Mississippi
Family Ties: North Mississippi Allstars return for a Savannah Music Festival Encore
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
Mississippi
Gov. Reeves announces $110 million investment for ‘future economic development success’
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Governor Tate Reeves has announced the state is investing over $110 million toward economic development, infrastructure upgrades, workforce development, tourism, and conservation efforts throughout Mississippi.
The majority of grant approvals, totaling over $97 million, will be invested into projects that, the governor says, will strengthen Mississippi’s economy.
“Mississippi’s economic development results have been historic and unprecedented,” said Governor Tate Reeves. “We’ve secured billions in new private sector investment and created thousands of jobs across the state. The funding we announced today will go a long way toward continuing Mississippi’s economic momentum and will help create more high-paying job opportunities for Mississippians across the state.”
According to Reeves, the investment will help expand infrastructure capabilities at sites across the state and better position Mississippi to secure more private sector investment.
Funding for these projects is available through the Mississippi Development Authority, Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority, RESTORE Act, GOMESA, and Southeast Crescent Regional Commission.
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Mississippi
Eniya Russell fitting right in as a starter at Mississippi State
STARKVILLE — Eniya Russell had spent four years in the Southeastern Conference almost exclusively coming off the bench. But Mississippi State head coach Sam Purcell was familiar with Russell long before she scored a combined 29 points in two games against the Bulldogs with Kentucky last year.
Russell grew into a five-star recruit and a top-50 national prospect in the class of 2020 at St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Maryland, and Purcell, then an assistant coach at Louisville, tried to recruit her to the Cardinals. Instead, Russell chose to play for Dawn Staley at South Carolina, where she won a national championship in 2022 but played roughly seven minutes per game.
She broke out as Kentucky’s sixth woman last season, averaging 10.1 points per game, but with the Wildcats making a coaching change, Russell transferred again, and this time Purcell landed her for her final year of eligibility.
“He stayed consistent throughout this whole process,” Russell said. “When we played against him when I was at Kentucky, I witnessed the fan base here. It was amazing. And when I came on my visit, it felt like home. Even when I got here and committed, he stayed consistent. It was like a real, true friendship. He wasn’t just a coach, he was helping me on and off the court.”
A 6-foot wing who has been a jack of all trades throughout her career, Russell can spell Jerkaila Jordan for stretches, but the two also work well on the court together. Jordan struggled in MSU’s season-opening win over Memphis, and it was Russell who filled her usual role as the lead scorer, finishing with 26 points on 10-for-15 shooting — including 4-for-8 from 3-point range.
Jordan returned to her usual form Sunday against Alcorn State and Russell was held to eight points, but she did pull down 10 rebounds, all on the defensive end.
“The style of play has changed. I wouldn’t say my role has really changed,” Russell said. “Coach Sam allows me to play free and fast, (which is) how I like to play. I fit into this system very well.”
Russell did turn the ball over five times against the Braves, and turnovers have been the Bulldogs’ biggest weakness so far. MSU (2-0) had 20 turnovers and just 12 assists Sunday, though the Bulldogs did hold Alcorn State to just nine points off those turnovers.
“The turnovers are coming because sometimes we’re too unselfish, and we love to make that home run pass,” Purcell said. “We’re new, with so many new pieces. It’s a combination of everything. Do I think it’s going to improve and get better? I do. Because every game we play better.”
Scouting Alabama State
MSU will play in front of its largest crowd of the season so far against the Hornets (2-0), with elementary school students representing most of those in attendance. This is the Bulldogs’ annual Education Day game, tipping off at 11 a.m., and schools from around the Golden Triangle region will bus their kids to the game for a field trip.
Purcell, who has three daughters himself, recognizes the importance of being introduced to high-level athletics at a young age. He said MSU expects 5,800 kids will be in the stands at Humphrey Coliseum.
“When we score a bucket or get a stop, they’re going to cheer for us, but you know what, they’re probably also going to cheer for Alabama State,” Purcell said. “A young kid who doesn’t have the opportunity to come to the game because of hard-working parents, when they sit there and come to the game and watch Eniya Russell, they might say, ‘I want to grow up and I want to be her.’ This game is bigger than just getting them out of school.”
Alabama State played two NAIA opponents to start the year, beating Faulkner University 70-58 and defeating Stillman College 55-50. The Hornets’ schedule is about to get a lot tougher — the Bulldogs are the first of six SEC teams Alabama State will face between Wednesday and the end of December.
Cordasia Harris leads the Hornets in scoring and rebounding, averaging 20.5 points and 14 boards per game.
“Their coach (Freda Freeman-Jackson) plays a tough non-conference schedule because she understands they have to win their conference in order to make the NCAA Tournament,” Purcell said. “They would love to have an opportunity to knock us off. Every possession matters, and that’s what I want our team to learn from coming into this game. We have to have that same kind of mentality.”
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Mississippi
Bribery scandal highlights how weaknesses in Mississippi law can be exploited
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Last week‘s flurry of federal charges against Jackson’s mayor, Hinds County’s top prosecutor and a former city council president highlighted how alleged bribes can be concealed by exploiting weaknesses in state law.
“Because public officials finance their personal lives through their campaigns accounts, campaign contributions were the most effective way to influence them,” federal investigators wrote in the indictment unsealed Thursday, attributing the statement to Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens.
Owens allegedly made the remarks more than eight months ago, the first mention in federal documents of a method to conceal bribes for votes.
The developers in this deal for a Jackson convention center hotel — who were actually undercover FBI agents — lured Owens and Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba to a Florida yacht where a photo was taken of Lumumba accepting campaign contribution checks, five of them for $10,000 apiece.
It’s unclear if the public ever would have known about it, though.
3 On Your Side dug into the Capital City’s records, finding that Lumumba hasn’t filed any reports of these contributions as required by law since June of 2021.
Lumumba admitted this to reporters when asked about it last month.
“I have not filed my campaign finance report, which unfortunately is not uncustomary for my campaign,” the mayor said at a Oct. 21 press conference.
Secretary of State Michael Watson said the bribery scandal serves as a reminder that the state needs greater campaign finance reform.
“If people aren’t following the law, they need to be held accountable,” Watson said.
Figuring out what agency’s responsible for holding officials accountable, however, isn’t clear in state law.
The most recent campaign finance report Lumumba filed lists the penalty for not filing at the bottom of the page, saying the elected official “shall not be paid a salary unless and until they file all required reports.”
Who’s supposed to keep the official from being paid? That’s not clear in statute, either.
“That’s a great question, again. What the [Attorney General] opinion says is the municipality may not, shall not, pay the individual who is not up to speed on their reports. Look, I know the [state] auditor audits at the state level, municipal level,” Watson said. “I’ve seen prosecutions at different levels, so I would think that would probably fall under the purview of the auditor’s office. That said, I’ve not researched that enough to say yes or no with finality.”
Though it failed last year, Watson plans to push for more robust campaign finance reform in 2025, making sure these reports are filed and spelling out which agency must step in when someone breaks the law.
“This is just another mechanism, in my opinion, to help keep elected officials honest,” Watson said. “When you have the statewide campaign finance system where everyone can go see who’s getting what, how are they spending those dollars from? Who is it coming? Did it change a vote? I just think that Mississippians deserve that, and we aim to deliver that as soon as we can.”
A spokesperson for the State Auditor’s office said enforcing the statute to withhold an official’s salary falls to the Mississippi Ethics Commission, but state law doesn’t mention which agency is responsible for that particular penalty.
3 On Your Side contacted Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office to see whether it plays a role here, but the office has not officially responded.
Mississippi law doesn’t require cities or counties to notify the state when a candidate fails to file.
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