Tribute to Mississippi Sheiks

Lonely One In This Town – Steve Dawson (Mississippi Sheiks tribute) by ColdsnapFest

Performing on: Saturday, January 28 at the Prince George Playhouse
Performers: Steve Dawson, Jim Byrnes, Del Rey

Why you should see them:

In the 1930s, some of the most memorable blues rants and square dance hollers ever recorded were put together by the Mississippi Sheiks, passing on music that came directly from the graveyards and churches of African Americans in the deep south. This tribute act is some of Canada’s finest guitarists and performers capturing the haunting emotion of this music.

Fun fact:

The full project includes O Susanna, Bill Frissell, and Bruce Cockburn.

Learn more –> blackhenmusic.com

Artist Bio:

This is not music for the faint of heart. The songs on this tribute come down to us from a world long gone, a world gone wrong where broken hearted murderers rubbed shoulders with wife stealing preachers. Listen carefully and you can almost hear the wind moaning through empty graveyards and churches as one man calculates the odds of playing bed spring poker while another moans that his pencil don’t write no more. Whether bent in prayer or bloody eyed in the throes of howling lust, the Mississippi Sheiks songs took a suffering generation on a ride through a universe populated with characters that walked the razor’s edge between sin and redemption, grace and depravity.

Between 1930 and 1935, Sam, Lonnie and Armenter Chatman, the three sons of slaves who along with Walter Vinson made up the core of the Mississippi Sheiks created some of the most memorable blues rants and square dance hollers ever conjured up. Their sound was indefinable – part country and part apocalyptic blues filtered through yearning fiddle and gut bucket guitar – and by the time their race was run, The Mississippi Sheiks had redefined what a string band could do. Over the course of nearly a hundred singles, their scratchy howling at the moon tales of life at the crossroads captured the hearts of a temporarily colour blind America as they toured the country, selling millions of records along the way. Though they only were together for five years, by the time they called it quits the Mississippi Sheiks had left a body of work behind that still resonates in today’s world. This is music that sounds as ancient as a Dead Sea Scroll and like it could have been written yesterday.

It’s a body of music that Vancouver songwriter, musician and producer Steve Dawson has been obsessed with for many years, and this project represents the fruition of a long time dream. There is no shortage of tribute albums out there and given a certain modicum of talent, it’s not rocket science to make a record that sounds a lot like the music of the artist being celebrated, but for this project Dawson envisioned something different. “I was never interested in recreating the music. It’s more of a conversation and exchange with the originals that I had in mind. So, when I started this project, I was looking for good interpreters who could capture the essence of the songs in a kind of portrait. I wanted to work with people who could celebrate the music and the songs”

Over the course of two days in November, Dawson captured performances from Kelly Joe Phelps, Bruce Cockburn, Del Rey, Robin Holcomb, Danny Barnes, The Sojourners, and Ndidi Onukwulu as well as recording a contribution of his own. Madeleine Peyroux was busy finishing her own album and couldn’t make the Seattle session, so she delivered a vocal track that the house band laid down the instrumentals for. Each artist brought his or her own unique energy and style to the project, and by the time an exhausted Dawson headed back to Vancouver, he knew he had something very special to share. Steve will be bringing this amazing tribute to Prince George accompanied by his band, guitar queen Del Rey and blues legend Jim Byrnes.

Life is short, and like the song says you may only be sitting on top of the world for a moment, so close your eyes, sit back and allow the songs to take you away to a world that has long since passed.

Whether you’re new to the music of the Mississippi Sheiks or have been dreaming of a tribute like this for years, music doesn’t get any better than this.