A three-day musical tribute to blues legend Robert Johnson will kick off Thursday with the opening of the Baptist Town Reception Hall and Learning Center at 202 Young St.
Johnson's grandson, the Rev. Steve Johnson, will sing and pray at a ribbon-cutting for the facility at 4 p.m.
Marilyn Keys will also perform, followed by music from the John Horton Band at 7 p.m.
Mickie Rogers and Bobby Looney will play Friday at 7 p.m., and Jessie Clay will perform Saturday at 7 p.m.
Also featured during the weekend will be music from Alphonso Sanders of Mississippi Valley State University.
Food and beverages will be available.
The Robert Johnson Memorial Weekend is the collaborative effort of Sylvester Hoover of Delta Blues Legend Tours and the Robert Johnson Blues Foundation. Plans are to make it an annual event, Hoover said.
Planning for the event began last Aug. 16, which is the anniversary of Johnson's death, Hoover said. The Baptist Town community was Johnson's home.
In the 1980s, Hoover, who is from Money, bought property on Young Street in Baptist Town, where he now owns Hoover's Grocery, Hoover's Laundromat and the Back in the Day Museum. The new reception hall is next door.
Hoover attends Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church, where Johnson is said to be buried.
Memorializing Johnson "all just ties together with blues and my life," Hoover said. "The blues sounds and feels and tastes different over here than it does anywhere in the world," he said.
Hoover expects a good attendance this weekend.
"I'm sure we will have a packed house. Every time we do something over here we have a good turnout," he said.
Hoover frequently hosts musicians at his store. They have advertised the memorial for about three months, he said.
"In the learning center we will teaching music classes - lead guitar, organ, piano," he said.
Classes will begin Sept. 1. Those interested may call (662) 453-3825 to register.
