Brookhaven’s new train station is singingthe blues now with the addition of a new Mississippi Blues Trailmarker next to the railroad tracks.

    Blues Trail organizers, local business representatives and manycity officials gathered at the Godbold Transportation CenterTuesday morning for the unveiling and dedication of the signhonoring blues pianist Little Brother Montgomery.

    Mayor Les Bumgarner first addressed the modest but appreciativecrowd, noting the excitement of Brookhaven becoming a part of thehistoric track.

    “We’re excited to get on the trail,” he said. “It’s the littlethings that help to make Brookhaven a better place. We’re thankfulto be a part of it.”

    Scott Barretta, a writer and researcher for the Mississippi BluesTrail, gave a history of Little Brother Montgomery, whose familylived in nearby Norfield in the 1920s, and blues music in SouthwestMississippi.

    Bluesmen in the Delta often just played guitar and would travelfrom spot to spot in that region. Barretta contrasted that style ofblues life with the popularity of saw and lumber mills intimber-rich Southwest Mississippi, which offered their camps asvenues for blues musicians like Montgomery, who died in 1985.

    Not to mention, Barretta said, it was more practical for Montgomeryas a pianist to play his instrument at a venue that already had apiano instead of lugging it around from place to place as hisguitar-playing counterparts from the Delta could do with ease.

    “Not only are we honoring him (Montgomery) as an individual,”Barretta said, “but also the tradition of blues playing in thelumber mills of Southwest Mississippi.”

    Barretta and Wanda Clark, Mississippi Blues Trail projectcoordinator, explained having the marker in Brookhaven also servesgeographically in connecting the trail along Highway 51.

    “This helps economically in connecting the trail with markers inCrystal Springs, Hazlehurst and McComb,” Clark said.

    Alex Thomas, program manager of Music Trails, Sales and PromotionsBureau Tourism Division of the Mississippi Development Authority,thanked Wal-Mart representatives present at the unveiling. He saidwithout Wal-Mart’s support in grant money, the sign would notexist.

    “We’ve been wanting to get a marker here for a while along ourHighway 51 corridor,” he added later.

    After the unveiling by the mayor and Wal-Mart representative ArnieSmith, some officials played with the idea of getting another BluesTrail marker, citing Brookhaven as the birthplace of Blind JimBrewer.

    Thomas explained much has to happen – as it did with the Montgomerysign – in terms of research, verification and funding before anymarkers can be placed.

    Thomas concluded by describing the organization as one of thetechnological frontrunners in music trails. He said some of thenewer signs, although not the Montgomery marker, will haveelectronic capabilities to allow visitors to download additionalinformation on the their phones.

    “People are modeling us on music trails,” he said.

    Thomas also reported the launch of the Blues Trail’s newapplication for the iPhone, which Clark said has about 3,000downloads since it became available in late August.