Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues & Heritage Festival

The Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues & Heritage Festival has run since 1991, moving from Biloxi to Pascagoula. Southern soul, blues, zydeco, and gospel acts take outdoor stages—Bobby Rush, Theodis Ealey, O.B. Buchana, and Nathaniel Kimble have headlined. The festival is part of the Mississippi Blues Trail. The coast earned the nickname "America's Riviera" in the early 1900s. Gaming was illegal but allowed at certain resorts. The longest manmade beach in the world ran along the shore. When Mississippi entered the Union in 1817, the coastal population was 2.5% of the state's total. Cultural influences came from the Mediterranean. The coast's location along the Gulf of Mexico maintained its ties to the rest of the world more easily than other regions of Mississippi could manage. In the early 1990s, gaming became legal in Harrison and Hancock counties. The area became the nation's second-largest gaming market. Condo towers rose along the waterline. Hurricane Camille in 1969 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused historic destruction. The festival is the annual proof that the Mississippi Gulf Coast is not just a casino corridor—it's a place where American music was made, and still is.