Mose Allison

Composer, poet, pianist and vocalist Mose Allison will appear in concert at 7:30 PM in the Bologna Performing Arts Center on the Delta State campus in Cleveland, MS, on Wednesday, February 15.

The concert, titled “DSU Welcomes Mose Allison Home,” is free to the public and admission will be on a first-come-first-served basis. Doors will open at 7 PM.

Born in Tallahatchie County where he was influenced by the bluesman that lived and performed on his father’s farm, Allison has long lived in New York City. He has been a major influence on musicians over the last 50 years and has been touring for at least that long. His songs have been recorded by, among others, Van Morrison, the Who, Diana Krall, Bonnie Raitt, John Mayall (with Eric Clapton) and Elvis Costello. His singular style, a unique blending of jazz and blues, and his profound lyrical wit mark him as a true American original.

Allison will have a busy schedule when he comes home to Mississippi. After his performance at DSU on the 15th, he will be honored in Jackson, where the Mississippi Arts Commission will present him with a Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Thursday, February 16, at 1:00pm in Wells Memorial United Methodist Church. The following day, February 17, he will be present at the old Allison Mercantile Store in Tippo, Mississippi, near the Post Office at 1:30 PM when the Mississippi Blues Commission unveils a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in his honor. Both the Governor’s Awards and the Mississippi Blues Trail unveiling are also free and open to the public. Immediately following the unveiling ceremony all are invited to the CARE building in Charleston for a reception and short program presented by CARE. Malcolm White, who will present the Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, said “When I became the Director of the Mississippi Arts Commission in 2005, there were two individuals who had been nominated by the Commission to receive the Governor’s Award, but who had never come to the ceremony to accept. One was Mose Allison and the other Cassandra Wilson. “I promised myself that during the time I was at the Arts Commission, I would see that these two world-renowned musicians and Mississippi artists would came home and were properly honored.” Cassandra came in 2009 and now Mose returns in 2012. “I have presented, admired and followed the illustrious and syncopated career of Tippo’s Mose Allison since I was first heard his music coming from my stereo in high school. He is a friend, an innovative force in American music, and an original cat.”, said Wilson. Mose Allison’s performance at DSU is made possible by funding from the DSU Foundation, Delta Center for Culture and Learning, the Bologna Performing Arts Center, the Tri-State Education Foundation, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Mississippi Arts Commission.

[ BACK TO TOP ]