Bobby Rush’s 93rd birthday bash leads a busy fall on Mississippi casino stages
Blues legend Bobby Rush will celebrate his 93rd birthday on stage at Ameristar Casino Vicksburg on Friday, November 13.
Rush has called Jackson home for decades, and his birthday shows have turned into a kind of homecoming for central Mississippi blues fans. The Grammy winner still plays with the same mix of horns, dancers and stories that made him a fixture on the chitlin’ circuit long before most of his current audience was born.
His November date is the closest of several big nights coming up on Mississippi’s casino stages this season. From the Gulf Coast to the Delta, the state’s showrooms are booking blues, classic rock and country acts through the holidays.
What follows is a neighbor’s planner: where the stages are, how the seating works, where to eat and how a few hours on the casino floor can fit around the music.
Vicksburg first, and the visitors who come from farther away
Ameristar Vicksburg sits on the Mississippi River just off Washington Street, and Rush’s show is in the Bottleneck Blues Bar inside the casino, the kind of close, club-style room that suits a performer like Rush. Tables put most of the crowd within easy sight of the stage.
Tickets for birthday shows tend to go early, so buying ahead is the safer move. Parking is in the resort garage and lots, and the walk from car to the venue is short.
Jackson-metro folks are only part of the crowd that makes the trip. Vicksburg, Biloxi and Tunica all draw a steady stream of cars with Louisiana and Texas plates, and on a big concert weekend the out-of-state crowd can rival the locals.
Many Texans plan their trips around the concert calendar. A Friday show in Vicksburg lets a Shreveport or Tyler crowd drive in after lunch, check in, eat and still be seated before the opening act.
On the casino floor at Ameristar, the mix runs from video poker and slot banks to blackjack, craps and roulette tables. A good rhythm for a concert night is dinner first, the show second and an hour of play afterward while the crowd thins out of the garage.
For dinner, the resort’s steakhouse is the dressy choice, and downtown Vicksburg has a handful of local spots within a few minutes’ drive. Weekend reservations fill quickly on show nights, so calling ahead is worth the minute it takes.
For a Dallas or Houston couple, that kind of evening makes a Mississippi resort weekend the whole package: a headliner, a steak dinner and a few hours at the tables or slots. Between trips, online casinos sit beside sweepstakes sites and daily fantasy apps as another way to play for Lone Star players and their neighbors in Louisiana and Oklahoma. For anyone weighing those options from a Houston living room, Baseball America’s rundown of what the law says about playing from Texas lays out how the rules apply to players at home.
Biloxi, Tunica and the bigger rooms
If Vicksburg is the easy weeknight trip, the Gulf Coast is the overnight one. Biloxi is roughly three hours south of Clinton, and its casino row holds three of the state’s busiest stages.
Hard Rock Live at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Biloxi is the largest of them, with more than 1,500 seats according to a fall concerts rundown of Mississippi shows. It books national rock, country and comedy acts, and the floor and tiered seating mean the view is decent from most sections.
A few blocks away, IP Casino Resort Spa’s Studio A is a more intimate theater. It tends to host tribute acts, classic rock names and R&B veterans, and the smaller room makes it a favorite for fans who want to hear the band without a sea of phones in front of them.
Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast in Bay St. Louis rounds out the coastal options. Its event center draws country and oldies crowds, and the drive from Biloxi along U.S. 90 is a pretty one at sunset.
For a Coast weekend, the practical tips are simple. Book the hotel and the show together when a package is offered, since rooms on concert Saturdays go fast. Arrive early enough for seafood on the beach side of U.S. 90, and leave a little time on Sunday morning before the drive home.
The casino floors on the Coast are big, with hundreds of slot machines, live table games and poker rooms. Many visitors treat the games as part of the evening’s entertainment, setting aside a fixed amount for the night the same way they would for dinner and drinks.
North of Clinton, Tunica is the blues fan’s other destination. Horseshoe Tunica’s Bluesville is one of the best-known music rooms in the Delta, and the resort sits about three and a half hours up U.S. 49 and U.S. 61.
That drive passes right through blues country. Clarksdale, home to the Delta Blues Museum and the famous crossroads at Highways 61 and 49, makes an easy stop for lunch and a look around before checkout time at the hotel.
Bluesville books blues and soul acts along with rock and country tours. Its general admission layout means arriving early pays off for anyone who wants a spot near the stage, while the bar areas along the back suit those who would rather sit.
Tunica’s dining is mostly on the resort properties, with buffets, steakhouses and casual grills. A Saturday night show followed by a late plate of catfish is about as Mississippi as a weekend gets.
A few planning notes apply at every venue. Age limits vary by show, and many casino venues admit only guests 21 and older, so bring an ID even if you think you look the part. Ticket prices vary widely by act and seat, and buying directly from the venue box office or its official ticketing partner is the surest way to avoid inflated resale prices.
Dress is usually casual to smart casual. Jackets are rarely needed, though the showrooms can run cool, so a light layer helps.
For Clinton residents who just want one great night out this month, the choice is easy. Rush takes the stage in Vicksburg on November 13, and the Coast’s biggest room keeps its calendar full into December, with Ones To Watch counting Hard Rock Live’s 1,500-plus seats among the fall’s top places to see a show in Mississippi.
Read more: Clinton’s Greatest Gaming Halls
Read more: Clinton Sits Half an Hour From Vicksburg’s Casinos, but the Online Bonus Ads on Your Phone Play by Different Rules
Read more: Mississippi’s Casino Numbers Are Cooling While the Rest of the Country Goes Online
