The 8th Annual Virtual
Zakiya Hooker, daughter of John Lee Hooker, performs at the 2017 conference.
Welcome to the 8th annual International Conference on the Blues, a celebration of the art form through scholarly activity, discourse, and music! It will take place on Friday, October 1, 2021.
This annual blues conference is hosted by Delta State University, located in Cleveland, Miss., the heart of the Mississippi Delta and the birthplace of American music.
This year’s virtual conference will be available through the award-winning event and conference platform, Whova, for a seamless online experience and on-demand access. Featured performances include Grammy-nominated Jontavious Willis, the Coahoma Community College Concert Choir, a keynote address from Rev. Dr. Dwight Andrews, and special presentations by keynote producer Annette Hollowell!
The morning will begin with performances connecting the Black gospel tradition to the blues, and the afternoon features academic presentations, all of which will be streamed and recorded for on-demand access. Topics include the blues; music of the African diaspora; Black musical traditions and influences on American music and culture; the influence of blues, gospel, spirituals, and soul music; Black music as protest and social commentary; and Black artists and the music industry.
The conference will be held via an online platform called Whova, which is accessible by desktop and mobile app. You will receive more information regarding Whova and how to log into the platform as the Oct. 1 conference date approaches.
Cleveland, Miss., recently named by Smithsonian magazine as #2 of the top 20 small cities to visit in the country, is located 45 minutes from the Greenville, Miss., Airport and two hours from the airports in Jackson, Miss., and Memphis, Tenn. Cleveland is the home of the GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi, located next door to the DSU campus.
For more information, contact co-chairs Don Allan Mitchell and Shelley Collins at blues@deltastate.edu.
“What is the Blues?”
An Academic Experience
Past Featured
Participants
2017 keynote performer Aaron Neville
Grammy Award-winning/nominated artists
Alvin Youngblood Hart, Trombone Shorty, and Dom Flemons
Blues scholars & educators
Elijah Wald, Bob Santelli, and Charles Reagan Wilson
Rising blues stars
Jontavious Willis, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and Marquise Knox
Past Presentation
Topics
2017 keynote speaker Dr. John F. Szwed
The legacies of John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters
Ties of the blues to psychedelic music and culture
The blues as a form of protest in East Germany
The blues and the revitalization of the Mississippi Delta
The legacy of Alan Lomax and his music archive
