Mississippi Hill Country Blues 1967

We're excited about the release of George Mitchell's Mississippi Hill Country Blues 1967. This book is a collection of over 100 black and white photographs that document Mitchell's trip to to Mississippi, where he searched for then unrecorded blues musicians including R. L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, and Othar Turner. This journey yielded recordings of music now on cherished and touted albums and CDs. From Mitchell's fieldwork many others discovered the region and its distinctive style of blues. 

Mississippi Hill Country Blues 1967 will be available in August and also includes Mitchell's interviews, conducted at the time he took the photos, with four of the musicians who talk about their music, their lives, and the times in which they live. Running throughout is the author's recounting of his experience of the seminal musicological odyssey.

Accompanying the book is an exhibit of Mitchell's photographs at the Mississippi Museum of Art. The exhibit is now open and will run through September 8.

On Tuesday, August 20 at 5:30 a reception and book signing will be held at the Mississippi Museum of Art.. Mitchell will be on hand to walk audience members through the galleries where his exhibition hangs. And he will talk about the musicians he interviewed and photographed during his 1967 trip to north Mississippi. Award winning musician Cedric Burnside will share memories of performing with his grandfather, R. L. Burnside, answers questions, and demonstrates the Blues music of the Mississippi Hill Country.

To celebrate Music Monday enjoy this blues playlist, curated by Shawn Rossi.