Southern Soul Assembly launches Riley's new series Saturday
Southern Soul Assembly, featuring four of the South’s most perceptive and passionate singer-songwriters, will kick off the MSU Riley Center’s 2017 Spring/Summer Performing Arts Series with a concert on Saturday [March 4] at 7:30 p.m. A free pre-show party with refreshments will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The Spring/Summer Series will run through Aug. 19 and will showcase the wide-ranging delights of American popular music. The Riley Center will present everything from heartfelt solo singers to rousing marching band performers at its restored Victorian gem of a theater in historic downtown Meridian.
Southern Soul Assembly consists of JJ Grey of JJ Grey & Mofro, Luther Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars, and solo artists Anders Osborne and Marc Broussard. The four old friends sit with their acoustic guitars on a bare-bones stage, taking turns singing songs and giving the audience glimpses into the creative process and the life of a working musician.
Each draws from the rich, blues-drenched legacy of Southern culture. All help each other with vocal harmonies and backing guitar parts as the spirit moves. “It’s almost like a conversation, like we’re all telling stories,” Grey said.
No two shows are ever the same. Each casts its own kind of magic. “Just one guy with his guitar, that’s my favorite art form,” Dickinson said. “It just doesn’t get any better than that, and more intimate and real than that.”
Tickets are $40 and $34 at the MSU Riley Center Box Office, which is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and an hour before showtime on the day of the show. Tickets can be purchased online at www.msurileycenter.com or by phone through the box office at 601-696-2200.
