Roots music is not just about emulating the sounds and aesthetics of traditional American tunes. After 25 years, 12 albums, four Grammy Award nominations, and numerous sold-out concerts, North Mississippi Allstars have consistently shown that the “roots” that inform their Hill Country blues grow out of a strong connection to the people and cultures of their home state, as well deep family bonds. 

North Mississippi Allstars (NMA) was founded by brothers Luther (guitar/vocals) and Cody (drums/keyboards/vocals) Dickinson in 1996. Luther and Cody are the sons of legendary Memphis record producer and musician Jim Dickinson. Although NMA’s line-up is constantly shifting, as second-generation musicians, Luther and Cody tend to find chemistry with other players that come from musical families. 

“Most of my closest friends and collaborators are second-generation musicians,” said Luther. “We speak the same language and fall easily into the flow.”  

Making music with family and friends in their orbits

For their latest album, Set Sail, NMA recruited bassist Jesse Williams and singer Lamar Williams Jr. Jesse comes from a family of musicians, having played with his father and brothers, and Lamar is the son of Allman Brothers bassist Lamar Williams Sr. Luther and Cody met Lamar Jr. at an Allman Betts Family Revival and became fast friends and collaborators. 

“Musicians’ lives are like orbits with gravitational pulls,” explained Luther. “We meet musicians out on the road, and our records reflect whose orbits we are intersecting with at that time.” 

When NMA recorded Set Sail they had just begun working with Jesse and Lamar as the pandemic hit. The bandmates continued to record the album from afar, sending the music back and forth from their respective home studios.  

“I had new songs and we found solace in collaborating on recording them during the quarantine,” said Luther.  

The family element on Set Sail was also enhanced by some vocals from Luther’s two daughters. Speaking of his daughters, Luther recently released a solo album of lullabies and sing-alongs for children (that adults can enjoy, too) called Magic Music for Family Folk. 

“As a touring musician I initially recorded these songs that I had learned from my father so my kids could listen, learn and sing along with me while I was out on tour,” said Luther. “I burned a CD for my kids to keep them company while I was working. The concept grew from there.” 

Luther and Cody have separately produced albums for artists like Lucero, Samantha Fish, R.L. Boyce, Amy Lavere, the Birds of Chicago, and Ian Segal. Although they learned a lot from their famous father, the Dickinson Brothers have developed their own identities and styles as producers.  

Luther has recently been inspired by the philosophies of other legendary producers. 

“Rick Rubin taught me to let the lyrical form be free and not constricted to rhyme schemes and syllable count and patterns,” explained Luther. “Playing with Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), I studied the songs of [Jerry]Garcia and [Robert]Hunter and realized that the music is designed to suit the lyrics and melody, not the other way around. These two concepts were very liberating in finishing the songs on Set Sail.  

“Quincy Jones explained in his book that he won’t allow a singer to record with a lyric sheet. He insists a singer internalize a song before recording. I recorded the basic tracks of Set Sail with an acoustic guitar, drum beat and my lyric book only for reference. Not reading the lyrics but singing them from the heart and even improvising new lyrics on the mic was very inspiring. It seems simple but I grew up with the habit of a lyric sheet.” 

NMA appeared alongside fellow Mississippi artists at the Savannah Music Festival in 2022 as part of the “Voices of Mississippi” presentation by folklorist Dr. William Ferris. While NMA maintain a reverence and guardianship of the music that comes out of Mississippi, they still find ways to incorporate rock, Delta blues, folk, psychedelic, jam, soul, jazz, and rap into their sound in a way that pushes the music of their home ever forward.  

“Roots Music has to evolve and adapt to survive,” said Luther. “We have always blended our influences and natural instincts into our style, in a casual way. We have never strived to be overtly old fashioned but more primitive modernists. Playing songs that we learned from our family and community, be it our dad or RL Burnside feels like an act of communion. The elders were so helpful to us, we have to keep up our end of the deal and keep the songs alive. Sharde Thomas keeps her grandfather Otha Turner’s music alive, as well as the Burnside family, the Kimbrough family, not to mention many others.” 

If You Go >>

What: SMF Encore presents North Mississippi Allstars 

When: 8 p.m., Jan. 20 

Where: Victory North, 2603 Whitaker St. 

Cost: $35 

Info: savannahmusicfestival.org