NOTE: This contest is now closed. Stay tuned, though, as we’ll be announcing our winners shortly.
Who is your favorite artist on the Mississippi Sheiks Tribute, and why? Two lucky winners will each receive a complete Mississippi Sheiks Tribute package including:
A copy of the Mississippi Sheiks Tribute – Live in Vancouver DVD (featuring John Hammond, Van Dyke Parks, Bob Brozman, Geoff Muldaur, Alvin Youngblood Hart and many more!), Mississippi Sheiks Tribute CD – “Things About Comin’ My Way”, a poster autographed by all 17 artists on the CD (shown here, minus the autographs), and a Mississippi Sheiks Tribute T-shirt.
Check out Doug Heselgrave’s review of the tribute concert, featuring Steve Dawson, John Hammond, Jim Byrnes, Van Dyke Parks and many more. And, here’s Grant’s review of the album.
Black Hen Music announces a September 21 release date for the new DVD, The Mississippi Sheiks Tribute Concert – Live in Vancouver, featuring performances by Dave Alvin, John Hammond, Van Dyke Parks, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Geoff Muldaur, Jim Byrnes and many others. The DVD will be distributed in the U.S. by Burnside Distribution. Included on the DVD are 13 songs of Mississippi Sheiks music, culminating with an onstage grand finale of all the artists performing the band’s classic, “Sitting on Top of the World.” The DVD also includes exclusive interviews with several of the show’s performers, plus backstage footage and a behind-the-scenes look at rehearsals before the show.
The music on the DVD was made as a companion to the critically-acclaimed 2009 CD release, Things About Comin’ My Way – A Tribute to the Music of the Mississippi Sheiks, which was nominated for a Blues Music Award by the Blues Foundation.
“The opportunity to put on a show like this doesn’t come around very often…maybe just once in a lifetime,” says Black Hen Music label head Steve Dawson, who also produced the DVD. “It was an incredible experience bringing these people to Vancouver to pay tribute to the Mississippi Sheiks. My hope is that with this continuing project, we can help to shed some light on the stellar body of work that this band recorded in the 1930s.”
The Mississippi Sheiks Tribute Concert – Live in Vancouver was filmed over two nights in March as the last event of the 2010 Vancouver Cultural Olympiad, which ran during the Winter Olympics. The concert DVD also features the same house band that performed on the CD: Steve Dawson (guitars), Matt Chamberlain (drums), Wayne Horvitz (keyboards), Keith Lowe (bass) and Daniel Lapp (fiddle, trumpet).
As one writer said in No Depression after seeing the show, it was “A concert for the ages…by the time Dawson and company took the stage at eight o’clock last night, all of the barriers had come down, and intuition was given free rein. And while the blues – like reggae – isn’t the hardest music in the world to play from a technical standpoint, feeling is essential and something that can’t be learned from a book or a lesson. Thankfully, feeling was at a premium throughout the more than three hours of music the sold out audience was treated to – as the blues was revitalized and given new life before their eyes and ears.”
The Mississippi Sheiks Tribute Concert – Live in Vancouver – Track Listing
1) Introduction
2) Things About Comin’ My Way – Oh Susanna
3) Sweet Maggie – The Sojourners
4) Poor Boy – Geoff Muldaur
5) Gulf Coast Bay – Steve Dawson
6) Keep on Tryin’ – Colin James
7) Church Bell Blues – Bob Brozman
8) It’s Backfirin’ Now – Van Dyke Parks
9) I’ve Got Blood in My Eyes for You – Robin Holcomb
10) Tell Me What the Cats Are Fighting About – Jim Byrnes
11) Livin’ in a Strain – Alvin Youngblood Hart
12) Kind Treatment – John Hammond
13) Who’s Been Here – Dave Alvin and Christy McWilson
14) Sitting on Top of the World – Everyone
To enter the contest post a comment letting us know who your favorite artist on the compilation is and why. The deadline for your posts is 11:59 PST October 12th, 2010.
Comments posted on Twitter and Facebook, or as separate blogs on this site, will not be counted. To leave a comment on this post as your entry to the contest, scroll to the bottom of this page and enter your comment in the comment field. Have fun and good luck!
