Living Blues #249 (June/July 2017) is a special issue devoted to the blues of Yazoo County, Mississippi. We explore the history of the county, the music and the musicians who made it. We then turn our spotlight on the current scene and the man who has committed his life to keeping it alive.
The October/November 2016 issue of Living Blues features the griot of the blues Taj Mahal on the cover. At age 74 Taj Mahal is one of the biggest stars in the blues today. His musical and cultural knowledge is vast and his desire to share this lifetime of knowledge is his enduring legacy.
Documentary work will be the theme of the Brown Bag Lecture for Wednesday, Sept. 14 at noon in Barnard Observatory. Several faculty and staff members of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture will discuss documentary photography, film, oral history, and audio recording and show examples of their work and teaching. Participants will include Becca Walton (Mississippi Stories), Rex Jones and Andy Harper (Southern Documentary Project), Sara Wood (Southern Foodways Alliance), and David Wharton (director, documentary studies).
The August/September #244 issue of Living Blues shines a spotlight on the state of the blues in Jackson, Mississippi. Supported by a generous grant from the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau, this special edition of LB documents an under-the-radar, yet thriving local scene—one whose influential roots run deep.
The June 2016 issue of Living Blues features a cover story on guitarist and singer Barbara Lynn, best known for her 1962 hit You’ll Lose a Good Thing. From learning to play guitar in her youth to being sampled by rapper Lil’ Wayne, the Beaumont, Texas native looks back on her 54-year career.
Melanie Young feels as though she’s come home since she’s been hired as the new publication manager of Living Blues magazine. She first began working with the magazine in 2009 as the circulation manager, and also had an editorial internship with the publication. Since then, she’s been a contributing writer for Living Blues and even wrote her Southern Studies master’s thesis on the magazine in 2012.
Music of the South Symposium:Defining and Presenting Tradition in Southern Music – Wednesday, April 6, 2016 This spring’s Music of the South Symposium will investigate the creation and performance of the South’s various traditional music forms. The one-day symposium, “Defining and Presenting Traditional Music,” sponsored by the Center, Living Blues magazine, and the Blues Archive, …
The Center for the Study of Southern Culture seeks applicants for the position of Manager of Publications at Living Blues magazine.
New York native Adam Gussow arrived on a hot and humid University of Mississippi campus in August of 2002, harmonica in hand. The Center for Study of Southern Culture was in need of a blues expert at the time, and he was exactly what they were looking for. Gussow said moving from Vassar College in New York state to small-town Mississippi was a big transition, but it was an ideal one.
A Fond Farewell to MARK CAMARIGG of LIving Blues The Center says goodbye this month to our friend Mark Camarigg, who has worked as Publications Manager for Living Blues since 2003. Mark worked with Living Blues editor Brett Bonner on innovative ways to market and distribute the magazine, dealt with subscribers, maintained the website, oversaw …