The Coahoma County Tourism Commission approved giving a $2,500 grant to the new “Virtual” Sounds Around Town program during the Wednesday, April 8 meeting.
Before the corornavirus epidemic, Clarksdale had at least one blues musician playing in town 365 nights a year. In an effort to keep that going, musicians are playing online from their home or venues in Clarksdale every night.
Schedules one week an advance and links to performances can be found at https://www.sharedexperiencesusa.com/livefromclarksdale
Bubba O’Keefe, executive director for Coahoma County Tourism, said the $2,500 will help pay musicians, get them set up and train them on how to perform on social media. Several Other entities are also helping fund “Virtual” Sounds Around Town.
“A lot of them have the equipment to perform live on social media. It’s a good quality. They want to be the best that they can be out there and have the lighting right, so there are not glitches.”
O’Keefe said musicians will have the opportunity to test things out and make sure they have proper equipment to play on social media.
“It’s to train them on how to better be able to perform live on social media, not just for then, but even after this is over with they will have the education to do it,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is keep Visit Clarksdale and live blues music out there in front of people through that time. We don’t want them to forget about it. Whoever’s out there doing stuff like this is savvy being on social media during this time, they’re the ones that are out in front of people. We don’t want them to forget about Clarksdale and go to another town.”
After the end of COVID-19, he does not expect the tourism board to participate in the program.
“I’m not going to continue to pay for this once we come out of the coronavirus lockdown,” O’Keefe said. “That’s a whole new ballgame. This is basically for two months. If goes into three, it depends on the funding, how much she raises besides us. We’re not the only sole player in this thing. We’re just taking it as we go.”
Refunded money
The tourism commission has received money back for expenses toward some events that are cancelled because of the virus.
O’Keefe specifically said the money spent to attend the Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, Ore., was refunded.
He said he is trying to be very frugal with finances at the moment.
One example he cited was the board approved making improvements to the tourism building’s awnings and lighting, but he put it on hold. He noted the commission’s funding depends on lodging and other sales in the community.
Look to the future
“Come May, we’re going to have a whole new set of numbers to work with,” O’Keefe said. “How low it’s going to be I can’t tell you, but we won’t see that until May.”
The two festivals in Clarksdale that have been cancelled since COVID-19 began were the Juke Joint Festival, originally scheduled for this weekend, and Red’s Old Timers Blues Festival that was set for the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend.
The commission allocated $15,000 toward JJF, but Red’s Old Timers Blues Festival had not applied for any grants.
“Unfortunately, Juke Joint had already spent a lot of money, if not all of it on advertising,” O’Keefe said. “They’ve got to submit and see where we are with that.”
Some of the advertising went toward billboards and magazines.
