- Tucked just three miles from the legendary Crossroads, where Highways 49 and 61 meet, the Shack Up Inn isn’t just a place to sleep—it’s a destination.
The first time I drove into the Mississippi Delta, something stirred in my soul that I hadn’t expected. The flat fields stretched on forever under a sky so wide it seemed to swallow the world. Cotton still swayed in the breeze, old barns leaned with stories to tell, and somewhere just beyond the horizon, I felt the hum of a song that had been playing for generations. It was as if the Delta itself had a heartbeat—and if you listened closely enough, you could feel it in your own chest. That same feeling hits visitors at the Shack Up Inn, where history, music, and the land wrap themselves around you like a slow, soulful embrace.
Tucked just three miles from the legendary Crossroads, where Highways 49 and 61 meet, the Shack Up Inn isn’t just a place to sleep—it’s a destination. The grounds themselves are alive with memory. The old cotton gin, now the bar and lobby, looms like a monument to hard work and resilience. In contrast, one of the first mechanized cotton pickers ever built by International Harvester rests nearby, silent but proud, a reminder of the Delta’s deep agricultural roots. Walk around, and every step feels like a connection—to the land, the people, the stories that gave birth to the blues.
And here’s a little nugget of Delta humor and pride: the Shack Up Inn proudly calls itself the “World’s Oldest B&B—Bed & Beer.” There are no lace curtains or tiny soaps here. Instead, you’re likely to be handed a cold drink, invited to a porch rocker, and encouraged to sit a spell. It’s Delta hospitality at its finest: simple, generous, and real.
When night falls, the music begins. A short drive will take you to Ground Zero Blues Club, where the stage is always alive, or to Red’s Lounge on the corner of Sunflower and MLK, where the blues is raw and unpolished in the most unforgettable way. But often, you don’t even need to leave the property. The Shack Up Inn’s own Juke Joint Chapel hosts live performances that can make the tin walls shake, and on the right night, you might swear you hear the echoes of Muddy Waters or Howlin’ Wolf strumming just out back.
Then comes the rest you’ll never forget. The lodging isn’t about luxury—it’s about character. Shotgun shacks and old cotton bins, restored just enough to make them comfortable without erasing their grit, carry the weight of decades. Tin roofs ping when it rains, cypress walls breathe, and inside, you’ll find heat and air, a fridge and microwave, a coffee maker. Everything else is left simple, so you sleep in the story itself.
The Shack Up Inn also makes the perfect starting point for a Delta adventure. Take the backroads between 49 and 61, and you’ll feel the presence of legends—Robert Johnson, Sam Cooke, Son House, Elmore James, and Charlie Patton. Their voices seem to linger in the fields, in the porches of old houses, even in the warm Delta wind. Stop in Clarksdale and explore the Delta Blues Museum, Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art, or Hambone Art Gallery, and you’ll see that the blues isn’t a relic. It’s alive, evolving, and central to life here.
The Shack Up Inn has hosted stars, too—Tom Waits, Robert Plant, Elvis Costello, Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson, and countless others. Yet even with all that fame passing through, the shacks remain humble. The true star here is the Delta itself, humming, breathing, singing its story to anyone willing to listen.
For those who want to do more than just listen, workshops at the Shack let you pick up guitar, bass, harmonica, or songwriting skills. Imagine learning a blues riff right where the music began. That’s not a lesson—it’s an experience you’ll carry with you for life.
And finally, the quiet. After the music winds down and the laughter fades, you’ll find yourself on a porch, rocking slowly as the sun sinks behind the horizon. A cold drink sweats in your hand, cicadas hum, and the Delta sky stretches wide and endless. Close your eyes, and you just might hear Pinetop Perkins at his piano or Muddy Waters strumming somewhere in the distance.
The Shack Up Inn isn’t about frills or perfection. It’s about connection—to history, to music, to the land itself. Like the Delta, it stirs something deep inside. Spend one night here, and you’ll feel it: you’re not just visiting the blues. You’re staying inside it.
Meredith Biesinger
