Pearl River Community College will host a celebration of the blues onMonday, Aug. 29, as part of Mississippi Bicentennial observance.
The event begins at 7 p.m. at the Brownstone Center for the Arts and isfree.Dr. Mark Malone, coordinator of music education at William CareyUniversity and former PRCC choral director, will present a history ofthe blues followed by performances by Wes Lee of Petal and Vasti Jacksonof Hattiesburg.
“We’re taking blues from its roots with thesolo guitarist all the way through the rock influences with Vasti andhis band,” said Dr. Kyle Hill, Brownstone Center director.
Theconcert is funded through a Bicentennial grant from the MississippiHumanities Council. Malone is co-author of the Mississippi Blues TrailCurriculum for the Mississippi Arts Commission.
The study guide is written for fourth grade classes but can be adapted for use throughout high school.
“Lee plays a dobro-type blues guitar while Jackson’s music has more of a rock influence,” Hill said.
“Wes does a lot of solo work, which is the way the blues started,” Hillsaid. “He’s won a lot of awards and plays a lot of blues festivals.What he does is not mainstream. Vasti, of course, is Grammy nominated.He’s coming off a big year.”
Tickets are not required for the concert.