Annie Hollowell works Monday-Friday in the Ole Miss registrar's office as a senior receptionist. When she is not answering phones and working with students, her focus is set on the Hollowell family's 80-acre ranch in Marshall County. Foxfire Ranch was opened to the public by Hollowell and her husband Bill in 2008. The facility was originally intended to be a haven for inner city youths out of Memphis to play games, eat food, and do some dancing in the country, giving them a touch of the blues. Before they could ever follow through with this vision, the Hollowells hosted Lightnin Malcolm and Cedric Burnside on their pavilion stage. Foxfire has been nothing but blues music ever since. Over the past four years, Foxfire has held blues concerts every Sunday night featuring the likes of Afrissippi, Bill "Howl-n-Madd" Perry, and many other members of the North Mississippi artist community. The ranch is just a short drive from Oxford and offers Ole Miss students an authentic blues experience.
"We love it. We love entertaining the students from Ole Miss and I will stay open until the stop coming," says Hollowell "They keep me working, keep me motivated and keep me energized. I love the blues just as much as you do."
In addition to weekly blues shows, Foxfire hosts the annual Hill Country Picnic every summer, attracting visitors from around the world. The ranch makes a genuine taste of Mississippi blues available to a wide variety of people. Hollowell shares more of her story here.
No comments:
Post a Comment