| Blues
Today Symposium |
Legendary musician B.B. King returns to his home state
February 26-28 to perform at the University of Mississippi's (UM)
second annual Blues Today symposium. Produced by Living Blues
magazine, the event includes everything from a panel discussion
on the current state of the blues to a goat roast at a local juke
joint.
Preeminent blues scholar Paul Oliver, author of the critically
acclaimed Blues Fell This Morning (Cambridge University Press)
will deliver the symposium's keynote address on this year's theme,
"From Africa to Mississippi," at 4 p.m. on Friday, February 27
in UM's Paul B. Johnson Commons.
The symposium includes performances by a wide variety of artists.
Following B.B. King's concert, slated for 8 p.m. Friday, February
27, in UM's new Ford Center for Performing Arts, blues fans are
invited to attend a "blues crawl," which showcases artists at
various venues on Oxford's town square. Scheduled to perform are
country-blues style guitarist and singer Corey Harris, who serves
as the honorary symposium co-chair; French-African bluesman Abraham
Yameogo; members of Otha Turner's family on fifes and drums; and
local favorite T. Model Ford.
Saturday afternoon's activities include a poets' session, featuring
spoken-word diva Jessica Care More, "dirty-South" bluesman Chris
Thomas King and Mississippi's blues poet laureate Sterling Plumpp.
The local juke joint Club Disco 9000 will open its doors to symposium
attendees Saturday night for a catfish fry and goat roast, and
of course, more music - this time, down-home, Mississippi "hill
country" blues.
Living Blues founders Jim O'Neal, Amy Van Singel and Bruce Iglauer,
along with industry insiders and scholars, join the event's performers
to discuss topics including Living Blues magazine itself, the
state of current blues music, a critical appraisal of 2003 as
the "Year of the Blues," blues in relation to Africa and blues
guitar techniques. For the latter topic, symposium participants
are invited to bring their own guitars and harmonicas to take
part in an audience jam session.
Symposium fees are $225 for VIP Blues Package and $125 for Blues
On A Budget. The VIP package covers the entire symposium's events,
including admission to the B.B. King concert and all Oxford town
square performances, VIP access at dinners, cocktail parties and
receptions for artists and panelists; reserved seating at all
events; free CDs, T-shirts and posters from industry sponsors;
and the option to participate in an overnight tour of the Mississippi
Delta, sponsored by Viking Range Inc. The Blues On A Budget package
is a scaled down version of the VIP package. The symposium's panel
discussions are free and open to the public and B.B. King tickets
can be purchased separately without registering for the full symposium
by calling UM's Central Ticket Office at 662-915-7411. Ticket
prices are $35, $55 and $100.
For more information and to register, visit Living
Blues.com or e-mail mark@livingblues.com.
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