Mississippi lawmakers gather for a weekly blues tradition at Hal & Mal’s in Jackson, finding respite from legislative duties and celebrating Mississippi culture.
Even if they can’t always agree at Capitol, lawmakers bond over the blues in downtown Jackson . On Monday nights during the Mississippi legislative session — sure as the looming sine die— legislators gather around dimly lit tables in downtown Jackson . It’s a backroom deal, but not the type of which you might be thinking. They’re not here in the name of policy, but in celebration of Mississippi culture.
This is Blue Monday, a 17-year-old tradition organized by the Central Mississippi Blues Society. For more than 15 of those years, the weekly concerts have been hosted at Hal & Mal’s, the legendary restaurant and musical institution. “Monday night in the blues is a very special night because of the songs and the history that have gone into it,” says Malcolm Shepherd, member of the Blue Monday Band and President of the Central Mississippi Blues Society. “Friday rolls around, you get paid. Saturday, you go out to play. Sunday, you go to church. And Monday, the blues returns to you.” The song “Blue Monday” was written by Dave Bartholomew and made internationally famous when Fats Domino recorded it in 1956. It was one of the first crossover R&B singles, hitting number five on the Billboard pop charts and cementing Domino as a forebear of rock and roll. The lyrics remark on the near-universal distaste for Mondays shared by working people. Blue Monday concerts at Hal & Mal’s are antidotes for this soul sickness, and during the early months of the year when state lawmakers are in session, they happen to fall on legislative “travel days” when members are just revving up their week. “A lot of legislators are looking for interesting things to do on Monday nights,” says Sen. John Horhn, a Democrat from Jackson.
Politics Culture BLUE MONDAY MISSISSIPPI BLUES HAL &Amp MAL's LEGISLATURE JACKSON
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