Did You Know?

Navasota is the Official Blues Capital of Texas and home of the annual Navasota Blues Festival held every summer to honor Navasota blues legend, Mance Lipscomb.

Mance Lipscomb (April 9, 1895 January 30, 1976) was an influential blues singer and guitarist. Born Beau De Glen Lipscomb near Navasota, Texas, he as a youth took the name of 'Mance' from a friend of his oldest brother Charlie (Mance short for emancipation). Lipscomb was the son of an ex-slave from Alabama and a half Choctaw Indian mother.

Lipscomb spent most of his life working as a tenant farmer in Texas and was "discovered" and recorded by Mack McCormick and Chris Strachwitz in 1960 during the country blues revival. He released quite a few albums of blues and folk music (most of them on Strachwitz' Arhoolie label), singing and accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. He had a fine finger-picking guitar technique, and an expressive voice well suited to his material.

Lipscomb's song "Baby, Let Me Lay It On You" was picked up and reworked into "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" by urban folksingers Eric Von Schmidt and Bob Dylan after a New York performance. One of his best songs, "Sugar Babe", was the first song he learned on guitar. Lipscomb performed and recorded a brilliant country blues version of "Shine On, Harvest Moon".

Unlike many of his contemporaries like Blind Blake and Blind Willie McTell, Lipscomb's life is well documented and he appeared in several films including the 1971 documentary A Well Spent Life. His autobiography, I Say Me for a Parable: The Oral Autobiography of Mance Lipscomb, Texas Bluesman, narrated by Glen Alyn, was published posthumously.

Welcome Houston Press Readers!

2013 Bluebonnet Wine & Cheese Trail presented by the TEN member wineries along the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail!

The Spring Bluebonnet Wine and Cheese Trail is a wonderful way to enjoy the beauty of native Texas wildflowers and enjoy the blooming viticulture at some of Texas' best wineries. This is the namesake event for the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail.

On this, the FINAL WEEKEND, April 13-14, 2013, the wineries along the trail will offer ticket holders a select pairing of two wines and two specially-crafted cheese dishes. As an added bonus, each ticket holder will receive a packet of Texas Wildflower seeds at each winery while supplies last. As an added bonus, when you visit your 8th member winery on the trail, you will receive a special bluebonnet tote bag. Just click the LocalWineEvents.com icon below to get your tickets today!

Your Single ticket is priced at $25 plus handling fees and tax, or save 10% when you purchase a Ticket-for-Two-is priced at $45 plus handling fees and tax. Your trail tickets are good on both days, April 13-14, 2013, regardless of when you purchase them. Blaze your own trail and pick where you want to start and where you want to end. You have two days left THIS WEEKEND to visit all 10 wineries.

The official hours for this event are Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on and Sunday, Noon to 5:00 p.m. on for each trail weekend.Several wineries open earlier or close later than the official hours, so please check the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail website for specific winery hours. The Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail wineries remind you to drink responsibly and designate a driver.

Here is past attendees have said after touring the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail!

"This was my first Wine Trail event and I absolutely loved it. All in all I had an absolutely wonderful time, made friends along the way, I can't wait for the Feb. Chocolate tour and the April Cheese tour!!!"

"We had out-of-town guests and went both days (we live in Katy) and thoroughly enjoyed the outing as we are fans of Napa & Sonoma."

"I brought a new group of friends and as always we had a fabulous time. They were unaware we had so many wineries so close to home. I see many day trips to go back and spend more time at our favorites."