Contact: Rachel Foreman
STARKVILLE, Miss.—Two of today’s most well-known blues guitarists—Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Jimmy “Duck” Holmes—are bringing their rare, rural style to Mississippi State this month.
Free and open to the public, the March 19 concert begins at 7 p.m. in Lee Hall’s Bettersworth Auditorium. Doors open at 6 p.m. The Delta blues performance is a presentation of MSU’s Music Maker Productions.
Ingram, a 21-year-old Clarksdale native, gained national attention as a blues guitarist and singer with an appearance on the “Rachael Ray Show,” a performance at the White House for First Lady Michelle Obama, and recognition by B.B. King’s drummer Tony Coleman, all before the age of 17. His debut album was released in May 2019 and featured blues legends Buddy Guy and Keb Mo. He also has shared the stage with national acts Eric Gales, The Tedeschi Trucks Band, Samantha Fish and Vampire Weekend. Ingram was nominated at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards for “Best Traditional Blues Album” and was referenced in a Rolling Stones article on the “Future of Blues.”
Born in 1947 in Yazoo County, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes has been performing since age 10 and is the proprietor of the Blues Front Café on the Mississippi Blues Trail, the state’s oldest juke joint. Additionally, Holmes has performed at blues festivals worldwide, including the Chicago Blues Festival and Muddy Roots Music Festival. He has released nine studio albums, and his latest “Cypress Grove” won AllMusic’s 2019 “Favorite Blues Album.”
Music Maker Productions is an MSU student organization with a primary goal to provide quality, contemporary entertainment for the university community. For more information about this event, visit www.msuconcerts.org or call the Center for Student Activities at 662-325-2930.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.