“Clarksdale or Bussed” could be the new mantra for Big George Brock. Fifty years after the St. Louis-based Bluesman left a cotton plantation in the Mississippi Delta, he is returning home via an old-school “Blues bus.” Brock is bringing his new bus down to the old Hopson Plantation in Clarksdale, Mississippi -- just south of Memphis. He'll be performing a concert there on Saturday, August 8th (10 p.m.) during Clarksdale's Sunflower River Blues Festival weekend. He will also perform at the Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art store on that Sunday, August 9th (noon).

Three years ago, after he retired his last tour bus, Brock started renting one as needed. Then, in May, he came across "a deal he couldn't pass up," vowing to buy it and make it "extra special" this time.

"One of my fans here in St. Louis said she'd paint it for me," Brock explained. "I want folks to see that bus, turn around and follow me down the highway to Mississippi. We'll give them a real Blues show down there -- not Rock or Rap -- just pure and natural Blues."

Brock's artist/fan is Carol Boss. She's spent much of the past month painting the new bus based on photos by another avowed Brock fan and BluesWax photographer, Joseph Rosen. Says Boss, "It's not every day that you get to paint a bus for a musician from the Muddy Waters generation. It was a true team effort and a lot of fun."

Five-time Blues Music Award nominee Brock is one of the last links to the first generation post-war Chicago Blues. In addition to Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf, Brock has performed with other music icons from Jimmy Reed and Albert King to Steven Seagal and Watermelon Slim. He's also toured overseas to England, Italy, Switzerland and France.

To book a reservation on his "Delta Blues Bus Tour," contact Big George Brock at 314-531-9207. For more information on Hopson Commissary, go to www.hopsonplantation.com. View Brock's upcoming concert schedule at www.cathead.biz. Visit Carol Boss Art at www.carolbossart.com.