Photo credit: Tom Bejgrowicz
The North Mississippi Allstars play Turner Hall Ballroom on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020, at 8 p.m.
“In the big picture of fine art,” says North Mississippi Allstars guitarist/vocalist Luther Dickinson, “American roots music is a really young art form and it needs to be protected.”
Dickinson is referring to the primal country blues heard on Up and Rolling, the latest album by the band he co-founded with younger brother Cody in 1996, but he might as well be describing the group’s lifelong mission statement. Formed with the simple premise to “orchestrate Fred McDowell and R.L. Burnside music in a rock and roll style,” the band’s unique take on their hometown’s raw Hill Country sound has made the North Mississippi Allstars a household name in Americana and blues circles, and the elder Dickinson a much-in demand guitarist with acts ranging from the Black Crowes to Phil Lesh & Friends.
While 2017’s Prayer For Peace was recorded at various studios between tour dates, Up and Rolling finds the brothers Dickinson returning to Zebra Ranch, the home studio built by their father, legendary Memphis producer and musician Jim Dickinson (Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Big Star).
“A home studio is like a church, or a kitchen, or a workshop,” Dickinson explains. “It’s a place designed to do one thing. After our father passed [in 2009], it wasn’t as comfortable working there for a little while but once we overcame that, it was really inspirational.”
The comfort of the family studio resulted in mostly live takes as well as some unexpected improvisational moments. “Once you take flight and start flying, man, it’s such a good feeling,” Dickinson says. “Dad used to say, ‘Create a moment, recognize the moment, and then extend the moment.’ Sometimes when you go out on a limb, you eventually end up breaking it. [Laughs] But that’s what edits are for!”
Though it might appear that the popularity of rock music has waned in recent years, the guitarist is characteristically optimistic about the future. Citing his experiences leading and observing classes at a Woodstock-based rock ’n’ roll camp, Dickinson says that teenage musicians respond just as he once did when exposed to the evergreen sounds of what he calls rock ’n’ roll’s “elementary formula.”
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“Our dad used to say, ‘If you learn something, it’s your responsibility to teach that thing to 10 people,’” say Dickinson. “So, we’re passing it on and spreading the word.”
The North Mississippi Allstars play Turner Hall Ballroom on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m.
