Post and Courier

For hardcore blues music fans, dropping the name The Mississippi Sheiks should invoke fond memories of great country blues music.
The group, which consisted mostly of members of the Chatmon family of Bolton, Miss., was active in the 1930's, and has influenced countless other blues acts since. The group is so popular among blues enthusiasts that last year the Black Hen label released a tribute album that featured Sheiks songs performed by artists that included Bruce Cockburn, Bill Frisell and the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
The popularity of that tribute album led to some live performances of the Sheiks' tunes. One of those performances, at the Capilano Performing Arts Theatre in Vancouver, British Columbia, was filmed and now stands as a companion DVD to last year's tribute CD.
More great musicians, including John Hammond and Alvin Youngblood Hart, gathered to celebrate the music of the MIssissippi Sheiks, and the result is a concert that, in addition to being entertaining, exhibits a strong sense of love for the source.