Delta Blues Heading East for Major Event in Brooklyn!

Hey, folks. Thought some of our East Coast contingent might be excited to read about this awesome event taking place in Brooklyn in June.

Huge list of awesome talent participating (including Broke & Hungry artist Jimmy "Duck" Holmes). Takes place over several nights and at a bunch of great venues. More below:


For Immediate Release

651 ARTS ANNOUNCES THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA HERITAGE PROJECT
A multi-evening series of music, theater and dance celebrating the Mississippi Delta

Featuring:
Reggie Wilson and Andréya Ouamba
Ping Chong and Talvin Wilks
Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife & Drum Band
Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely
Olu Dara and Dianne McIntyre
T-Model Ford
Terry “Harmonica” Bean
Jimmy “Duck” Holmes
Marie Knight
Robert Belfour
Lobi Traoré | Corey Harris
Michael Hill
Cassandra Wilson

(Brooklyn, New York – April 16, 2008) This spring, Brooklyn-based presenting organization, 651 ARTS dedicates its entire annual season to the culture, artists and influence of the Mississippi Delta in The Mississippi Delta Heritage Project. While the history and impact of the Delta Blues tradition is undisputed, few are aware of the contemporary artistry that continues to thrive in the region. The Mississippi Delta Heritage Project provides a glimpse of this flourishing artistic culture to New York audiences. Connections to Delta natives throughout history as well as to cutting-edge artists inspired by the Delta tradition are also showcased. 651’s Delta Heritage Project is born out of the desire to preserve and illuminate a very particular but profound part of contemporary culture.

Acclaimed musicians Cassandra Wilson, Corey Harris, Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, Marie Knight, Mali’s Lobi Traoré, the late Otha Turner’s grandaughter, Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely, T-Model Ford, Terry “Harmonica” Bean, Michael Hill and Robert “Wolfman” Belfour will participate in a series of live concerts, master classes and educational activities over a week-long period from June 1st – 7th. Venues include the BAM Harvey Theater, the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts at Long Island University’s Brooklyn Campus, BRICstudio and The Brooklyn Masonic Temple. In homage to what is often considered a notorious source of Delta music and blues, 651 ARTS will convert Ft. Greene hotspot, Frank’s Cocktail Lounge, into a late night juke joint offering a firsthand look at some of the Delta’s best and most fascinating bluesmen up close and personal. Catfish and blues will abound on Saturday, June 7 in Central Park, where 651 ARTS will be presenting Brooklyn blues musician Michael Hill at the 28th annual Way Up North in Mississippi Picnic. This event is free and open to the public.

In addition to the musical performances listed above, 651 remains committed to developing new work and has commissioned three performance works related to or by artists from the Delta. A work-in-progress by collaborating master choreographers – Reggie Wilson and Congolese Andréya Ouamba takes place on May 9th and 10th (a co-presentation with French Institue Alliance Française). Wilson and Ouamba show excerpts of their new work The Good Dance which compares the cultural and artisitc dynamics of their upbringings adjacent to the Mississippi and Congo rivers. New theater work Delta Rising by acclaimed directors and writers, Ping Chong and Talvin Wilks will premiere on May 28th and 29th. Delta Rising is part of Ping Chong and Co.’s Undesireable Elements Series and uses the real stories and performances of a diverse group of Delta ex-patriots. Finally, legendary choreographer Dianne McIntyre teams up with with lifelong -collaborator master jazzman, Olu Dara in a work-in-progress of Peaches, Plums and Pontifications on June 3rd and 4th. Peaches, Plums and Pontifications adds storytelling and the writings of Zora Neale Hurston, as well as tales gathered from individual storytellers, friends and family to the choreography and music for which Dara and McIntyre are known.

To round out a continued mission of outreach in the Brooklyn community, humanities events and educational programming (workshops and public lectures) will take place at community-based organizations and public schools throughout the year.

Tickets are on sale now, and prices range from $10- $100.
For more information about tickets, call 718-636-4181 x2229, or go to www.651ARTS.org.