Blues Alley

Blues Alley cuts behind the brick buildings of Deep Ellum as a narrow, paved corridor that once served as the literal and figurative shortcut for traveling musicians. In the nineteen twenties, performers like Lead Belly and Blind Lemon Jefferson stepped off the nearby train tracks and ducked into these shadows to reach the neighborhood’s clubs and dance halls. The alley provided a direct, quiet passage through the center of the local blues scene, away from the dust and traffic of the main streets.