♪ Walk with me, Lord ♪ ♪ Walk with me ♪ ♪ Walk with me, Lord ♪ ♪ Walk with me ♪ ♪ While I'm on this ♪ ♪ Freedom journey ♪ ♪ I want Jesus ♪ ♪ To walk ♪ ♪ With me ♪ Bradley: This is our trip from Albany to Columbus, straight through the heart of Southwest Georgia.

♪♪ Trust the locals.

[ Gunshot ] You got one, man.

A tree branch right there.

Play with fire.

Aaah!!

Never turn down a good meal.

Killing them!

Because if you let one thing lead to another... Oh.

...the voyage... [ Screams ] ...never ends.

♪♪ Life is good right now.

♪♪ We're in Albany, Georgia, and this guy Bo Henry has promised to show us a good time.

He's got a nice ride, but driving around in his old Studebaker is pretty much just for the cameras.

We could be at a steakhouse, eating oysters at a seafood joint...

Beers and oysters.

Yeah, man.

...playing guitar at his roadhouse bar, chilling on the front porch of his classic old hotel, or even hanging with his son.

Or... [ Gunshots ] Bird down!

I'm from New York City, so hunting quail is not exactly my usual Saturday morning.

Where are we?

[ Laughs ] Right here, somewhere a little southwest of Albany, Georgia.

I mean, right in the most beautiful area in the world.

Quail hunting is a true, like, Southern gentleman's sport.

And apparently the trees and brush around here make a perfect habitat for quail.

During quail season, if you go out to the private airport here in Albany, you'll see private planes.

Ted Turner owns a place here.

The man that owns Victoria's Secret, he owns one.

We passed his place on the way out today.

It's just another excuse or reason to hang out with your friends, really.

Right.

That's it.

Beautiful thing.

Exactly.

And animals, which we love here.

[ Laughs ] Yeah.

Of course.

Dogs.

I mean... Let's not forget the animals.

Yeah.

Bo Henry is a singer, guitar player, and entrepreneur who definitely qualifies as a true Southern gentleman.

The true sport of it and the hunting of it is -- is taking the dogs and finding the birds.

Don't you guys ever lose a dog or something?

You know, they're going in all sorts of crazy places.

They definitely will get away from you at times.

But he's got the collars and it has GPS on them, so it keeps up with -- What?

Oh, now you just look at your phone or something.

Yeah.

And you just track them down like radar, sonar.

Oh, yeah.

Not like it used to be.

It's like Uber.

[ Laughs ] Not like it used to be, for sure.

Wow.

You guys are some fancy hunters, huh?

I wouldn't call us fancy, but, yeah, modern.

Modern.

Excuse me.

Modern.

Modern hunters.

Yes.

Which way we going?

Thataway?

We're going that way.

Perfect.

Come here, Luck.

I love dogs.

I love watching them have fun.

That one right there, I'll run all day.

Lucky.

We named him Lucky because we figured he was a lot luckier to be living with me than he was living on the river like he was living.

Bradley: So what does "on point" mean?

On point is when actually the dog stops.

He -- When he smells birds, he stops 'cause a lot of times, he's got birds in front of him.

♪♪ Bo still tours almost a hundred days a year with the Bo Henry Band, and music has also led him to successes in business.

Got started by opening a music venue, and it turned into now about six restaurants.

So music is just -- was one of the catalysts starting everything.

It was.

It really was.

It was.

Why Albany?

I decided I wanted to come back to my hometown and -- where I could enjoy things like this, also.

Even though I'm a city boy, I totally understand the thrill of the hunt.

His GPS is showing that the dog's been at the same distance away for the last few minutes.

GPS.

So there's a good possibility that he's... -He's on a covey.

-Yep.

He's stopped on a covey.

Oh, there -- there it goes.

[ Gunshot ] Oh, there's one.

Bo misses his first shot, but the dogs are going crazy, so we know there's quail still in the area.

You still think he's there?

I think he was there, buddy.

Dead?

Dead?

Oh, there it was.

[ Gunshots ] All right.

He's dead.

And we have a cock bird.

Bo preps the quail the Southern way -- dipped in buttermilk, battered, and deep-fried.

I'm going in, guys.

Kind of like chicken, but not chicken.

It's not.

It's finer.

It's not as, like, kind of meaty.

Oh, yeah.

Right.

And it's just more succulent, I'd say... Mm-hmm.

...than chicken, for sure.

Oh, yeah.

This is excellent.

Quail -- I'm a fan.

I've never had quail.

So...

I'm glad you're eating it here for the first time.

Yeah, I'm glad I'm eating it, too, Bo.

Trust me.

Went hunting.

Went hunting.

Quail hunting.

Now you're eating quail.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah.

That's it.

Farm to table.

Or not farm.

Wild to table.

That's right.

Maybe the thing Bo likes more than hunting and eating quail is to sit on the porch of his cabin and pick his guitar.

♪ When I'm gone one of these days ♪ ♪ A small Southern town where all around ♪ ♪ As a child, I did play ♪ ♪ The people there were never scared ♪ ♪ No, we're all the same ♪ ♪ A small-town man has one good thing ♪ ♪ He's only got his name ♪ ♪ Take me back to the old oak tree ♪ ♪ Out on the county line ♪ ♪ Hang around a fire on a cypress stump ♪ ♪ Sipping homemade shine ♪ ♪ And talking 'bout how we used to fish Spring Creek ♪ ♪ Taking those dirt road rides ♪ ♪ Rambling on about the good old days ♪ ♪ Thankful to be alive ♪ Henry: Music's fun, man.

It got me into places, and seen places and people that I'd have never got a chance to do or see any other way.

These days, Bo is a family man whose businesses keep him closer to home.

He and his partner, Stewart Campbell, intentionally keep all their restaurants local, rather than franchising to other cities.

And that's a really good thing, given how much he loves his hometown.

♪ So take me by that old homeplace, Lord ♪ ♪ On my dying day ♪ Where are we heading right now?

I think what I'm gonna do is take you all down to the Civil Rights Museum, which is just a landmark in Albany.

And there's a lady down there, Miss Ruth.

I want you all to meet her.

And she's a great lady and has done a lot for our area, I think, with her singing group and... Rutha was one of four original Freedom Singers, who formed in Albany in 1962.

They toured 46 states and even sang at the March on Washington.

♪ You and me ♪ Together: ♪ You and me ♪ I organized this group in 1998 just for the purpose of singing the civil rights songs and keeping them alive.

Songs taken from spirituals, gospels, and rhythm and blues.

And we change the lyrics to fit the occasion.

♪ I'm on my way ♪ Together: ♪ I'm on my way ♪ ♪ To Freedom Land ♪ ♪ To Freedom Land ♪ ♪ I'm on my way ♪ ♪ I'm on my way ♪ ♪ Oh, to Freedom Land ♪ What really sparked you on?

What really brought on, "I'm not free.

I need to join this.

I need to fight for what I feel is right"?

Well, I came home during the summer of 1961 from Florida A&M University, and I joined the fight and I started participating in voter registration.

Then there were mass meetings and I started singing in the mass meetings.

Mm.

And that's what I do best.

Sing?

Sing.

♪ Walk with me, Lord ♪g.

♪ Walk with me ♪ ♪ Walk with me, Lord ♪ ♪ Walk with me ♪ ♪ While I'm on this ♪ ♪ Freedom journey ♪ ♪ I want Jesus ♪ ♪ To walk ♪ ♪ With me ♪ That was so beautiful.

Thank you so much.

Man: Oh.

Thank you.

Oh.

Thank you so much.

Oh, bless you.

Bradley: From her very first note, I was captivated emotionally and physically, and it was clear that she has a very special gift.

After I pull myself together, Rutha takes us to Carter's for lunch.

It's a family spot where civil rights meetings were once held over plates of soul food.

After our bellies are full, She takes us back to her home to meet her brother Emory, who was also a Freedom Singer during the '60s.

As far as I'm concerned, without the songs of the movement, I don't believe there would have been a movement.

Just imagine 2,000 people singing those songs at the same time with the same spirit.

Even when we were in jail, we would sing the songs.

And they lift your spirits.

They kept you from being afraid.

Strong songs.

They carry a message across the country -- We desire our freedom and we'll die for our freedom.

That's what we -- That's what we felt then.

When we went all down in Alabama and Mississippi, we did the same thing.

We went on down knowing that we might not come back.

But just the thought of freeing our little kids and brothers and sisters, it meant so much to us... and still do today.

And talking about the demonstrations in all these different places -- nonviolent is the only way that we can win.

Nonviolent.

Rutha and Emory: ♪ ...for me ♪ ♪ Died for the cause of equality ♪ ♪ But we'll never ♪ ♪ Turn back ♪ Bradley: Much of the incredible skill in the Freedom Singers' voices can be traced to their time spent in church.

Rutha and Emory's father was once a pastor at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Albany, an institution formed just after slavery ended.

It has now grown into this incredible congregation.

And, of course, Rutha sings in the choir.

Man: ♪ And sing, you did it ♪ ♪ You did it, yes, you did ♪ ♪ You did it all ♪ ♪ Yes, you did ♪ ♪ Yes, you did ♪ ♪ Yes, you did ♪ ♪ Sound real good ♪ ♪ Yes, you did ♪ ♪ Yes, you did ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, thank you ♪ Time to go home here.

♪ Oh-oh ♪ ♪ Everything ♪ ♪ Hey, thank you ♪ ♪ Thank you, Lord ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ That's it.

♪ For all you've done for me ♪ [ Music ends, congregation cheering ] ♪ Yeah ♪ Bradley: Minister of Music Dr. T. Marshall Jones is quick to point out that many of the spirituals in both church and protest music run much deeper than formalized gospel music.

Jones: Spirituals, the religious aspects of slaves -- They would gather on Thursday nights in their little cabins and they would sing and have a ritual for about 4 or 5 hours just singing these spirituals.

It was a way of venting the suppression that slaves felt, and the spirituals moved on into the era of gospel music.

And then we went into the '30s and we created something called the blues.

And in 1930, a man who would famously combine blues, gospel, and R&B was born right here in Albany -- Ray Charles.

And being here, I can actually start to feel how this powerful combination of forces helped seed the growth of an artist like Ray.

There was a message in all of this music.

You could create something that was of a sad nature to kind of express someone who had treated you badly.

It wasn't a matter of getting revenge, but it was a matter of a self-expression.

Let go.

Yes, yes.

But before Ray Charles, there was the Mother of the Blues.

She was the one who named it.

And Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was born less than 90 miles up the road in Columbus, Georgia.

♪ Ain't robbed no train ♪ ♪ Ain't done no hanging crime ♪ Bradley: This was her home.

She ended up cutting over 100 records... Bradley: Whoa.

...in about a 10-year period.

And as the Mother of the Blues, her impact on popular music was profound.

You have to look at how many other musicians Ma Rainey influenced, and it's all over the walls in this room, I mean.

You got Ray Charles, you got James Brown.

How did Ma Rainey come across some of these musicians?

She hired them.

People like Fletcher Henderson and Louis Armstrong.

Talking to you and hearing all the connections, I mean, I owe a lot to Ma Rainey for anything that I do.

I'm right there with you.

She was an influence on an artist, Precious Bryant... Bryant: ♪ The saints ♪ ♪ Go marching on in ♪ ...that's from the area.

You know, she was influenced by Ma Rainey.

I'm influenced directly, you know, by her.

Bryant: ♪ Go marching on in ♪ Bradley: Spending a little time with Neal, it's pretty clear that blues music is just in the water in Columbus.

Down on the banks of the Chattahoochee River, Neal opens up.

You know, one thing that Precious always said that really meant a lot to me -- Sometimes it's happy, sometimes it's sad, but it always tells the truth.

She's talking about blues.

Sometimes it's happy, sometimes it's sad, but it always tells the truth.

That was her approach.

That's what it meant to her.

Mm.

[ Guitar playing ] Neal got close with Precious during the last years of her life, soaking up all he could from one of the last remaining Chattahoochee blues musicians.

He tries to explain her flavor of the blues.

So what Precious did, you know, it all sounds like what we want to call blues, but she had her own sound within that.

There's a rhythmic element to it.

It's almost like a stomp, but within the music, there's this pulse.

Ah.

This pulse is going.

♪ Well, goodbye, baby ♪ ♪ If you call yourself gone ♪ ♪ But someday, baby ♪ ♪ You're gonna come back home ♪ ♪ Yeah, someday, baby ♪ ♪ You ain't gonna worry poor me anymore ♪ ♪ Yeah, someday, baby ♪ ♪ You ain't gonna worry poor me anymore ♪ If you get too technical with it, you kind of start missing the -- the point of what it was because it wasn't meant to be, I guess, perceived as a very technical thing because for her, it wasn't.

Even though she was extremely skilled playing, you know, it was more of an extension of who she was and where she came from.

[ Guitar playing ] ♪♪ Bradley: Just as Columbus has its own flavor of the blues, it's also got its own very specific version of barbecue.

In Georgia, we cook barbecue...

Okay.

...and let the smoke flow over us.

It's like some Southern incense right here.

That's it.

Southern incense, man.

Um, you know, I wasn't even hungry before I got here, but I'm starving now.

Me too.

It'll do that to you, man.

You the man, yo.

That's all I'm saying.

You killing them right now!

Killing them!

Lucas: Now, most of what you got around here is gonna be more of, like, a mustard-based kind of thing.

You know?

I don't eat barbecue outside of Columbus.

You can't even -- It's just outside of your taste buds.

No.

Yeah, man.

If I go somewhere else, I don't even try it because it doesn't taste like barb-- No, dude, because it doesn't taste like barbecue from here.

Wow.

So...

This is so good.

Honestly, I could eat, like, three of these.

I don't want to be seen on camera eating three sandwiches.

So when they cut that off, I'll start on my second one.

Here in Columbus, Georgia, they have a especially good versions of blues and barbecue, but that's not all they have here.

It's an old mill town full of classic old brick buildings sitting on the banks of the mighty Chattahoochee River.

It's the home of the U.S. Infantry at Fort Benning, which creates a constant influx of people from around the country and the world.

And Columbus State University is here.

So it's also a college town.

I think it's probably more diverse than -- than a lot of people, you know, from around the rest of the state might think it is.

There's -- We have the Springer Opera House.

We have the RiverCenter, Schwob School of Music.

But there's one venue that holds a special place in the music scene here.

I guess The Loft is more of a kind of a musical home for me here in Columbus.

The Loft has become a venue, restaurant, music studio, and creative arts space smack in the middle of a burgeoning downtown in Columbus.

In fact, it may be a big reason that downtown is now so lively.

Owner Buddy Nelms explains.

When we purchased the building back in '85, we just actually purchased a pile of bricks.

My son, we'd get out and play ball in the streets on Friday night and not have to worry about hitting a car because there was no cars here.

Right.

I couldn't get financing.

"You're gonna open up a club upstairs?

Forget it, man.

You're a yo-yo."

You know?

"Oh, yeah.

You're gonna do a live original acoustic music?

Just might as well go jump off the building.

You're just -- You're just a wack job, man.

You just -- You just lost your mind."

When you talk to people involved with The Loft, it's obvious that Buddy is a charismatic dreamer who makes things happen.

Buddy's like the bowling alley.

He sets the pins up, and we have to knock them down.

It's just a wonderful environment that Buddy has made available to myself as a visual artist, but also to all the musicians who come in.

He's sort of the godfather of Columbus, Georgia, music.

It's really not brain surgery.

Just buy an old building, buy a lot of cool gear, and they just show up.

They needed a place to play.

They wanted a place to be.

And it kind of happened just like that.

Just in one afternoon, we get a good sense of the vibe at The Loft.

We watch as singer-songwriter Garrett Lee tracks in The Loft's gorgeous studio.

Lee: ♪ Hear me when I say I ain't leaving ♪ ♪ It's just me walking away ♪ ♪ I need to laugh again, find love again ♪ ♪ For you to hear me when I pray ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ Years have passed, but no one has ♪ ♪ I'm lucky to be alive in this old ♪ ♪ Town ♪ ♪ Been strung along for far too long ♪ ♪ It's hard to find a home in this place ♪ ♪ Now ♪ Bradley: Just down the hall, we find Dr. Robert Sharpe, a professor at the Schwob School of Music, who's making excellent use of one of The Loft's spare rooms.

[ Soft guitar music playing ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ And on stage this evening is a Grammy winner -- Larry Mitchell, creating the kind of magic that Buddy lives for.

The audience has developed enough that we can bring in some top-tier talent on top of our top-tier talent.

[ Up-tempo music plays ] Man: Yes, sir!

Man #2: Whoo!

Whoo!

♪♪ Whoo!

Yeah!

Come on!

♪♪ A shared music experience is like sharing dining together and breaking bread together.

It's real spiritual.

It can be a guy on parole standing right beside the judge that put him in.

I just love it.

I always say, you got to get out and smell the music.

♪♪ Well, Buddy, I'm definitely smelling it.

♪♪ ♪♪ Late in the evening, I head across the street to the cigar bar where Neal Lucas has gotten busy burning the place down.

[ Up-tempo music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ I've gotten deep into the roots of American music on this journey, from spirituals and gospel, to the blues.

And I've felt the warmth of the truest Southern hospitality.

♪♪ And that could have been it.

But everyone told me I had to do one more thing before leaving Columbus.

So I head back down to the banks of the Chattahoochee.

So it was dammed up for almost 200 years.

And the dams were, you know, not working anymore for the purpose that it used to serve.

So they blew them up.

And now there's big rapids.

So can I just go like this?

Like, I'm ready to just hop in this boat.

No, we're gonna -- No, we're gonna grab some wetsuits and some gear.

No?

You could go like that in the flatwater, but you don't -- No.

All right.

You're the expert.

I'm ready to roll with you.

Oh, man.

It's getting real now.

All right.

Rose: You just put that on your head.

You sure this is big enough for me?

I hope so.

All right.

One size fits most.

Here goes.

Oh, all right.

I guess I don't have such a big dome after all.

I started this trip shooting quail at the crack of dawn.

How hard can paddling a boat down a river be?

This is the Chattahoochee River.

This is what we've been talking about.

Well, here in Columbus, they can release water upriver and create the world's longest urban white-water course.

We're talking class five rapids.

Man: Yeah!

I don't even really know what that means, except that... Bradley: [ Screaming ] ♪♪ Man: Whoo!

...we never had a chance.

Man #2: Oh, we got people in the river.

♪ ...believe me if I told you ♪ ♪ I won't never do you wrong?

♪ ♪ If you would only let me hold you ♪ ♪ All your worries would be gone ♪ ♪ Would never be no reason ♪ ♪ My aim is true ♪ ♪ All I would do is please you, baby in ♪ ♪ Everything I do ♪ ♪ Believe me if I tell you ♪ ♪ I don't want no other love ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪ Hey, hey ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪