2024/2025 Season
Blues Hall of Famer, GRAMMY-winning blues and R&B showman Bobby Rush and four-time GRAMMY-nominated blues band North Mississippi Allstars come together to celebrate the music of pioneering blues artists Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. It will be an evening of soulful music, paying homage to two artists who shaped Chicago blues, refined Delta blues, and influenced the rock, pop and R&B we hear today.
About Bobby Rush
Bobby Rush has been making records for nearly 70 years and has appeared on more than 400 recordings, 75 career releases, and 27 studio albums to his name. In 2021, he finally told his story in his autobiography I Ain’t Studdin’ Ya: My American Blues Story, which Kirkus Reviews called, “A fascinating story well told... A richly detailed account of a bluesman’s full life." He has recorded for more than 20 labels, from Checker/Chess and ABC to Philly Int’l and Rounder/Concord. Rush is a three-time GRAMMY Winner and six-time nominee, as well as a Blues Hall of Famer, 16-time Blues Music Awards Winner.
About North Mississippi Allstars
After 25 years, twelve albums, four GRAMMY® Award nominations, and sold out shows everywhere, North Mississippi Allstars recently released their thirteenth album. As legend has it, Luther and Cody Dickinson started the band in 1996 as a loose collective of like-minded second-generation musicians who shared a local repertoire and regional style. Over the years, the lineup shifted by design, and each subsequent record offered up a different combination of collaborators. This time around, they mined the talents of Jesse Williams on bass and Lamar Williams, JR. on vocals.
“The chemistry we have with this lineup is powerful,” observes Luther. “We are all second-generation musicians and share a telepathic, relaxed ease about creating and performing. I believe music is a form of communion with our loved ones and conjuring this vibe with members of musical families can be inspirational. Playing with second- or third-generation players allows us an easy unspoken musical dialog. It’s not a big thing; it’s just what we do. We never had to figure out what it means and takes to be a musician. We all inherently know.”
As sons of legendary producer and musician Jim Dickinson, Luther and Cody have been producing records themselves since they were teenagers. Separately, the brothers have produced albums by Samantha Fish, R.L. Boyce, Lucero, Amy Lavere, the Birds of Chicago, Ian Segal, and more. Luther produced two records from Otha Turner, including Everybody Hollerin’ Goat, which was named one of the ten most important blues albums of the nineties. Luther and Cody co-produce North Mississippi Allstars records as the “Dickinson Brothers.”
Fri Jan 31, 7:30pm
