Ol’ Skool Revue, a commercial music ensemble from the Delta Music Institute at Delta State University, will be headed north on the City of New Orleans to perform on Friday, June 8 at the Chicago Blues Festival. They will play on the Mississippi Juke Joint Stage from 12:45-1:30 p.m. in Grant Park.
Ol’ Skool Revue, under the direction of music industry instructor Barry Bays, was invited by the Mississippi Blues Commission to represent up and coming Mississippi talent at this year’s festival. The band, made up of Delta State University students, specialize in playing hits from the genres of R&B, Blues, Soul, and Funk music. During the past two semesters, they have performed at multiple festivals and events throughout the state and region to help raise funds for the trip.
“This is a great opportunity for our students to see how professional musicians at a high level take care of business. The band has worked hard to prepare for this trip, and they will represent the DMI, Delta State, and the State of Mississippi well. Having another real-world learning opportunity like this reinforces what the students are learning through the music industry program at the DMI,” said Bays.
The Chicago Blues Festival is the largest free blues festival in the world and remains the largest of Chicago’s Music Festivals. During three days on five stages, more than 500,000 blues fans prove that Chicago is the "Blues Capital of the World." Past performers include Bonnie Raitt, Ray Charles, B.B. King, the late Bo Diddley, Buddy Guy and the late Koko Taylor. This year’s headliners include Mavis Staples, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Vasti Jackson.
The Delta Music Institute is an independent center of study under the College of Arts & Sciences at Delta State University, offering a B.S. in Music Industry Studies degree. The focus of the DMI is to provide students with a broad and thorough education in the technological, creative, and business areas of the music and entertainment industry. For information, contact (662) 846-4579 or visit http://dmi.deltastate.edu.
