Voices of Mississippi is a new multimedia event that celebrates the music, art, and storytelling traditions of the people of Mississippi.
Based on the 2019 double-Grammy Award–winning ‘Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris’, the program features live musical performances integrated with film, audio recordings, and rare photographs by folklorist William ‘Bill’ Ferris, who will serve as host for the evening. The show will feature musicians Bobby Rush, Sharde Thomas, and Luther and Cody Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars, all of whom have deep ties to Mississippi and artists Ferris documented.
A historian with a proudly egalitarian lens, Ferris studied Mississippi as a slice of humanity in which everyone and everything was interconnected—and in which the beating heart of broader cultural traditions could be found in some of the most overlooked figures and places. From the 1960s through the 1990s, Ferris captured an invaluable archive of cultural and musical treasures, and much of that art and humanity will be shared in this unique concert experience.
With a broad array of photos, film clips, stories and live music, Voices of Mississippi paints a powerful picture of a unique time and place that remains an essential piece of the American cultural fabric.
ABOUT THE VOICES of MISSISSIPPI SHOW:
“Voices of Mississippi” is an immersive multimedia experience and concert event that celebrates the people and art of the southern blues, gospel, and storytelling traditions. Based on and inspired by the acclaimed 2019 double Grammy winning four-disc box set of the same name, “Voices of Mississippi,” the program features musical performances by notable Mississippi artists plus archival film and images. The show includes fascinating personal narratives and accounts from Dr. William Ferris, founding director of The University of Mississippi Center for The Study of Southern Culture and former Chairman of The National Endowment for the Humanities.
ABOUT THE VOICES of MISSISSIPPI BOX SET:
In 2010, folklorist Bill Ferris entrusted the record label Dust-to-Digital with his historic field recordings, films, and photographs with the plan for them to curate a presentation of his life’s work. From hundreds of hours of film, audio and photography plus the collaborative work of experts in the field of blues and gospel music came the stunning and moving collection of 3 CD’s, 1 DVD and a companion book released in 2018 - Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris. In 2019, Voices of Mississippi received Grammy Awards in both the Best Historical Album and Best Liner Notes categories.
The combination of William Ferris and Dust-to-Digital is so important in preserving the cornerstone of our musical American history, and this collection is extraordinary.” – Lucinda Williams
