The Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning will present Chicago Bluesman Fernando Jones at the Jobe Hall Auditorium on Thursday, January 21. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Fernando Jones was the last student of the great songwriter Willie Dixon, from Vicksburg. Jones himself grew up on Chicago’s south side, but his parents are from Mississippi. Jones is a Bluesman, author, educator, songwriter and scholar who presently teaches the Blues at Columbia College in Chicago. He is visiting the Delta with 25 students and several fellow faculty members from Columbia. They are studying the Blues and its derivative forms.
While refuting the many negative stereotypes that haunt this music, Jones is on a mission to show its beauty through academic implementations, lectures, and concerts globally. As a result, Jones’ hands were photographed by National Geographic Magazine. His book, “I Was There When The Blues Was Red Hot,” has been used as a resource by the likes of the Discovery Channel, Newsweek, The Chicago Tribune, Living Blues Magazine, London Times, and Al-Jazeera. Radio stations such as ABC, BBC, CBS, CLTV, NBC, WTTW, NPR and WGN have celebrated him for his playing style and unique perspective on the status of Black music in America.
For more information about this presentation or the DSU Delta Center for Culture and Learning, contact the Center at 662-846-4311.
