Frank Frost blows his harp onstage at the Sunflower River Blues Festival in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Othar Turner Othar Turner plays in the fife and drum tradition popular since the last century in the hills of Mississippi.

Sunflower Festival Time Festival-goers mingle between the acts at the Sunflower River Festival. A chatty bunch, aren't they?

Filmmaker David Stevens and artist Floyd Tunson first visited the Mississippi Delta more than 20 years ago. The people they met and the culture they encountered left an indelible impression. Always knowing they would one day return, they did just that during the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel festivals of 1995 and 1996. The most recent expedition to Clarksdale also took them into the surrounding hills of northern Mississippi, where they aquainted themselves with the people who make the music they love.

This page contains a few of the photographs taken by David Stevens. There are more in the hard copy edition of BLUES ACCESS.