March 11, 2026
Pine Bluff A&P Commission
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NATION'S LARGEST OUTDOOR DELTA MUSIC AND CULTURE GALLERY OPENS
n the final Friday of Black History Month's centennial year, Pine Bluff unveiled the Delta Rhythm & Bayous Blues & Wellness Plaza—the nation's largest outdoor gallery dedicated to Delta music and culture—before a gathering of blues royalty that spanned four generations. Southern-soul blues legend Karen Wolfe ("The Queen of Soul Blues") headlined an assembly of masters including Blues Hall of Fame inductee Jerry "Boogie" McCain, Sonny Payne Blues Excellence Award-winner Manis "Detroit Johnny" Johnson, and blues guitarist-vocalist Joe Pitts. The February 27, 2026 ceremony also honored the legacies of blues pioneers no longer living, with Mary Bohlar representing her father, the late Chicago blues icon James Lacey "Tail Dragger" Jones, and additional family members ensuring their loved ones' contributions to America's musical heritage would be permanently celebrated in the Arkansas Delta where the blues was born."