Greetings, students. Now that you’re in Year 3 of your American English studies, you will be able to read, and listen about one of VOA’s “Arts and Culture” articles, which explore music, pop culture, society, and life in the United States of America as well as in countries all over the world. You are encouraged to carefully read the article and the vocabulary words, as well as listen to the article. Finally, you are invited to share what you learned by discussing why this article is important and meaningful in the comments section below.
Directions: Read the article and study the vocabulary below.
Directions: Listen to the audio recording of the article.
Directions: Share your insights about why this article is meaningful and important by writing in the comments section below.
Lesson 3.32.4: year 3
VOA, Art& Culture
” In Mississippi, Small Town Musician Keeps Blues Alive”.
The town of Bontenia, in the southern state of Mississippi is known as the birthplace of a special style of Blues. Blues is music genre and musical form that originated in the Deep south of the United State around the1860s. It is a secular African- American musical genre, blues songs deal with a variety of topics and emotions.
Jimmy,” Duck” Holmes is 73 years old, he is the last remaining Bentonian Blues musician and was nominated for Grammy Award for best tradition Blues Album. The Album is called, ” Cypress Grove”.
The Blue Frent cafe is considered the oldest active Juke Joint in Mississippi. Juke Joint: a cheap bar or club that has a Juke bar. The Blue Frent cafe opened in 1948 under the ownership of Cary and Mary Holmes, an African, American couple from Bontenia Holmes business was a community gathering places., people come to have their clothing pressed, get a hair -cut or by salt, pepper and other food peoduction and they come for the blue.
Holmes learned music from his neighbor, Henry Stucke Stuck is known as the,” Father of Bentonic Blues”.
The present situation of Betonio is not good enough. many businesses have closed down, buildings have been torn down. More than 25 percent of population lives below the poverty line. Holmes never imagine leaving Bentonia. He lives on the same farm, he holds Bentonia blues workshops and willing to teach anyone who walk in. Holmes performed in Europe, south America and across the U.S. he opened for the black keys in Washington D.C in 2019, but he always comes back home.