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Arts Commission News

Blues Artist Ben Payton to Represent mississippi at homegrown concert in d.C.

 

DATE:        May 11 , 2011  

CONTACT:    Susan Dobbs, Public Relations Director

601/359-6031, sdobbs@arts.state.ms.us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Jackson, Miss.— The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) is partnering with the Library of Congress and the American Folklife Center to present blues artist Ben Payton at the 2011 Homegrown: The Music of America concert series.  Payton will perform at Noon on May 25 in the Coolidge Auditorium in the Jefferson Building at the American Folklife Center, and again at 6 p.m. at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage.  

A native of Coila, Mississippi, Ben’s early influences included his mother, Mary Virginia Payton’s storytelling and his uncle Wiley Payton’s guitar playing in gospel quartets around Carroll County.  After nearly 40 years in Chicago, Ben moved to Jackson in 2002 to pursue a full-time career in music.  Ben is best known for his unique guitar-picking style, deep vocals and captivating storytelling.  In addition to his work as a performer, Ben is also a respected resource of blues history, particularly the era of country-style Delta blues form 1900-1940. In 2010, he served as a visiting instructor at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.   

The Homegrown concert series presents the very best of traditional music, dance, and storytelling from a variety of folk cultures thriving in the United States. Homegrown concerts are produced by the American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress (LOC) in cooperation with the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage and the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.  MAC Heritage Director, Mary Margaret Miller, will accompany Mr. Payton for the May 25 concerts in Washington D.C. and serve as presenter and liaison between the State and the Library of Congress.  

The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency, funded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation, the Mississippi Endowment for the Arts at the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson, and other private sources.  MAC is the official grants-making and service agency for the arts in Mississippi. The agency serves as an active supporter and promoter of folk arts and traditional culture throughout Mississippi.

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