Modern Mississippi music. If one asks Luther Dickinson to define what the North Mississippi Allstars (NMA) create, that’s the answer they’ll get from the singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist.
It’s the path he and his brother, Cody, have been going down ever since NMA dropped their 2000 debut, Shake Hands with Shorty, and the one that eventually will lead them to Mill Valley’s Sweetwater Music Hall this coming Thursday, Aug. 20.
“By the time we made Shake Hands with Shorty, our recipe was Mississippi Hill Country and sacred steel cross-bred with our stoner/punk/low-fi psychedelic jam,” Dickinson explained in a recent interview.
“I would never presume to call myself a blues musician. But growing up in Mississippi, we were surrounded by so many traditional families that played hardcore blues. We always brought our own influences into everything we did, be it psychedelia, production ideas or whatever,” he said. “I never aspired to be traditional, hardcore blues. And the connotations are heavy. Another phrase that I like is roots music.”
This musical journey continues with the quartet’s 12th and most recent studio outing, Still Shakin’, which commemorates the 25th anniversary of NMA’s debut. But rather than hitting the road and playing the first record in its entirety, the Dickinson siblings, along with NMA bandmates Ray Ray Holoman and Joey Williams, recorded 11 new songs.
Opening with “Preachin’ Blues,” a stomper fueled by soaring pedal steel and a pounding rhythm, Still Shakin’ is packed with infectious jams. Highlights range from the call-and-response gospel of “Pray For Peace,” the fat-back funk of “Poor Boy” and “Monomyth (Folk Hero’s Last Ride),” the ethereal closing instrumental dedicated to the Dickinsons’ storied late father, Jim.
The eclectic nature of the NMA sound stems from the openness with which Luther Dickinson approaches his craft.
“If a song comes together and it is too agenda driven, like it’s a reggae or Americana song, we worked on a formula a couple of years ago where we try to break it down to the bones and rebuild it as we see fit, as opposed to just being chained to whatever idea of whatever the song is supposed to be. That was a real freedom for us—we call that the formula,” Dickinson noted.
His live approach was shaped by Jimi Hendrix, family friends The Allman Brothers and bonds with juke joint blues families whose patriarchs included Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside and Otha Turner. His non-NMA experiences included a stint with The Black Crowes. But it was a post-Crowes experience with the late Phil Lesh that really honed the latter-day NMA sound.
“Leaving the Crowes wasn’t an easy move to make, but I’m glad I did because shortly thereafter was when Phil Lesh started calling me,” Dickinson said. “That led to a whole new community, a whole new repertoire, a whole new experience.”
With a dozen records recorded under the NMA banner, Dickinson has plenty of musical options for his concert set lists. Even so, he knows there’s a balance to strike.
“I don’t blame anybody for it, but we definitely have fans who still want to hear the first record—I know how it goes,” he said. “We really enjoy playing the new stuff, and we’re working up new stuff for our next record as well. But we also play foundational songs off the first record and mix it up with whatever we’ve got cooking.”
North Mississippi Allstars performs at 8pm, Thursday, Aug. 20, at the Sweetwater Music Hall, 19 Corte Madera Ave., Mill Valley. All ages. For tix and info, visit sweetwatermusichall.org.
