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 we've seen an increase of 13% in our tourism tax numbers. >> reporter: and all of that in the middle of a recession. >> absolutely. we are open for business. >> reporter: some say the surge is because the blues speak to folks in hard times. some say it's because people here are doing a better job marketing their attractions. but bill luckett and owner of the ground zero blues club says whatever the cause, the results are undeniable. how important do you think that is to building up this part of america in these hard times? >> well, we have lost a lot of our factories, a lot of our base manufacturing wise. blues music and tourism and interest in blues music is replacing that as an industry. >> reporter: according to lore, the blues man met the devil at