>> i don't care if it's a fast-played blues or a slow-played blues, it's still saying something about i'm feeling bad but still life is okay. >> reporter: and lately, life has been more than okay here, even in the wake of the oil spill, katrina and all the economic turmoil because of a rising tide of blues tourism. at the delta blues museum, the crowds are growing so steadily with people from every state and dozens of foreign countries, that it will soon be expanded to more than twice its size. this town alone pulled in $54 million from visitors last year. people tracing the history of blues and rock through a string of historic sites throughout the region, called the blues trail. cappy allen is with the county tourism commission. >> this year so far we've seen an increase of 13% in our tourism tax numbers. >> reporter: and all of that in