Marc Cohn, Blind Boys of Alabama join for MSU Riley Center show next week
Singer-songwriter Marc Cohn with special guests The Blind Boys of Alabama will present an evening of American music on May 17 at the MSU Riley Center in downtown Meridian at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $40 and $34.
Cohn became instantly famous in 1991 for the bluesy, soulful “Walking in Memphis,” describing his first visit to that city. As his website says, his songs and his voice “infuse American music with both a fresh perspective and a reverence for its deep roots.”
The Blind Boys of Alabama represent one of those roots: gospel music, pure and strong, sung straight from the heart and soul. They first performed together as children in 1939 at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in Talladega. Original members Jimmy Carter and Clarence Fountain still record with the group.
Carter, born in 1929, “is a force of nature,” Cohn said. “The spirit he exudes onstage is remarkable.”
The Blind Boys and Cohn will perform separately, but they will also join forces on some songs, harmonizing in ways that will make the audience shiver.
“They add such authenticity and depth,” Cohn said. “I’ve never been so happy onstage as I’ve been with them.”
You can buy tickets for any show in the Spring/Summer Series at the MSU Riley Center Box Office from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. You can also purchase tickets by phone at the box office number, (601) 696-2200, or online at www.msurileycenter.com.
