Mississippi Night!

Come and celebrate the 11th Anniversary of Mississippi Night! The evening will feature a conversation and performance by current GRAMMY Award nominees Southern Avenue and Christone "Kingfish" Ingram.

A reception with food, libations and the opportunity for guests to explore the Museum exhibits will begin at 6 p.m. All ticket holders will receive an official 62nd GRAMMY Awards program and poster.

Tickets go on sale to Non-Members at 10 a.m. on Jan. 10, 2020.

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Southern Avenue (Performer)

Boundary-breaking Memphis combo Southern Avenue embodies an effortless organic soul/blues/R&B fusion that reflects the band members' diverse roots. Their music combines the talents of a prodigiously talented set of young musicians who bring their individual backgrounds to the table to create music that carries the Southern soul legacy into the 21st century, spanning the band members' wide-ranging musical interests while showcasing the powerful chemistry and electrifying live show that they've honed through extensive stage and studio experience.

Guitar phenom Ori Naftaly originally built his reputation in his native Israel before joining forces with deeply expressive Memphis-bred singer Tierinii Jackson and her subtly powerful drummer sister Tikyra Jackson. The band's lineup is rounded out by versatile keyboardist Jeremy Powell, an early alumnus of Stax Records' renowned music academy.

Their second album, Keep On, was released on May 10, 2019 on Concord Records and is currently nominated for a GRAMMY Award^® in the category of Best Contemporary Blues Album.

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Christone "Kingfish" Ingram (Performer)

Sprung from the same earth as so many of the Delta blues masters, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram comes bursting out of Clarksdale, Mississippi, just ten miles from the legendary crossroads of Highways 61 and 49. A student of the Delta’s musical history, he is acutely aware of the musicians and the music that emerged from his corner of the world. “I do think I have an old soul, that I’ve been here before,” he says. “I’m moving forward with one foot in the past.”

Ingram starting hitting drums at age six and at nine he picked up the bass. Around this time his mother enrolled him in a program at the Delta Blues Museum. At age 11, he got his first guitar and quickly mastered it. The young prodigy soaked up music from Robert Johnson to Lightnin’ Hopkins, from B.B. King to Muddy Waters, from Jimi Hendrix to Prince. Before long he could play like them all, but all the while he kept developing his own sound and style. He first stepped on stage at the age of 11 at Clarksdale’s famous Ground Zero Blues Club, playing behind one of his mentors, Mississippi blues icon Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry. Perry gifted the young musician with a new stage name, Kingfish. The young bluesman performed at the White House for Michelle Obama in 2014 as part of a delegation of young blues musicians from the Delta Blues Museum. By age 16 he was turning heads and winning awards, including the 2015 Rising Star Award, presented by The Rhythm & Blues Foundation.

Kingfish has shared stages with Buddy Guy, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Robert Randolph, Guitar Shorty, Eric Gales and many others. He has befriended rock stars from Nikki Sixx to Dave Grohl. Since graduating high school, Kingfish has continued his life on the road. He has performed at festivals around the country, including stops at the Chicago Blues Festival, the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, the Bonita Blues Festival in Florida, The Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland, on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, at Austin’s Antone’s and at San Francisco’s famed Biscuits & Blues. He’s performed in Europe multiple times, including appearances at the Moulin Blues Festival in the Netherlands and the Blues Heaven Festival in Denmark.

His debut album, KINGFISH, was released in May 2019 on Alligator Records and is currently nominated for a GRAMMY Award^® in the category of Best Traditional Blues Album.

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DMI All Stars (Performer)

The DMI All Stars is a select group of musicians from the Delta Music Institute entertainment industry studies program at Delta State University.

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Ward Emling (Master of Ceremonies)

Ward Emling was the Director of the Mississippi Film Office from 1981–83, before moving to Los Angeles where he worked as a location manager on television and feature projects, and as an actor. Emling returned to the Mississippi Film Office in 1990 and guided the in-state productions of more than 300 television, feature, and documentary productions. In 2017, Emling retired as the longest ever serving state or international film commissioner.