Are you familiar with the music of Mudbone? If not, you should be. His performances take listeners on an American musical journey, from the late 19th century when bluegrass met the blues, through country, soul, funk, and the rock & roll of the 20th century. Combining his abilities as a guitarist with fiery vocals, Mudbone has developed a signature sound that appeals to a wide audience while remaining uniquely his own.
As a 15-year veteran of the Nashville music scene, Mudbone’s musical armory doesn’t only consist of wood, strings, and vocal chords. His mission is to create positive social change through music. He exemplifies all that the word “artist” truly encompasses: responsibility rather than entitlement. He has a clear-cut sense that music can be used to better the collective human condition, and he has set out on a musical journey to do just that, one song at a time.
Mudbone was born near the Black River in Northeast Arkansas. That river is the dividing line between the Mississippi River Delta and the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. The eastern banks were a playground for the blues–its cradle, and home to some of the world’s finest bluesmen. The western banks were an education in old-time country, bluegrass, and mountain music. Tiny isolated pockets within the Ozark Mountain hollows offered an array of different mountain sounds and stories.
For Mudbone, that lineage is personal. He grew up in a gospel/bluegrass family who saw fit to baptize in Muddy Waters. He spent his adolescence riding a greyhound bus, guitar in hand, through the gates of Memphis, Tennessee, down Highway 49, into the cradle of the blues, playing honkytonks and juke joints all over the Delta. Having immersed himself in not only the musicality of the blues, but in the history of it as well, he set out on a path of learning. His teachers were bluesmen who had been taught to play the blues by the men that had created it, such as Son House and B.B. King. Their stories were an education that can’t be bought.
Although he had immersed himself in his blues education, the sounds of the mountains never left his soul. “As an artist, my goal is to remind everyone that we’re all here to elevate each other. As an entertainer, my job is to make sure we all have a good time doing it,” he says.
Join Rockland Center for the Arts for an intimate concert setting on Saturday, February 1 at 7:30p. Tickets: $20 ($25 at the door) at Rockland Center for the Arts. For more information or to purchase tickets contact: Rockland Center for the Arts, 845-358-0877, info@rocklandartcenter.org or visit www.rocklandartcenter.org/events. Rockland Center for the Arts is located at 27 S Greenbush Rd., West Nyack, NY 10994. Gallery hours are: Mon-Fri 10-4; Sat and Sun 1-4p. Free to the general public.