not the adventures, walk the Lady Bird Lake Trail, relax at Barton Pool, or enjoy the Botanical Garden at Ziker Park. 4:00 Pop into the historic Driskill Hotel, just off Sixth Street, for happy hour. The Driskill Bar is the perfect spot to grab a drink or snack and soak in the authentic Texas decor. Sip a local beer, bourbon or The Batini, the official drink of Austin. 5:00 Take in the sights and sounds of Sixth Street. Also known as “Dirty 6th,” the street offers clubs, restaurants, dive bars and year-round entertainment. Some have compared it to Bourbon Street in New Orleans. East Sixth is a little more laid back if that’s your style. 6:00 Dinner at the award-winning Easy Tiger Bake Shop & Beer Garden. All of the delicious breads, meats, sausages and sides are house-made. Start with pretzels served with beer cheese and mustards, then split a board filled with cheeses, kraut, brats and breads. 7:15 Stroll over to Congress Street Bridge and watch the world’s largest group of urban bats take flight as they pour out from under the bridge and over Lady Bird Lake. The best time to witness the bats is around sunset, but the nightly show can take place anywhere from 7:30 to 9:45 p.m.
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To plan your visit:
austintexas.org doingthestreets.com/southcongress magnoliacafeaustin.com torchystacos.com 6street.com easytigerusa.com
Upcoming Music Festivals: Austin City Limits Music Festival
Oct. 4 - 6 and Oct. 11 - 13. Zilker Park This six-day festival brings the magic of the famed public TV series Austin City Limits outside the studio and into Austin’s most beloved park with more than 140 musical acts on eight stages over two weekends. aclfestival.com
Austin Celtic Festival Nov. 1 - 3 Jourdan-Bachman Pioneer Farms The event is home to four stages of Irish, Scottish and Breton music, dance, sports, storytelling, workshops and more. austincelticfestival.com
Austin Area Jazz Festival Nov. 29 - 30 Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center Enjoy entertainment from top-tier jazz musicians, be wowed by talented visual artists and enjoy an extraordinary VIP wine tasting experience. austinareajazzfestival.com
SXSW March 13-22, 2020 An essential destination for global professionals, the event features sessions, showcases, screenings, exhibitions, and a variety of networking opportunities. SXSW proves that the most unexpected discoveries happen when diverse topics and people come together. sxsw.com DeSoto 43
greater goods | BACK TO SCHOOL
Back to school
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1. Clear bags and purses, Center Stage Fashions, 324 W Commerce Street, Hernando, MS 2. Planners, The Bunker, 2631 McIngvale Road #106, Hernando, MS 3. Scout backpacks, pencil cases and lunchboxes, Paisley Pinapple, 6542 Goodman Road, Olive Branch, MS 4. T-Shirt and Senatobia hat, Mimi’s on Main, 432 Main Street, Senatobia, MS 5. Band equipment, Sweet Lorraine’s Guitar Shop, 2521 Caffey St, Hernando, MS 6. Lunch bags, backpacks and sleeping mats, Southern Traditions, 120 W Bankhead St A, New Albany, MS 7. Yummy Gummy bags, Mimi’s on Main, 432 Main Street, Senatobia, MS 8. Door hanger, Crossroads Vendor Market, 8804 Caroma Street Ste. 140, Olive Branch, MS 9. Vera Bradley backpacks and lunch boxes, The Pink Zinnia, 134 West Commerce Street, Hernando, MS
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greater goods | BACK TO SCHOOL
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1. Clear backpacks, Cynthia’s Boutique, 2529 Caffey Street, Hernando, MS 2 Floral Romper, Iris Boutique, 3336 Goodman Road E, Southaven, MS 3. Pull on sneakers, The Speckled Egg, 5100 Interstate 55, Marion, AR 4. Teacher’s platter, Against the Grain Mercantile, 880 US-64 Marion, AR 72364 5. Kid’s backpacks, Commerce Street Market, 74 W Commerce St, Hernando, MS 6. Corkcicle lunch box, Ultimate Gifts, 3075 Goodman Road E, Southaven, MS 7. Stainless steel water bottles, Merry Magnolia, 194 E Military Road, Marion, AR 8. Chala bags and backpacks, Bon Von, 214 W Center Street, Hernando, MS 9. Lunch box, Merry Magnolia, 194 E Military Road, Marion, AR 10. Men’s shirt, SoCo Apparel, 300 W Commerce Street, Hernando, MS
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Dolly’s Loving Legacy By Jackie Sheckler Finch Photography courtesy of Dollywood Foundation and Jackie Sheckler Finch
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Childhood literacy is near and dear to Dolly Parton’s heart and her Imagination Library is a loving legacy that reaches 1.4 million children a month.
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Growing up in the Great Smoky Mountains, Dolly Parton read a book that helped change her life. Although her father couldn’t read or write, he encouraged his children to embrace education and was proud to see his daughter enjoy “book learning.” “I am ‘The Little Engine That Could,’” Parton says. “That is my favorite book, next to the Bible.” The classic story tells the tale of a determined little engine that, despite its size, triumphantly pulls a train full of toys to the waiting children on the other side of the mountain. “It was always my dream to be a star, to travel around the world,” Parton says. Although the odds may have been against her, Parton succeeded in her dreams to become one of the world’s bestknown and most-beloved entertainers. She also created a program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, to help other children dream and succeed. “I never in a million years thought we would help give away more than 120 million books. The kids call me the Book Lady,” Parton says. “I know a lot of times I get all the credit but, really and truly, it’s the local Imagination Library sponsors that deserve all of the credit for our success.”
Imagination Library Grows Each Year
Currently 1.4 million children receive a book each month. Through the program, children enrolled the first month after birth receive a free, brand-new, age-appropriate book once a month in the mail. The first book is “The Little Engine That Could.” The last book when a child turns 5 is “Look Out Kindergarten Here I Come.” “At the end of the program, each child has a 60-volume library,” says David Dotson, CEO of the not-forprofit Dollywood Foundation. “There are currently 1,700
communities in five countries participating in the program. There is at least one participating community in all 50 states.” In Hernando, Mississippi, the city will be hosting its ninth annual “Water Tower 10K” road race on Oct.12 to raise funds for the Hernando Excel By 5 – Dolly Parton Imagination Library. “Last year, we were able to raise $19,000,” says Gia Matheny, Hernando Community Development Director. “We had 380 plus participants from seven states, over 40 cities and one runner from Germany.” Hernando has participated in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library since 2014 with 497 children enrolled in 2018. “Our goal is to enroll children once they are born,” Matheny says. “We work closely with Baptist Hospital DeSoto and Porter-Leath in Memphis to identify children from our city.” Hernando also worked with the Board of Education to add a question on the kindergarten reading assessment asking if the child was enrolled in the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program. “Those that were identified had higher reading scores,” Matheny says. “We are proud to be able to offer the books to our youngest citizens and give them a jump start on their education.” In Memphis, Imagination Library has joined forces with Porter-Leath, a nonprofit organization that oversees Head Start classrooms and services in partnership with Shelby County Schools. The program aims to give parents the tools they need to be their child’s first teachers. Parton says it is important to help children develop a love for reading while they are young. “That’s when they are most impressionable,” she says. “I know how, if you can read, you can self-educate yourself.”
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Poor in Money, Rich in Love
The fourth of 12 children of Robert Lee and Avie Lee (Owens) Parton, Dolly Parton was born and raised in a ramshackle cabin in Sevier County, Tennessee. The local country doctor, Dr. Robert F. Thomas, who delivered Parton on Jan. 19, 1946, was paid a sack of cornmeal for his work. The family struggled to make a living, but life was good, Parton says. “You know, we had it kind of hard, but not any more than most folks. I had an incredible family, and we had so much love, we didn’t know we were poor.” Music was an important part of Parton family life. Before she learned to read or write, Dolly Parton was “making up” her own songs. “My Momma used to write down rhymes I would make,” she says. When she was about 3 years old, Parton “wrote” a ditty for her dolly. “The first song I ever wrote was called ‘Little Tiny Tassel Top’ about a doll my Daddy made me out of a corn cob,” she recalls. “It had corn silk for hair, and he burned in two eyes with a fireplace poker.” When Parton was 7 years old, her Uncle Bill Parton gave her a guitar. Three years later, she got a big radio job. “My fir st break came from a gentleman named Cas Walker in Knoxville,” Parton says. “He had a chain of grocery stores, but he also had a radio show on every day. He hired me.” Her career steadily climbed and in 1959, Parton made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. The day after she graduated from high school in 1964, the 18-year-old packed her cardboard suitcase and moved to Nashville to seek her fortune – and found her husband. “I met Carl my first day in Nashville at the Wishy-Washy Laundromat,” she says. Owner of an asphalt paving business in Nashville, Carl Dean has always shunned publicity. Dolly’s initial success came as a songwriter, writing hit songs for Skeeter Davis and Hank Williams Jr. About this time, Porter Wagoner was looking for a new “girl singer” for his syndicated television show. Dolly accepted the job in 1967, signed with RCA Records in 1968, and joined the Grand Ole Opry in 1969. Her career was in high gear. After several hit duos with Wagoner, Dolly left the show in 1974, writing the song DeSoto 51
“I Will Always Love You” for Wagoner. It reached No. 1 for the first time in 1974. Not a day goes by that she doesn’t write, Dolly says. In 2006, she was recognized by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for her lifetime of contributions to the performing arts.
Helping Her Smoky Mountain Hometown
Despite all the awards and international acclaim, Dolly has never forgotten her roots. In the early 1980s, she began musing about projects to help her Tennessee hometown. “I was thinking I wanted to give something back to the area where I was born,” Dolly says. The result was Dollywood Family Amusement Park in 1986 in Pigeon Forge. The name had stuck in Dolly’s mind from her first visit to Los Angeles. She had looked up at the landmark Hollywood sign and thought, “I would like to change that H into a D.’’ But she hastens to add that the theme park is “much more about the mountains and the people who live there than it is about me. I saw Dollywood as a chance to honor them… It brought a lot of jobs to the area for my kinfolk and others to work.” 52 DeSoto
In 1987 came Dolly Parton’s Stampede dinner theater with an emphasis on down-home cooking and a modern-day Wild West revue. The 299-room DreamMore Resort & Spa opened in 2015 next door to Dollywood. Dolly herself has produced a children’s picture book, “Coat of Many Colors,” based on her hit song of the same title. The story tells of a coat she owned as a child that her mother had stitched together out of many different pieces of cloth. Although the other children at school made fun of her, Dolly took pride in her coat and the love that her mother had sewed into it. Her mother died in December 2003. Her father died in 2000. Visitors to Chasing Rainbows, the museum devoted to Dolly’s life history at Dollywood, can see a replica of that childhood coat, as well as family photos and other memorabilia. As part of a desire to give back to her hometown, Parton started Imagination Library in 1996 in Sevier County. “Since the program started in 1996, we have had literally thousands of letters and emails expressing how the family could not otherwise afford books, how excited their children are when the books arrive in the mail and how the child developed a lifelong passion for reading and learning,” says Dotson, Dollywood Foundation’s CEO.
“Our plan is to have 10 percent of all children under 5 enrolled in the program by 2023,” Dotson says. “We are currently at 6.5 percent.” An avid reader, Parton says she prefers the peaceful pursuit of reading. “I read everything…I really love a good story,” she says. “I like to read and let my imagination go.”
An award-winning journalist, Jackie Sheckler Finch loves to take to the road to see what lies beyond the next bend.
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Guitar Tower at Seminole Hard Rock Resort. Hollywood, Florida
Sweet Dreams By Mary Ann DeSantis Photography: Guest House lobby photos provided by The Guest House; Gaylord Opryland photos by Mary Ann DeSantis; Guitar Tower photos provided by Seminole Hard Rock Resort/Hollywood.
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Sweet dreams are made in these musically inspired hotels where tributes to your favorite artists permeate the properties from the guest rooms to restaurants and even in the swimming pools.
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The Lobby at The Guest House at Graceland
Lost Key Bar at Margaritaville Resort
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Music triggers rich memories and influences our moods. Hotel developers picked up on this phenomenon years ago and created musically inspired hotels that hit the high notes with travelers. But these hotels are not just for sleepy heads; they are luxurious resorts with rock-star amenities to keep you entertained throughout your stay. Chances are that you won’t see your favorite performer lounging by the pool, because most of these resorts are owned by corporate conglomerates or are franchises under a holding company. Nevertheless, the following properties certainly pay homage to their namesakes or musical genres and strike the right chords for guests who need to brighten their moods with a getaway.
The Guest House at Graceland Memphis, Tennessee guesthousegraceland.com
It’s a long way from the heartbreak hotel to The Guest House, a 450-room luxury resort that opened in 2016 adjacent to the Graceland mansion. There are nods to Elvis Presley everywhere: curved, highbacked sofas in the lobby are meant to mimic the collars on some of Elvis’ capes, and the heart-shaped outdoor firepit is called “Burning Love.” The gabled entrance and grand staircase are large-scale replicas of those at Graceland, the home Elvis bought in 1957. And best of all is the nonstop soundtrack of Elvis songs playing in the lobby and public areas to get guests in the mood for their Elvis Presley’s Memphis experience just across the street. Inspired by the “make-yourself-athome” warmth that Elvis always showed his guests, The Guest House has a touch of elegance along with a dash of rock ‘n’ roll. Priscilla Presley supervised the design to reflect Elvis’ persona and style. My deluxe room featured a beautiful painting of Elvis that seemed lifelike in the evening light. The TCB (Taking Care of Business Suites) feature living and dining room areas while the King’s Suites offer the ultimate in rock ‘n’ roll living with two-bedrooms plus a living room, dining room, kitchen and bar area. These two specialty suites are styled with luxurious colors and extravagant furnishings. DeSoto 57
Landshark Lookout Deck at Margaritaville Resort
Waterfall inside the Gaylord Opryland Hotel
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The Guest House has two restaurants onsite: Delta’s Kitchen, which features classic Southern cooking, and EP’s Bar & Grille, which features some of Elvis’ favorite dishes. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I decided to stay overnight at The Guest House. Quite honestly, I was afraid I’d find lots of kitschy memorabilia. Instead, I found tasteful décor and an archive of cultural history that spanned my lifetime. I just couldn’t help falling in love again with the King.
Margaritaville Resort Biloxi, Mississippi margaritavilleresortbiloxi.com
Grab a license to chill at this family friendly resort on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, one of 18 Margaritaville Resorts with 24 more lodging locations in the pipeline. Pensacola Beach, Florida, was the site of the first Margaritaville Resort Hotel, which opened in 2010, and the franchise has come a long way since then with more amenities and larger properties. And they are all unique. “Each one is owned and operated separately and each one is different,” explains Ann Carter Tate, director of public and media relations for Margaritaville Biloxi. “We have to adhere to the corporate standards for the brand.” Margaritaville is indeed a brand and Jimmy Buffett’s company owns the name, but Biloxi Lodging owns the resort. That’s not to say the Mississippi-born Buffett hasn’t checked out the resort in the town where he played his first professional gig. After the Biloxi property opened as a resort in 2016, Buffett visited and even took videos in the 55,000-square-foot Escape Family Entertainment Center for his son. “We were definitely the first Margaritaville to have an arcade specifically for kids,” says Tate. The model has been so successful that Margaritaville Resort Vicksburg ditched plans for a casino and instead opened a family resort overlooking the Mississippi River last May. Margaritaville Resort Gatlinburg focuses on outdoor adventures and its prime location near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. USA Today readers recently voted Margaritaville Gatlinburg as the No. 1 Best New Hotel in 2019. DeSoto 59
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida
But if it’s the beach vibe and bare-foot elegance you want, Margaritaville Resort Biloxi is the place to change your latitude and your attitude. While the beach is nearby, you may not make it off the unique rooftop water playground with its 450-foot lazy river, lounge pool, a water ropes course and gigantic slides. And when it’s 5 o’clock somewhere, parents can visit the swim-up bar for hand-crafted cocktails. Future plans include the country’s first AEROBAR, where guests will strap in and ascend 115 feet in the air – along with a bartender, of course – for a real change in altitude.
Gaylord Opryland Hotel Nashville, Tennessee gaylordhotelsnews.com/WelcomeToGaylordOpryland
When I first visited the Gaylord Opryland Resort years ago for a convention, I wondered how I’d ever find my way around the mammoth property. Now owned by Marriott, the resort has kept pace with the 21st century by offering a mobile app to help guests navigate around the resort. After all, the hotel is a small city in itself with nine acres of indoor gardens, 12 restaurants, and more than 2,800 guest rooms. While the hotel, which honors Nashville’s musical heritage, is known as a major convention magnet most of the year, it has also transformed into a kid-friendly resort, especially 60 DeSoto
during the summer. The annual SummerFest, which runs through Sept. 2, features an all-new Smurfs theme. Special events also include a Junior Chefs Camp on Sundays where aspiring young cooks can learn from Opryland’s award-winning chefs, and Guitar Build Workshops on Fridays where guests of all ages can learn how to make a hand-built guitar. Opryland Resort’s newest attraction, however, is making the most waves. The exclusive SoundWaves fuses water and music to create a unique experience. The four-acre facility opened last year with 111,000 square-feet of indoor space followed by another 106,000 square-feet of outdoor water amenities in May. “There’s nothing like this in the U.S.,” says Rob Regg, marketing manager for Gaylord Opryland. “Convention attendees often bring their families and this will be perfect to keep them entertained.” Ideal for all ages, SoundWaves has several recreation zones and thrilling activities such as a multi-slide tower, FlowRider® Double indoor surfing, rapid and lazy rivers, and an activity pool with rock climbing. Adult guests also have exclusive access to an adult-only bar and infinity pool that overlooks the facility, perfect for parents with tweens or teens. With so much onsite entertainment, it might be easy to overlook the nearby Grand Ole Opry House, which moved in 1974 from the historic Ryman Auditorium to the current location near the resort. The Opry is an experience that
shouldn’t be missed when in Music City. After all, Opryland wouldn’t exist without the its namesake Grand Ole Opry, which made country music famous.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, Florida seminolehardrockhollywood.com
The Hard Rock brand has been synonymous with all things rock ‘n’ roll since the first café opened in 1971 in London. From restaurants to casinos and luxurious hotels, Hard Rock is the granddaddy for creating memorable experiences surrounded by authentic rock memorabilia. People are still talking about its 80,000th acquisition: Elvis Presley’s 24-karat gold leaf piano. And now, they are talking about something else: the iconic Guitar Hotel at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Instead of overnighting in a regular hotel, you can stay in a tower shaped like a guitar come October 24, the day the architectural marvel opens. The 35-story Guitar Hotel with its 638 luxury guestrooms and suites has already changed the city’s skyline. Designed to resemble back-to-back guitars, complete with guitar faces and brightly lit strings, this engineering masterpiece reaches 450 feet into the sky, outfitted with floor-to-ceiling glass panes. The $1.5 billion Hard Rock property in Hollywood, Florida, is part of a larger project – a $2.2 billion project expanding two Florida Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos (the other is in Tampa). Both the Hollywood and Tampa locations of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino are run by the Seminole Tribe. The AAA Four-Diamond rated resorts are as glitzy and glamorous as the traditional Hard Rock properties around the world. Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood is home to some of music’s most iconic memorabilia, including pieces from Michael Jackson, Prince, Katy Perry and Beyoncé. But if you are looking for Elvis’ gold piano, you won’t find it in Hollywood but rather in the newly redesigned grand entrance of the Tampa location.
A native of Laurel, Mississippi, Mary Ann DeSantis serves as the managing editor of DeSoto Magazine.
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King Biscuit’s Beat Goes On
The 2019 King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, Arkansas, won’t miss a beat, but it will miss radio personality Sonny Payne whose legacy continues.
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By Karen Ott Mayer Photography courtesy of Brian Chilson, Carol Boss, King Biscuit Festival, Rob Hammons and Rory Doyle
Photo by Carol Boss
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Photo by Rory Doyle/Bridging the Blues
Photo by Rory Doyle/Bridging the Blues
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As the King Biscuit Blues Festival approaches, the late Sonny “Sunshine” Payne’s voice and legacy echo in more than one Delta mind. Without his famed King Biscuit Time, the longest-running American daily broadcast program that put Helena, Arkansas, on the global map, it’s quite possible events like this festival would not have happened. Payne literally grew up with KBBF, working as a janitor prior to his military career. He learned the radio equipment and broadcasting business from station engineers after hours. Eventually, he was named the announcer in 1951. His on-air successor, Thomas Jacques, assistant director at the Delta Cultural Center, shares his own memories. “He was a character but the most excellent of guys. He’s always told me to just be myself on the air,” says Jacques. He worked alongside Payne, filling in during his absences, particularly when poor health interrupted his later years. When asked about Payne’s nickname, “Sunshine,” Jacques laughs aloud. “It’s funny because if anything he had a tendency for grumpiness.” He recounted the time when Robert Lockwood, Jr. was supposed to perform in Marianna, Arkansas, it rained and rained. Payne kept going on about the weather until Lockwood, tired of hearing it, said, “You’re just a ray of sunshine!” From that day, the name just stuck. The link between King Biscuit Time and the festival grew from a particular set of historical and cultural circumstances. When Payne launched the radio program in 1941, blues musicians had little opportunity to be heard. “When the show started, it was the first time African Americans in this area had the chance to hear their own music,” says Jacques. But it wasn’t easy initially. In order to play, the musicians were told they’d need a sponsor. Station Manager Sam Anderson suggested they find something akin to Hank Williams and Mother’s Best Flour. “It just so happened there was a train car full of King Biscuit Flour they couldn’t give away. During those years, Interstate Grocery distributed to all the mom-and-pop stores across the Delta so sharecroppers and tenants had food. When owner Max Moore agreed to sponsor the musicians, these guys would carry a sack of flour with them from performance to DeSoto 65
Photo by Brian Chilson
Photo by Brian Chilson
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performance,” says Jacques. The show also became a vehicle for artists to publicize their show route across the many juke joints. “It was the first time on the radio for many of these artists and the show was popular because the African American community supported it,” explains Jacques. The show ran at noon which coincided with lunch breaks. The format has stayed relatively the same with time for a live performer, a current musician, and then as Jacques says, “a scratchy record” from earlier days. Jacques’ colleague Carla Robinson has been with the Delta Cultural Center for more than a decade and knew Payne as well. “He was a history book of the blues. You didn’t realize it until you started to talk to him. I miss him greatly.” Robinson has been connected with the festival since 1988 when she was a young college student. After visiting the festival, the following year she began volunteering. “This was the real blues then and the King Biscuit boys were named after the flour. I met all those people like Pinetop Perkins and Robert Lockwood. I’m a diehard blues fan,” she says. King Biscuit Time opened the doors for future blues generations. Young ambitious blues artists listened to the program while at lunch and in the fields, and later legends like B.B. King and Muddy Waters tuned in. Helena, like many Delta towns along the river, experienced a downturn for many decades as people left, resources dwindled and buildings became vacated. Many musicians remember the busy times during the 1940s and 50s when music venues were hopping and free alcohol flowed. During the 1980s as towns searched for new ways to revitalize, festivals became a redevelopment tool. In 1986, locals in Helena began to think of options and one group, the Sonny Boy Blues Society, emerged as the original planning committee. The goal was simply to raise awareness about Helena’s rich musical heritage. The event was also once known as the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival due to a licensing dispute with Wolfgang’s Vault, an online archive of mass amounts of musical collections, including the King Biscuit Flower Hour. Festival organizers worked with the owner of the trademarked name who finally agreed to release the DeSoto 67
Photo by Rory Doyle/Bridging the Blues
Radio personality Sonny Payne
name in 2011. Before his death in February 2018, Payne earned many notable awards including a Peabody Award, the Pioneer Award from the Arkansas Broadcaster’s Association, and the Keeping the Blues Alive Award from the Blues Foundation. He was also inducted into the Blue’s Foundations Hall of Fame in 2010. THIS YEAR’S FESTIVAL The 2019 King Biscuit Blues Festival happens October 9-12 in downtown Helena along the Mississippi River. As in years past, the event promises to draw thousands of blue fans from around the world to enjoy emerging artists and wellknown veteran blues. But the music is just the start. The multi-day event also includes the “Tour Da Delta Bike Ride,” which visitors can tailor to their own liking from a family fun ride to a hefty 65-mile tour de force. For the first time ever, the Bartlett Songwriters’ Alliance is offering a 2-day songwriting workshop for a reasonable $25 fee. Aspiring songwriters can learn more about the craft and will also have the chance to perform the song during the festival. Headline acts this year include Delbert McClinton, Mr. Sipp, and Ruthie Foster among others. Favorites like the Cedric Burnside Band will be there alongside dozens of acts with memorable names like Marcus “Mookie” Cartwright and Kenny “Beedy Eyes” Smith. 68 DeSoto
Every October for the last 30 years, people from all walks of life have come together to celebrate the late Sonny “Sunshine” Payne whose legacy continues with the festival. Jacques points out that the King Biscuit Blues Festival and radio show symbolize a cultural highpoint for the Delta. “The show says a lot about our heritage in the Delta.” Complete details including tickets and the full 2019 lineup can be found on the festival website at kingbiscuitfestival.com.
Following the Blues
Ever wonder how to keep up with all the blues events happening in the Mississippi Delta? “Bridging the Blues” is the answer. Founded in 2012, Bridging the Blues isn’t a place or a festival but rather an online connector for blues happenings in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Tennessee. Focused on the busy months of September and October with music festivals like the King Biscuit Blues Festival serving as anchor events, Bridging the Blues helps visitors navigate the region. The stage is only the beginning. Visitors will find happenings at museums, parks, bars and juke joints. Build your ideal itinerary then meander through the region to discover a real sense of the music, people and culture. Start by visiting bridgingtheblues.com to explore the venues or follow throughout the year on the Facebook page to keep up with concerts and news.
Writer and editor, Karen Ott Mayer, celebrates 20 years as a commercial copywriter in 2019.
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homegrown | RESTRUNG JEWELRY
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The Beat Lives On By Deborah Burst | Photography courtesy of Naomi Celestin, owner of ReStrung Jewelry
From strumming guitars to the crafty karma of recycled strings, the beat lives on inside ReStrung Jewelry. Sometimes life comes in full circle, from the passions of a child to the good deeds of an adult, and so does the story of Naomi Celestin and ReStrung Jewelry. She began making jewelry as a child, advanced to metalsmithing in college and continued crafting jewelry as a hobby in her career as an arts administrator. “I thought making guitar string jewelry would simply be a fun side hustle,” Celestin explains. “I spent many nights at shows in New Orleans waiting for musicians to take breaks so I could ask them to save strings for me.” Soon a partnership evolved, and the music community helped spread the word in donating used strings. In April 2012, sales took off when Celestin began selling her jewelry at The French Market in New Orleans. She developed a signature style with wirework and vintage gemstones, and soon was working every day to keep up with the weekend’s demand. That’s when Celestin shut down her graphic design
business and devoted her time and money in building the ReStrung brand. After growing up volunteering for several organizations and working over a decade for non-profits, she wanted to use her creative talents to help others. “The NOLA (New Orleans, Louisiana) musicians seemed like the obvious place to start,” says Celestin adding that a portion of their profits goes to The New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation. “I’m also into ‘conscious shopping,’ so it was important that our materials sourcing was as ethically responsible as possible.” In just six months, she was working 40 hours a week crafting the jewelry plus spending all weekend at the French Market. She hired Tara Rodgers as her first sales rep who still assists today in making the jewelry. Soon wholesale customers were interested along with festivals and markets; she hired stay-at-home moms along with musicians and performers who needed extra work in between shows. DeSoto 71
Naomi Celestin
“I knew I had a niche product that I truly loved creating, and a team of women that this little concept was supporting,” Celestin says proudly. “That’s always given me the fuel I needed to figure out how to keep things going, and I was fortunate to have several mentors along the way who encouraged me, gave advice and support.” ReStrung is headquartered in New Orleans, but it also has a new satellite studio in Rincon, Puerto Rico. The first store/studio was in a renovated old firehouse in the New Orleans Marigny neighborhood. Now the team – comprised mostly of women – is working from home except for the sales reps. Each piece has its own style, from the intricate hoop and dangling earrings to the delicate strung necklaces. But the best sellers are the gemstone bangles with polished guitar strings. “I’ve made it a point to set ReStrung apart by working on my own signature style, the wire work, semi-precious stones, pieces I would wear myself,” she explains. “A woman who loves eclectic fashion, has a major case of wanderlust, goes to festivals and is interested in artisan products, culture, history, and of course music!” Celestin does the custom work herself. It begins with an email conversation and continues from there. Several clients send strings of a loved one who has passed; it’s a special project that connects Celestin with the family member, hearing their stories about the person who owned the strings. ReStrung receives string donations from musicians all over the world, and some of the packages include stories shared by the musicians. A few years ago, the president of Sfarzo Strings, one of the largest string manufacturers in the U.S., began donating a 10-12 pound box of used strings to ReStrung every month. 72 DeSoto
“That’s a lot of strings that would otherwise get scrapped, but for us it’s like getting a box of gold,” Celestin says enthusiastically. “And while we mostly use guitar strings these days, I still do custom work with mandolin, bass, violin, and even piano wire.” Musicians continue to applaud ReStrung. Celestin recalls one such encounter with the late Dr. John, a New Orleans musician who was known across the country. She hoped the two could connect on an environmental project he had been working on. Wearing a green dress, she approached him, and Dr. John sang her praises in his signature slow, gravely voice. A moment Celestin remembers vividly. “Naomi, you are green on every level, and green is your color. Ya see wit ReStrung you got dat eco-friendly green, you got style, like dat new and fresh kinda green and you got dat making money green – and dat’s all good.” In the upcoming months, ReStrung will be launching new product lines that tie into its Louisiana and Caribbean connections, including more sustainably sourced materials, as well as a men’s collection and a signature line of one-of-a-kind pieces. A list of musicians who are part of the ReStrung family is on the company’s website. restrungjewelry.com Author, speaker and award-winning writer/photographer, Deborah Burst grew up in New Orleans and attended countless concerts at the Warehouse and Municipal Auditorium. She has fond memories of rocking to the Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, and many more.
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southern gentleman | LEARNING TO PLAY
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Music for the Ages By Jason Frye | Photography courtesy of the John C. Campbell Folk School
You’re never too old to learn to play an instrument. In addition to enriching your time with music, you’ll also improve your creative thinking skills and your mental well-being. For a long time, I’ve wanted to learn to play banjo. I dream about it. Notes, melodies, and rhythms drop into my ears at unexpected times. There’s something about that plucky, rapid-fire three-finger banjo picking – a revolution in bluegrass from North Carolina’s own Earl Scruggs – that gets my toes tapping. And there’s something about the strumming Clawhammer style – found often in Dixieland Jazz and oldtime music – that’s mesmerizing. On Sunday mornings I settle into my office, turn my little speaker down low and listen to Flatt & Scruggs’ 1951 release, Foggy Mountain Gospel, two hours and nine minutes of bluegrass gospel that sounds like my Granny Madeline’s kitchen. I can smell over-strong Maxwell House and her Pall Mall cigarettes; I see her, a shade under 5-feet, a ball of nervous energy flitting around the kitchen waiting to hear the radio crackle, “It’s WVOW Radio Gospel Hour.”
Music has the power to root us in a place and it picks us up and takes us there in an instant. I think that’s why I want to play, so I can find that path between my present and the past of my grandparents. Another reason this 41-year old wants to learn to play: research. No, not combing through the catalogues of my favorite bands for tunes I could play – though that sounds fun – but actual research. Research shows that children who actively participate in music classes or take music lessons show improved abilities in literacy and in math. Their grades go up, their school attendance improves, and they’re more active in class and in their community if they’re involved in music. And a study in Germany showed that music training improves cognitive and noncognitive skills (coordination and physical skills) more than twice as much as sports or other performing arts. DeSoto 75
But what about adults? Can we pick up an instrument and learn to play? Can we find a place where we can learn without the self-imposed shame and stigma of being a novice? The answers are “Yes.” In studies looking at adult musicians, researchers found that it keeps you sharp and does something in your brain that allows you to adapt to new information more easily than your non-musical peers. It improves creative thinking, it can put you in touch with culture and history in surprising ways, it provides an outlet for stress and can even reduce the chances you feel burnt out. Many adults mistakenly think they can’t learn to play an instrument, but that’s not true. Rick Taylor has been teaching music workshops at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, since 2001, and his students, even the beginner students, are adults. “At the Folk School, it’s a pretty intensive week no matter what class I’m teaching. By the end of the week I see students who might have picked up a banjo or guitar for their first time on day one, but now they’re confident to strum along with the class and hit all their chord changes,” he says. Who are those students? Retirees, early retirees, adults with a passion to learn or perfect their craft. The John C. Campbell Folk School spreads beyond music into art (painting, watercolors, drawing, photography), Appalachian folk wisdom (woods lore, storytelling, herbalism, soap making, broom making, homesteading), forgotten skills (blacksmithing, papermaking, bookbinding), and even creative writing. “I had an 85-year old woman from Miami who wanted to learn to play the five-string banjo in my class. I’ve had corporate executives who took early retirement and followed a passion. I’ve had schoolteachers who at 55 had put in their time and were now learning for the love of it. And I’ve had groups of students become friends and return year after year, using the Folk School like a little reunion,” says Taylor. As for not wanting to be a novice, not wanting to start at the beginning, I get it. It’s embarrassing to fumble over the strings or to hit the wrong key. As adults, we’ve spent years honing our career-related skills and perfecting our hobbies, so 76 DeSoto
we’re experts in areas and to go from that to the bottom of the ladder is intimidating. But think of it this way: how cool is it that you, at whatever age, learned to play harmonica, ukulele, accordion, hammer dulcimer, banjo? Do you think that will translate into your self-confidence and that then will impact your confidence in other areas? Studies show they do. “The real beauty of the Folk School is that it’s non-competitive. No grades, no rankings, none of that pressure. People come because they want to enrich their lives,” says Taylor. “I think they take music classes for the same reason I became a musician: I heard a song I loved and wanted to play it. I like to think we give them entry into a world where they can.” The John C. Campbell Folk School offers a full slate of classes for adults, including Taylor’s banjo and guitar classes to weekend intensives in woodcarving, weaving, pottery, cooking and more. folkschool.org
Jason Frye’s grandfather played guitar, pedal steel, and other instruments as well as calling square dances. None of this was passed along to Jason, though he dreams of playing something other than the radio one day.
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southern harmony | SONGWRITERS
CJ Solar
Singing Their Own Songs By Kevin Wierzbicki Photography Credits: Melinda Milligan photo by Jerry Plunk, CJ Solar photos courtesy of CJ Solar, Steve Bogard photo courtesy of Steve Bogard
Songwriters are often the wind beneath the wings of musical stars. You may not know their names, but you certainly will recognize the songs of these Memphis and Mississippi creators. Without them, King George might be just a prince. The songwriters that craft hit songs for the likes of George Strait and other top stars may not be household names, but most music fans are familiar with their work; it is with these folks that the seeds of many a No. 1 and Top 10 hit began germinating. The songwriting community is especially strong in Tennessee and Mississippi, with many who ply the craft residing in the Memphis area. One such songwriter is Melinda Milligan, who is a coordinator of the Memphis chapter of NSAI, the Nashville Songwriters Association International. “I love the community of songwriters in Memphis and I love how Memphis fosters the individuality and uniqueness of the talent here,” Milligan tells DeSoto Magazine. “As a songwriter, honing my craft is an important and never-ending 78 DeSoto
process. I utilize my NSAI membership to stay sharp and current; I can have any song I write professionally evaluated and receive laser-focused, beneficial feedback.” Milligan plans on releasing an EP entitled Embers sometime this summer. Steve Bogard is the Board President of NSAI; the Nashville-based songwriter has penned 10 No. 1 hits, including “Carried Away” and “Carrying Your Love with Me” by the aforementioned George Strait, and “Prayin’ for Daylight” by Rascal Flatts. Bogard says his main goal as NSAI president is, “to continue our momentum in the effort to get songwriters compensated fairly in the digital age,” noting that the organization was instrumental in the passage last fall of the Music Modernization Act. “Songwriters have been unfairly penalized by arcane
Melinda Milligan
government rate setting rules that have not kept up with technology,” Bogard says, adding that the NSAI hopes there will be a reexamination of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. “The DMCA has had devastating unintended consequences for songwriters and their publishing partners.” With Bogard and the other Board members of NSAI seeing to the serious side of the songwriting business, members like CJ Solar can easily avail themselves to the day-to-day benefits of being a member. “Being a member of NSAI was a huge help when I was thinking about moving to Nashville,” Solar explains. “When I came to visit the first time, I met lifelong friends at Spring Training (an annual NSAI event now known as the Tin Pan South Songwriting Seminar) who I still write with and have had major label cuts with. I continued going to NSAI events until I got my publishing deal and got great advice from the industry pros they brought in. And I can’t say enough about the legislative work that they do to help songwriters make a better living.” Solar had his first No. 1 hit last year with “Up Down” by Morgan Wallen and is also on the airwaves as co-writer of the latest cut, “Like You’ve Been There Before,” by his friend Jameson Rodgers. “It’s always cool hearing your songs on the radio and even more special when you’re friends with the artist!” Of course, like all creatives, songwriters love to sing their own songs, and one of the most important annual events where they can showcase their work is at the Mississippi Songwriters Festival. The event is celebrating its 10th anniversary Sept. 19-22 at various venues in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The fest draws hit songwriters from throughout the South. Those in attendance in 2018 included Troy Martin, who has written No. 1 hits for George Strait and Rick Trevino,
Steve Bogard
Danny Wells, who also hit the top of the charts with King George as well as Rascal Flatts and Colin Raye, and Mississippi Delta native Muleman, who having spent time in Mississippi’s notorious Parchman Farm Prison (some 25-years ago) surely has some interesting things to say in song. One of the folks behind the Mississippi Songwriters Festival is George Cumbest, an NSAI member who is also the president of the Mississippi Songwriters Alliance. “Actually, the Mississippi Songwriters Festival started first, in 2010,” Cumbest says. “Over the years people kept wanting to join our organization, so we created the Mississippi Songwriters Alliance in 2015, and then developed our newsletter and other events.” Cumbest has had four cuts on the national charts, and he co-wrote Taylor Made’s No. 1 hit “Somewhere Between.” The Mississippi Songwriters Festival, which is free to attend, offers a bit of education for beginning songwriters through songwriting workshops, and there is always a big closing show featuring lots of the performers. Besides putting on the festival, the Mississippi Songwriters Alliance also works with the Nashville-based Operation Song, a non-profit that seeks to empower veterans and active duty military personnel to tell their stories through songwriting. It’s not the easiest thing to do, to think about all the people and effort that went into making a great song when you’re singing along or dancing to it. But should you remember, the next time you’re out at a club enjoying your favorite songs, raise a glass to the folks who’ve been there since the first note. Kevin Wierzbicki is a freelance music and travel journalist whose passion for music began with the Motown Sound and a transistor radio.
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in good spirits | LANDRY’S FLEUR-DE-LIS
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Tropical Flavors Story and photography by Cheré Coen
Cool off with this tropical-flavored cocktail that pays homage to New Orleans. It’s hot in Southern Louisiana this time of year, steam rising from the sidewalks, droplets of sweat rolling down your back. Gators crawl out of the swamps and bask in the sunbaked mud flats while other critters — especially the human ones — take solace in the shade. But at Landry’s Seafood Restaurant in Henderson, life is refreshing and cool. Louisiana residents Betty Landry and Gerald Defez opened Landry’s Seafood House in Henderson in 1978, operating the location until 1993 when Tilman Fertitta, president and CEO of Landry’s, Inc., purchased the property and added it to his growing restaurant family. Betty Landry was the daughter of Willie G. Landry, who started the first restaurant with Fertitta in Texas. Today, Fertitta operates more than 400 properties around the world. The Henderson Landry’s, located right off Interstate 10 where the Louisiana prairie meets the Atchafalaya swamp basin, remains popular with locals as well as visitors, despite the chain’s now lofty reputation. Most days, Landry’s of Henderson attracts quite a crowd at the daily Happy Hour. The restaurant offers a large bar with a Cajun décor and serves Louisianastyled appetizers and several signature cocktails to curb the summer heat, said Max Ennamany, divisional vice president of corporate beverage at Landry’s Seafood. “The cocktail menu offers a variety of signature cocktails from martini styles like the Chilled Cucumber or the Pomegranate Martini, to different flavored modern sangrias and tropical cocktails,” Ennamany explains. “We also offer two pages dedicated to the trending style of cocktails that include an old-fashioned with a twist (“Old, Yet Fashionable”), a blood orange mule, and Shipwreck’ed, which is a Tiki-style cocktail.” But one cocktail stands out among the rest, a refreshing blend of alcohol flavors and fruit juices in a tall thistle glass, the Fleurde-Lis.
“We had always served Mai Tais and Hurricanes with great success so we wanted to add a new tropical-flavored cocktail and give it a New Orleans name, giving patrons a new option with coconut rum as the base,” says Ennamany. “The drink quickly gained popularity and became one of the most frequently ordered cocktails, earning its place as a longtime favorite among guests. Its success and following has made it impossible to take off the menu.” So, when the temperature soars and the throat parches and you’re aching for something cool and fruity with a kick, try making this Louisiana favorite at home. The Fleur-de-Lis
1 ounce Cruzan Coconut Rum 1 ounce Midori Melon Liqueur 1/2 ounce DeKuyper Peach Schnapps 4 ounces pineapple juice 4 ounces orange juice
Directions: In a shaker tin, mix all the ingredients and tumble with ice. Pour into a 21-ounce thistle glass and garnish with sliced fruit such as an orange wedge or cherry flag on the rim.
Cheré Coen has deep Mississippi and New Orleans roots but the food and travel writer now lives in Cajun Country. She is the author of “Exploring Cajun Country” and Southern-based novels under the pen name of Cherie Claire.
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exploring events | AUGUST Spirits of the Passage: The Story of the the Transatlantic Slave Trade Through August 11 Two Mississippi Museums Jackson, MS Explore rare, firsthand accounts of loss and resilience from the unlikely discovery of a sunken slave ship. For more information visit twomississippimuseums.com/spirits.
Unknown Child Holocaust Exhibit Through August 31 DeSoto County Museum Hernando, MS This exhibit tells the story of the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust, as seen through the eyes of the local students who collected 1.5M pennies – one for each child. Free admission. For more information call 662-429-8852. Hernando Farmer’s Market Through September 29 Courthouse Square Hernando, MS 8:00am-1:00pm The Hernando Farmer’s Market is ranked number 1 certified farmer’s market and ranked 30th in the nation by the American Farmland Trust. For more information, visit cityofhernando.org/farmersmarket or call 662-429-9092. ARTS in the Alley August 1 - 31 Old Towne Main Street Olive Branch, MS Visit this free outdoor art gallery, located next the Chamber of Commerce. Paintings by local artists are rotated periodically. For more information, visit obarts.com or call 901-619-0261. First Friday Art Walk August 2 DeSoto Arts Council Hernando, MS 5:00 - 7:00pm The first Friday of each month enjoy art, wine and cheese at businesses around the DeSoto Arts Council area in Hernando. They will be open and feature art in their establishments. For additional information, call 662-404-3361 or email dac.desotoarts@gmail.com. Live at the Garden Presents Lionel Richie August 2 Botanic Garden Memphis, TN Picnic baskets, law chairs and coolers welcome! For more information visit liveatthegarden.com. Watermelon Carnival August 2 - 3 City Park Water Valley, MS Fireworks show, BBQ contest, music, arts & crafts, children’s activities, car show and free watermelon slices! For more information call 662-473-1122 or visit watervalleychamber.com.
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Elvis Week August 9 - 17 Memphis, TN Elvis Week is a celebration of the music, movies and legacy of Elvis Presley. Join fans from around the world in Memphis as we remember the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. For a complete list of events visit graceland.com. Picnic on the Lawn at Chalmers August 10 Chalmers Institute Holly Springs, MS 4:00 - 7:00pm Hosted by Preserve Marshall County. Come to a picnic on the lawn and join in celebrating historic preservation, while at the same time...enjoy good food, music and silent auction! For tickets visit preservemarshallcounty.org or call 901-336-4090. Farm to Table in Hernando August 15 Cedar Hill Farm Hernando, MS 6:30 - 9:00pm An event highlighting local chefs and farmers Presented by Hernando Main Street Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call 662-429-9055 or visit hernandoms.org Thomas Rhett with Dustin Lynch, Russell Dickerson and Rhett Akins August 16 BankPlus Amphitheatre at Snowden Grove Park Southaven, MS For more information visit livenation.com. 17th Annual Tri-State Blues Festival August 17 Landers Center Southaven, MS 7:00pm Pokey Bear with more to be announced later. Tickets obtained from sources other than the Landers Center Box Office or Ticketmaster may be counterfeit or overpriced. Call 662-470-2131 if you have any questions or concerns. Mississippi Book Festival: A Literary Lawn Party August 17 Stata Capitol Jackson, MS 9:00am - 5:00pm 150+ authors, 40+ panels, book signings, booksellers, Capitol tours, food trucks and more. For more information visit msbookfestival.com or call 769-717-2648. Kansas August 22 Bologna Perfomring Arts Center Cleveland, MS 7:30 With a legendary career spanning more than four decades, KANSAS has firmly established itself as one of America’s iconic classic rock bands. For more information visit bolognapac.com or call 662-846-4625.
Helen Brett Mid-South Jewelry & Accessories Fair August 23-25 Landers Center Southaven, MS Fri & Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 10am-4pm The Mid-South Jewelry and Accessories Fair is a cash and carry show as well as order writing. This market attracts 5,000 buyers and has 250 booths which include children’s items, home decor, jewelry, personal beauty, women’s fashions and gourmet items. Tickets are $20.00. Advance sales through Ticketmaster.com. For more information visit helenbrettexhibits.com/1806-southhaven.
and abroad. His performance will feature secular music, including songs by Billy Joel and Elton John. The program is followed by a complimentary reception. For more information call 901-485-5369 or visit creativeagingmidsouth.org.
10th Annual Hernando Scavenger Hunt August 24 Gale Community Center Hernando, MS 8:30am-12:00pm Teams of 2-5 will meet at the Gale Community Center at 8:30am. Teams compete to win a $1,000 grand prize and may consist of families, co-workers, etc. Winner announced at 6pm at the Gale Center. For more information, call 662-429-2688 or visit hernandorec.com.
3rd Annual RL Boyce Picnic and Blues Celebration August 31 - September 1 Como, MS Como Bluesman RL Boyce was first recorded in 1970. In Como played drums on his 15th birthday accompanied his Uncle, Othar Turner\’s Fife and Drum band. In 2019 RL invites all to celebrate his 64th birthday. In Como at a traditional Mississippi Family Picnic. For more information visit rlboycepicnic.com.
Creative Aging’s Senior Arts Series August 21 Theatre Memphis Memphis, TN 1:30pm Featuring John Angotti, an accomplished musician, composer and music director whose secular and religious work has taken him around the United States
Annual Iuka Heritage Festival August 30 - 31 Mineral Springs Park Iuka, MS For more information call 662-423-8638.
Live at the Garden Presents Toby Keith August 31 Botanic Garden Memphis, TN Picnic baskets, law chairs and coolers welcome! For more information visit liveatthegarden.com.
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reflections | THE GIFT OF MUSIC
Tom Windsor on the Pedal Steel Guitar
Tom Windsor on the Fiddle
The Gift of Music By Pam Windsor Photography courtesy of Pam Windsor
My earliest childhood memories are filled with music. My dad was a huge county music fan and when I was growing up during the 1970s, he was always playing the songs of artists like Porter Wagoner, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and others. He also talked a lot about Nashville and the iconic Grand Ole Opry where so many of those legendary stars performed. As a child listening, I could often visualize people like Dolly or Loretta up on that stage. His love for music went beyond just the joy of listening to it. He was a talented, self-taught musician who could play any instrument with strings, but he excelled at the fiddle and steel guitar. I can still see him, just like it was yesterday, playing the “Orange Blossom Special” on the fiddle or sitting at the pedal steel for his take on “Steel Guitar Rag.” My father served in the U.S. Air Force and like so many military families we’d pack up every two-to-three years, leave our friends, the school and home we knew, and move somewhere new. Due to my dad’s job, many of his assignments took us overseas including Turkey, Greece, Taiwan, and Germany. But everywhere we went, we were surrounded by country music. It was the one constant in a childhood full of change. During those stints overseas, my dad played in a country band. He’d join other musicians, including my mother (on bass guitar) and later my brother (on electric guitar), most Friday and Saturday nights for shows at a local club. He knew 84 DeSoto
those familiar songs gave people living so far away, a little piece of home. I lost my father to lung cancer some 34 years ago. In the years that followed, I got married, divorced, and raised two sons of my own. Then, several years ago, I moved to Nashville, as a full-time freelance writer. I met someone who worked as an usher at the Grand Ole Opry, and thought, wow, I should apply – just to get the chance to see those shows and hear that music. Getting that part-time job was like coming home. Every Opry show touched me whether through a familiar artist, song, or both. Music memories have incredible power. A song that once connected you with someone you loved can spark a wave of emotions you never saw coming. I remember the night someone played a fiddle song called “Listen to the Mockingbird.” I was in tears before I realized I hadn’t heard that song since my father played it nearly 40 years ago. Not long after I started working at the Opry, I was struck by how things in life often come full circle. As I walked to my car that night, I looked up and said, “Dad, do you believe it? I’m living in Nashville, Tennessee, and working at the Grand Ole Opry. How crazy is that?” My father’s greatest gift was the gift of music. Pam Windsor is a Nashville-based freelance journalist who writes about food, travel, music, culture, and extraordinary people.
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