North Mississippi Allstars is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

southern rock Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculat ...

band from

Hernando, Mississippi Hernando is a city in, and the county seat of, DeSoto County, which is on the northwestern border of Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,090 at the 2010 census, up from 6,812 in 2000. DeSoto County is the second-most-populous count ...

, founded in 1996. The band is currently composed of brothers

Luther Dickinson Luther Andrews Dickinson (born January 18, 1973) is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the North Mississippi Allstars and the son of record producer Jim Dickinson. He is also known for being the lead guitarist for The Black Crowes. He hosts ''G ...

(guitar,

lowebow A lowebow is a variation of the cigar box guitar, created by John Lowe in the 1990s. It involves a cigar box with two wooden rods projecting from it. Each wooden rod typically holds one string: a bass string attached to one rod and a standard acoust ...

, vocals) and Cody Dickinson (drums, keyboards, electric washboard, vocals). Their most recent album '' Set Sail'' was released in 2022.

History

The group was formed in 1996 by brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson (sons of Memphis musician/producer

Jim Dickinson James Luther Dickinson (November 15, 1941 – August 15, 2009) was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee. Biography Dickinson was born in Lit ...

), along with bassist Chris Chew, with the intention of combining the

and bluegrass of the

North Mississippi North Mississippi is a region in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Mississippi, consisting of Alcorn, Itawamba, Lee, Pontotoc, Prentiss, Tippah, Tishomingo, and Union counties. These counties share a unique cultural history that di ...

region with

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

and other modern forms. Their first album ''

Shake Hands with Shorty ''Shake Hands with Shorty'' is the debut studio album by American band North Mississippi Allstars. It was released on May 9, 2000, through Tone-Cool Records. It features contributions from Cedric and Garry Burnside, Othar Turner, Jim Dickinson, J ...

'' was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Their later albums ''

51 Phantom ''51 Phantom'' is the second studio album by American band North Mississippi Allstars. It was released on October 9, 2001 through Tone-Cool Records. Recording sessions took place at Zebra Ranch Complex in Tate County, Mississippi. Production was h ...

'' and '' Electric Blue Watermelon'' have received nominations in the same category. The group also won a

Blues Music Award The Blues Music Awards, formerly known as the W. C. Handy Awards (or "The Handys"), are awards presented by the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to foster blues heritage. The awards were originally named in honor of W. C. Handy, " ...

for Best New Artist Debut in 2001. Starting in 2000, the Dickinson brothers and Chew have also participated in supergroup The Word with Robert Randolph and

John Medeski Anthony John Medeski (born June 28, 1965) is an American jazz keyboard player and composer. Medeski is a veteran of New York's 1990s avant-garde jazz scene and is known popularly as a member of Medeski Martin & Wood. He plays the acoustic piano ...

. The band made its network television debut in 2000 on ''

Late Night with Conan O'Brien ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. NBC aired 2,725 episodes from September 13, 1993, to February 20, 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and music ...

'' and served as the house band on the program ''

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''Th ...

'' for a short period in 2004. Guitarist Duwayne Burnside, son of Mississippi blues musician

R. L. Burnside R. L. Burnside (November 23, 1926 – September 1, 2005) was an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He played music for much of his life but received little recognition before the early 1990s. In the latter half of that decade, Bur ...

, has often collaborated with the group, and was added as an official member in 2003-2004. The band backed

John Hiatt John Robert Hiatt (born August 20, 1952) is an American singer-songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including new wave, blues, and country. Hiatt has been nominated for nine Grammy Awards and has been awarded ...

on the album ''

Master of Disaster ''Master of Disaster'' is an album by American singer-songwriter John Hiatt. It was released on June 21, 2005 via New West Records. Recording sessions took place at Ardent Studio "C" in Memphis, Tennessee. Production was handled by Jim Dickinson. ...

'' and the associated tour in 2005. North Mississippi Allstars albums are known for featuring many guest stars; for example, their 2005 album ''Electric Blue Watermelon'' included guest appearances by

Lucinda Williams Lucinda Gayle Williams (born January 26, 1953) is an American singer-songwriter and a solo guitarist. She recorded her first two albums: '' Ramblin' on My Mind'' (1979) and '' Happy Woman Blues'' (1980), in a traditional country and blues style ...

, Robert Randolph, the

Dirty Dozen Brass Band The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a brass band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ensemble was established in 1977, by Benny Jones and members of the Tornado Brass Band. The Dirty Dozen revolutionized the New Orleans brass band style by incorpo ...

, and traditional musician

Otha Turner Othar "Otha" Turner (June 2, 1907 – February 27, 2003) was one of the last well-known fife players in the vanishing American fife and drum blues tradition. His music was also part of the African-American genre known as Hill country blues. E ...

. Luther Dickinson joined the

Black Crowes Black is a color which results from the absence or complete Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption of visible spectrum, visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or fi ...

in 2007 and devoted time to both bands until 2011; he appeared on three Black Crowes studio albums. During that period, Cody Dickinson and Chris Chew formed the side project Hill Country Revue. Chew left the band in 2015. Since then, the Dickinson brothers have led the group with a rotating cast of supporting musicians. Their 2017 album '' Prayer for Peace'' reached number one on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Blues Albums Chart. Their 2019 album '' Up and Rolling'' was selected as a "Favorite Blues Album" by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Members

;Current members *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, vocals, cigar box guitar, drums, bass (1996–present) * Cody Dickinson –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, vocals, guitar, synthesizer (1996–present) ;Former members * Chris Chew – bass, vocals (1996–2015) * Duwayne Burnside – guitar, vocals (2003–2004) ;Timeline

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (2000) *''

'' (2001) *''Polaris'' (2003) *''Tate County Hill Country Blues'' (2003, Private Release) *''Hill Country Revue - Live at

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

'' (2004, live) *'' Electric Blue Watermelon'' (2005) *''Paradise Boston, Ma 11.12.05'' (2006, Instant Live) *''Keep On Marchin': Live in Burlington, VT 11.11.05'' (2007, 2 CDs live) *''Mississippi Folk Music'' - Volume One (2007) *'' Hernando'' (2008) *''Do It Like We Used to Do'' (2009, 2 CDs and DVD live set) *''Boulderado: Live at the Fox'' (2010, 2 CDs live) *''Live in the Hills 6.26.10'' (2010, official live bootleg as North Mississippi Allstars Duo) *'' Keys to the Kingdom'' (2011) *''Live In The Hills II 6.24.11'' (2011, official live bootleg) *'' World Boogie Is Coming'' (2013) *''Freedom & Dreams'' with Anders Osborne (2015) *'' Prayer for Peace'' (2017) *'' Up and Rolling'' (2019) *'' Set Sail'' (featuring Lamar Williams Jr.) (2022)

EPs

*''Shimmy She Wobble'' (2000) *''Instores & Outtakes'' (2004) *''Electric Blue Watermelon Screwed and Chopped EP'' (2005) *''Upstairs At United, Vol. 4'' (2012, live)

Awards and nominations

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Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album was awarded from 1988 to 2011 and from 2017 onwards. Until 1992 the award was known as Best Contemporary Blues Performance and in 1989 was awarded to a song rather than to an album. The award was ...

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Blues Music Awards Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narra ...

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References

External links

* *
Zebra Ranch studio

Hill Country Revue Official Website

North Mississippi Allstars collection
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

's live music archive {{Authority control American blues musical groups American blues rock musical groups Jam bands Musical groups established in 1996 Rock music groups from Mississippi American southern rock musical groups Hernando, Mississippi ATO Records artists Artemis Records artists New West Records artists