North Mississippi Allstars - Topic

My brother Cody and I started the Allstars in 1996 as a loose collective of musicians from our North Mississippi home. We were inspired by our father, Jim Dickinson, as well as by our neighbors and musical elders: RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Otha Turner, and Fred McDowell. Our first national tour was backing RL on the Ass Pocket of Whiskey tour in 1997, selling out shows in the US and Canada. When we started the Allstars, we played Mississippi music as straight and traditional as we could, but it evolved. While we were playing a residency on Beale Street in 98, we realized we could incorporate our previous style of psych-rock improvisation and create our own sound. The idea of using folk and blues melodies and lyrics as vehicles for interpretation and improvisation made a lot of sense to us. We recorded our debut while we were still intoxicated from growing up and hanging out at Otha’s G.O.A.T. picnics and spending Sunday nights at Junior’s juke joint. We were under the influence of the Sacred Steel music, and those first two collections changed our lives. We began touring in 98, and the lineup has at times included Cedric & Garry Burnside, Chris Chew, Berry Oakley Jr., and Oteil Burbridge. Currently the band features Joey William (Blind Boys of Alabama) and Ray Ray Hollowman, guitarist for Eminem. We’ve been fortunate to share the stage with countless legends, including Phil Lesh, Mavis Staples, Robert Plant, John Hiatt, Buddy Guy, Snoop Dogg, and Jon Spencer.