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

and bluegrass of the North Mississippi 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'' was nominated for a Grammy Award 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. The band made its network television debut in 2000 on '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' and served as the house band on the program '' Last Call with Carson Daly'' 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 on the album '' Master of Disaster'' 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, Robert Randolph, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, 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 ''Up and Rolling'' is the tenth studio album by American band North Mississippi Allstars. It was released on October 4, 2019, through New West Records, making it their first album for the label. Production was handled entirely by Cody and Luther D ...

'' was selected as a "Favorite Blues Album" by AllMusic.

Members

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

Discography

Albums

*'' Shake Hands with Shorty'' (2000) *''

'' (2001) *''Polaris'' (2003) *''Tate County Hill Country Blues'' (2003, Private Release) *''Hill Country Revue - Live at Bonnaroo'' (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 ''Ordinary Dreamers'' is the second full-length studio album by Christian hip hop band Group 1 Crew. It was released on September 16, 2008 through Fervent Records. The album charted at No. 15 on ''Billboards Top Heatseekers chart. The album was pr ...

'' (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) *''

'' (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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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 ...

for Best New Artist Debut , , , - , align=center,

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References

External links

* *
Zebra Ranch studio

Hill Country Revue Official Website

North Mississippi Allstars collection
at the Internet Archive'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