Tag: blues

Our fervent hope is that present and future owners of Northside Tavern forever resist the urge to cash in by selling the land on which this institution sits, one of the last true dives in Atlanta and home to some of the best live blues.

At 2:10 a.m. on a Sunday, the inside of Northside Tavern looks like a music­al tempest has blown through. The barbecue has disappeared from its foil pans, and PBR empties crowd the barrel-mounted octagonal tabletops. Outside, black Uber cars collect and discharge passengers. But Eddie Tigner, four hours into his birthday show, has no plans to wind down for the night.

Dockery Farms, just east of Cleveland, Mississippi, is regarded as the birthplace of the blues. In the late 1800s, Will Dockery bought the former swampland to farm timber; later, he had it drained and...

Atlanta’s venerable blues joint is named for one legend (Blind Willie McTell) and is the best place to see another: Francine Reed, whose soulful voice, feisty wisecracks, and dance-inducing songs mesh perfectly with the intimate dive bar’s New Orleans–inspired atmosphere.