From Cotton Fields to Concert Halls
Morgan Freeman Brings Delta Blues to the Desert
Writer Joseph J. Airdo // Photography Courtesy of Symphonic Blues Experience
The cotton fields stretch endlessly under the Mississippi sun, and somewhere among those 100 acres, a rhythm begins. It starts with the steady thwack of hoes against earth, builds with the natural cadence of human labor, and inevitably, someone begins to hum.
“That’s the absolute beginning,” says Morgan Freeman, his unmistakable voice carrying the weight of authentic memory. “You can’t separate blues from gospel music for that reason.”
On Jan. 8, the Academy Award-winning actor will bring his “Symphonic Blues Experience” to Arizona Musicfest, offering North Scottsdale audiences an unprecedented fusion of his legendary storytelling prowess with the raw, emotional power of Mississippi Delta blues. But this isn’t simply another celebrity concert — it’s a cultural bridge spanning centuries of American musical history, orchestrated by a man whose connection to the blues runs as deep as the Delta soil itself.
Freeman’s relationship with the blues began in childhood, long before Hollywood discovered his distinctive presence. Born in Memphis and raised in Charleston, Mississippi, by his paternal grandmother, Freeman absorbed blues music not as an outsider looking in but as someone raised within its authentic cultural context.
Freeman’s childhood was immersed in this musical tradition, where blues emerged naturally from the rhythm of daily life. His grandmother would host traveling musicians, creating some of his earliest musical memories. This early exposure shaped Freeman’s understanding of blues as more than entertainment — it’s a cultural expression born from genuine human experience, rooted in the struggles and joys of Delta life.
This authentic foundation led Freeman, his late partner, Bill Luckett, and Howard Stovall, to establish Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 2001. The club emerged from a simple observation: Tourists visiting the Delta’s legendary crossroads had nowhere reliable to hear genuine blues music.
“Across the street from where we were working, we saw these backpackers — just a young guy and girl,” Freeman recalls. “Bill, being a hail fellow well met type, went over to ask if they needed help. They asked, ‘Where can we hear some blues music?’ There was no place we could recommend.”
So Freeman and Luckett decided to create that place themselves, establishing what would become Ground Zero Blues Club.
Today, the club operates under the guidance of Eric Meier, the Stanford MBA and healthcare executive who joined Ground Zero as co-owner in 2018, bringing entrepreneurial acumen to cultural preservation, viewing the club’s mission through both business and community development lenses.
“We’ve tried to make this as much about education as it is entertainment,” Meier explains. “You’ve got the beauty of great music, with Morgan providing connective tissue over a 100-year journey through his narration. Then you’ve got video storytelling.”
Ground Zero has evolved into what many consider “the world’s top blues club,” hosting more than 200 shows annually and launching careers of contemporary Delta talents including Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Anthony “Big A” Sherrod. The club’s authenticity — maintained in a minimally renovated cotton warehouse with graffiti-covered walls and mismatched chairs — attracts international media attention while preserving a genuine juke joint atmosphere.
“One of the things that’s made it so enduring — we’re approaching our 25th anniversary next May — is that we’ve kept it real,” Meier notes. “It doesn’t look like it was just hacked together. There are layers to it: the graffiti, the not-safe-for-work bathroom visits, the posters and flags. People want to come and experience this living history.”
The Symphonic Blues Experience represents Ground Zero’s most ambitious cultural expansion. Rather than simply transplanting club performances to concert halls, Freeman and Meier created a multimedia production combining filmed narration, live orchestra and authentic Delta musicians.
“We realized it’s not easy for everyone to reach Clarksdale, so we thought, ‘Let’s bring it to you,’” Freeman explains. “The symphony becomes a medium to narrate the blues story.”
The production deliberately challenges assumptions about both genres. Freeman, who appreciates diverse musical forms from Ravel to contemporary blues, sees no inherent conflict between symphonic sophistication and Delta authenticity.
“I listen to symphonies. I like Ravel. And I’ve listened to the blues,” he says. “I’m not a blues aficionado — I like music, period. I don’t think there’s any music I don’t like.”
Meier elaborates on this philosophical approach: “The beauty of the strings, right? Can the strings add more gravitas to a classic blues song? Absolutely. We’ve got a song called ‘Traveling Riverside Blues’ that Led Zeppelin covered. It originally was written by Robert Johnson, I believe. We have a gospel singer performing it, and it works.”
Arizona Musicfest Executive and Producing Director Allan Naplan immediately recognized the production’s significance when considering programming for the organization’s 35th anniversary season.
“When I learned about the Symphonic Blues show, I immediately jumped at the opportunity to present such a well-conceived and well-produced concert,” Naplan explains. “Along with the featured performances of acclaimed Delta blues artists, with the integration of our Musicfest Pops Ensemble orchestra, a beautifully produced multimedia retrospective on the history of the blues, and, of course, the presence of legendary Hollywood icon Morgan Freeman, I thought the concert would be ideal for our Musicfest series.”
After attending the production at Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, Naplan witnessed its broad appeal firsthand.
“From blues aficionados to movie buffs, everyone in attendance was having a wonderful time,” he recalls. “Further, as this season Musicfest begins our extended celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, it’s a great time to celebrate and honor the legacy of this uniquely American musical genre.”
The production’s innovative approach attracts diverse audiences, expanding traditional boundaries between musical communities.
“There will be people who don’t regularly attend symphonies coming to this show,” Meier observes. “There will be symphony aficionados who don’t go to blues concerts saying, ‘I’m going to come listen to this.’ The show has sold extremely well and is approaching sellout status.”
This cross-pollination serves broader cultural purposes beyond entertainment.
“Symphony executives have approached us afterward and said, ‘Yeah, this is what we want. We want to appeal to a broader cross section, maybe a slightly younger population,’” Meier notes. “This production enables that.”
Freeman envisions the audience experience as uniquely collaborative.
“A symphony orchestra has its own audience. But then there are people who want to come and see something different and exciting,” he explains. “So you’re going to have that mix in the audience, each bringing their own perspective to the experience. That’s the other great thing about doing things together — you have this diverse audience.”
The production’s emphasis on authenticity extends to its featured performers — all regular Ground Zero artists under 40, representing blues as a living, evolving tradition rather than a historical artifact.
“One important point: When people think of blues artists, they often think of someone toward the end of their career,” Meier clarifies. “That’s not what this is. This is a living, breathing, vibrant music genre that’s embedded itself in rock, gospel and hip-hop.”
For Freeman, the ultimate measure of success transcends commercial metrics.
“What do I want for a legacy? Simply that people had a truly unique experience — something unbelievable,” he reflects. “Because who knew that a symphony orchestra and a few blues musicians could blend so well and put on such a wonderful show?”
The Jan. 8 performance promises North Scottsdale audiences an evening that Freeman describes as transformative — a journey through American musical history guided by authentic voices and elevated by symphonic grandeur. In a region celebrated for its cultural sophistication, Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience offers something genuinely unprecedented: the marriage of Hollywood storytelling, Mississippi authenticity, and orchestral elegance.
As Freeman puts it, “Music is communication, and it’s widespread. Every culture, every subculture has a way of expressing itself musically.” On a January evening in the desert, Arizona Musicfest will host that universal communication in its most compelling form — where voice meets blues, and both find their perfect symphonic expression.
Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience
Thursday, Jan. 8 // 7:30 p.m. // Highlands Church // 9050 E. Pinnacle Peak Road, Scottsdale // $79+ // 480-422-8449 // azmusicfest.org
