| The principle behind the Mississippi Railroad was developed by Dale
Wise, Dave Groninger, and Mitch Ivanoff while spending time recording and
playing in Mississippi. With the help of the Blues Society of Central
Pennsylvania (BSCP), along with other local clubs, venues, and festival bookings,
The Mississippi Railroad's mission is to bring true Mississippi blues artists
into our own backyard. Many of these artist are not only unknown, but
also have never had the chance to play out of their home state of Mississippi.
By bringing these musicians to Pennsylvania "The Railroad" is giving central
PA the opportunity to experience some of the last, truly original, Mississippi
Bluesmen! Not only that, but one of the goals of "The Railroad" is
to showcase their talents in a real juke joint environment. This is
as close as you will come to experiencing Mississippi without actually going
there!
The first traveler's to ride "The Railroad" were Big Jack
Johnson and Terry "Harmonica" Bean. While in Pennsylvania Terry played
the very popular Wednesday blues night at KClinger's in Hanover, the BSCP's
Thursday night jam, and headlined the Briggs Farm Festival on Friday night.
Big Jack flew into town to headline Briggs Farm on Saturday night with Terry
at his side. Both Terry and Big Jack finish their trip on "The Railroad"
by playing a BSCP members only picnic at the 40&8 club in Harrisburg
on July 10th. A very successful beginning to a wonderful idea!
Keep your eyes and ears open, there is definately more to come!
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