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| Ground Zero Blues Club Opens in Memphis Morgan Freeman is helping showcase authentic Delta blues with the opening of Ground Zero Blues Club in downtown Memphis. The club, co-owned by the Academy Award-winning actor and Delta resident, carries on the mission of the famed Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, MS - to celebrate and sustain the rich heritage of Delta blues. Blues lovers consider Clarksdale the starting point or "ground zero" because of its legendary blues musicians. Many of those bluesmen followed Highway 61 north to Memphis, so the new club fits right in. The owners of the original - Freeman, attorney Bill Luckett, and businessman Howard Stovall - teamed with Memphis developer John Elkington of Performa Entertainment Real Estate in the new venture. "We're offering customers the real deal - down-home blues, the Mississippi juke joint experience, great Southern food, " said Luckett. "Memphis rock and soul music is rooted in the blues, and we're here to celebrate that." The club, open daily for lunch and dinner with live music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, is located in the heart of the downtown entertainment district, a short distance from the FedEx Forum and next door to the Westin Hotel. "Our mission is to showcase the best of today's Delta Blues musicians, those who carry on the tradition of Charley Patton, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker, " said Luckett. "We're excited to bring that heritage to Memphis, home of the blues." Since its opening in 2001, Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale has been featured numerous times in the national media and has been named one of the "Top 100 Bars and Nightclubs in America." For more information, visit www.groundzerobluesclub.com . write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |