Welcome to the eighth annual International Conference on the Blues, a celebration of the art form through scholarly activity, discourse, and music! It will take place on Friday, October 1, 2021, at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, recognized as the birthplace of American music.
Festivities kick off with a pre-conference concert at 7:30 PM Thursday, September 30th, 2021, with a crowd-pleasing performance at the Bologna Performing Arts Center on the DSU campus. Purchase tickets by calling the box office at (662) 846-4626 or visit the Bologna Performing Arts Center website.
The conference begins Friday morning and continues until the early evening. The morning features performances connecting the Black gospel tradition to the blues, and the afternoon features academic presentations, all of which will be streamed and recorded for wide distribution. Topics include the blues; music of the African diaspora; Black musical traditions and influences on American music and culture; the influence of blues, gospel, spirituals, and soul music; Black music as protest and social commentary; and Black artists and the music industry.
Proposals will be accepted until July 1, 2021 and must be submitted via tinyurl.com/Blues2021.