By: Jim Hannaford

Anyone who is friends with Stephen “Andy” Anderson knows he has two really strong passions, music and photography. For most of his life, he’s managed to combine them in ways that make lots of others sit up and take notice.

Andy, as he’s known to most, can often be spotted at music events in the area with a camera in hand, casually but carefully catching just the right moment to click the shutter. It’s something he’s enjoyed doing since he was a teen, and now he’s 74. 

“The two of them always kind of went hand in hand for me,” says Andy. “I’ve always loved music, and I’ve always loved photography, though there have been some periods in my life where I wasn’t as busy with it.”

He’s done various kinds of freelance work over the years, including assignments for newspapers and magazines, while also having a full career in graphic arts at Ingalls Shipbuilding. Since 2013, he’s captured thousands of images for an online publication called The Southland Music Line, which is the creation of writer and musical archivist Johnny Cole. One of their ongoing projects calls attention to the Mississippi Blues Trail historical marker program, which was started in 2006 by the Mississippi Blues Commission.

Though some are closer to home, many of the markers are in the Mississippi Delta, which is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of the blues. 

“People come from all over the world to see these markers because these people and places are so historic,” Andy says. “Sometimes they are hard to find, so it’s almost like a treasure hunt. It might be in a field where at one time there was a juke joint or something, but the building itself is gone.”

He’s photographed close to 100 of the markers and hopes to eventually photograph them all. At this time, there are 216 of them. While most of the Blues Trail sites are in Mississippi, some are in other states, such as the two in Alabama’s music-rich Muscle Shoals area.

With help from a Blues Trail smartphone app he downloaded, Andy started his creative quest in 2019. Off to an easy start, his first stop was just two miles from his house in Pascagoula. That marker recognizes the Jackson County Fairgrounds as the location of the long-running Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues & Heritage Festival.

“There are quite a few here on the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” he says. “There’s one in Moss Point, one in Ocean Springs, a couple in Biloxi and Gulfport, and another in Bay St. Louis.”

He’s covered lots more miles since then. His farthest trip so far has been to Clarksdale, in the heart of the Delta and over 300 miles from his front door. He’s also photographed historical markers in the Jackson and Hattiesburg areas,  as well as the so-called Black Prairie area in northeastern Mississippi.

While it may be difficult to get a compelling image of a metal sign covered in pictures and text, Andy finds a way. He has the same approach when photographing performers, which he first did in 1969 as a student at the University of Southern Mississippi. In those days, he’d carry along his pawn-shop Yashica to concerts by some of the big rock acts of the day like Chicago, Boz Scaggs, and the (original) Allman Brothers Band.

Sadly, most of his earlier body of work was destroyed in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina flooded his home with five feet of water.

“It was probably 80 percent of everything I had ever done,” says Andy. “I lost most of my prints, slides, and negatives and most of my camera equipment, too.”

This was so traumatic and discouraging that he almost gave up his longtime avocation. On second thought, he delved back in, fully embracing the newer technologies of digital photography and computer-based editing. In a remarkable rebound, he has shot thousands of memorable images in the nearly 20 years since that horrible setback.

Famous folks he’s photographed over the years include Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, B.B. King, Johnny and June Carter Cash, Snoop Dogg, Crosby, Still and Nash, and Muhammad Ali. Another of his captivating images graces the cover of a Jimmy Buffett biography called A Good Life All the Way. 

These days he tends to focus on smaller, more intimate venues rather than huge arenas. With his kind, friendly nature, he’s likely to develop a low-key and respectful rapport with the musicians he photographs.

Johnny Cole, his professional partner with the Southland Music Line, says he admires Andy not only for his creative talents but also for his professionalism, patience, and persistence.

“He arrives early and doesn’t mind staying late to get the job done,” Johnny says, “and even when it’s not an ideal setting, he’s going to find the right spot to get the best possible picture. He does great work, and he’s truly a joy to work with. It would be hard to imagine the Southland Music Line without Andy’s fine photographs.”