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When you stop and listen, you quickly
realize that music is all around us—at a local festival,
at a dance hall on a Saturday night, or on your radio or
your .mp3 player. Whether you’re hearing blues, country-western,
folk or gospel, American roots music reveals the American
story—peoples reshaping themselves in a new and changing
world. As Americans from a variety of heritages shared cultural
influences, musicians found new ways to play unique sounds
learned from new neighbors on traditional instruments. The
inevitable intermingling of musical influences created exciting
new sounds—new American music.
The Delta Blues Museum and Clarksdale has been expressly chosen by the Mississippi
Humanities Council to host New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music as
part of the Museum on Main Street project—a national/state/local partnership
to bring exhibitions and programs to rural cultural organizations. After successful
tours of Columbia, Meridian, New Albany. Vicksburg and Gulfport, the New
Harmoniestraveling Smithsonian Institution exhibit opens Nov. 21 in Clarksdale, at the
historic downtown Greyhound Bus Station at Issaquena Avenue and Third Street,
with an opening reception on Nov. 28 at 5 p.m. The exhibit will remain in Clarksdale
until Jan. 16 when it will be returned to Washington, D.C.
Through a selection of photographs, recordings, instruments, lyrics and artist
profiles, New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music will explore the distinct
cultural identities of American roots music forms. The exhibition will examine
the progression of American roots music, as rich and eclectic as our country
itself. Other musical genres profiled include zydeco, tejano, bluegrass and klezmer.
“We are very pleased to be able to bring New Harmonies to our area,” says
Shelley Ritter, Delta Blues Museum director. “Clarksdale’s music
roots run deep, not only with the blues, but with other forms of roots music
as well. This exhibit allows us the opportunity to explore in depth the many
fascinating aspects of our own region’s musical history and we hope that
it will inspire many to become even more involved in the cultural life of our
community.”
“Allowing all of our state’s residents to have access to the cultural
resources of our nation’s premiere museum is a priority of the Mississippi
Humanities Council,” says Dr. Barbara Carpenter, MHC executive director. “With
this special tour, we are pleased to be working with the Delta Blues Museum and
Clarksdale to help develop local exhibitions and public programs to compliment
the Smithsonian exhibition.” Such free events include roots music lectures
and workshops on country and blues music and performances by area blues and gospel
musicians. (See “Schedule of Events” attached.)
New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music is part of Museum on Main Street,
a unique collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition
Service (SITES), state humanities councils across the nation, and local host
institutions. To learn more about New Harmonies and other Museum on Main Street
exhibitions, visit www.museumonmainstreet.org.
Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.
SITES connects millions of Americans with their shared cultural heritage through
a wide range of art, science and history exhibitions. State humanities councils,
located in each state and U.S. territory, support community-based humanities
programs that highlight such topics as local history, literature and cultural
traditions. The Delta Blues Museum serves Clarksdale and Coahoma County by creating
a welcoming place where visitors find meaning, value, and perspective by exploring
the history and heritage of the unique American musical art form of the blues.
To learn more, visit www.sites.si.edu, www.mshumanities.org and www.deltabluesmuseum.org.
Call the Delta Blues Museum at (662) 627-6820 to schedule group tours.
Special thanks to the exhibit and opening reception sponsors: Mississippi Arts
Commission, Mississippi Humanities Council, National Endowment for the Arts,
Federation of State Humanities Councils, Smithsonian Institution, Clarksdale
Garden Club, Fetzer Vineyard & Santa Carolina Winery and Friends of the Delta
Blues Museum.
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