Backstage with B.B.

We met B.B. King last week as part of the Fifth Annual Mississippi Grammy Legacy Celebration at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi. Along with B.B., we met and mingled with many Mississippi blues supporters who were thrilled to hear about the Blues @ Home project. We will soon report on any news to follow this exciting event.

Here we are backstage with B.B. Many thanks to Jacki Millet for the photograph.

Eden Brent

We were so excited to add our first woman blues legend and first pianist to the Blues @ Home project.

Greenville native Eden Brent opened her home to us and shared her connection to Mississippi and the blues.

Eden sticks close to her Mississippi roots and her musical teachings from the late Mississippi bluesman Boogaloo Ames. Her career has earned her three blues music awards and the 2010 Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year Award.

 She is our 15th living blues legend for Blues @ Home.

Mickey Rogers

We caught up with blues legend Mickey Rogers at Greenville's Walnut Street Blues Club for our 14th Blues @ Home shoot.

 At 66, Mickey has a long list of credits, including playing bass guitar for the late Howlin' Wolf and performances with the Jackson 5 and Rolling Stones, to name only a few. 

Mickey is just as well-known and celebrated for his solo performances, which he has shared with audiences across the world. We are thrilled to add this legendary Mississippian to Blues @ Home.

Mickey's gorgeous Peavey guitar, a gift from the Mississippi Blues Commission, proudly touts what Blues @ Home is all about: preserving the legacy of America's music. 

Traveling to T-Bone

We caught up with Tommie "T-Bone" Pruitt in Laurel before he played a gig to add him to Blues @ Home as our 13th living legend.

With more than 50 years of playing the blues, T-Bone is one of Mississippi's truly seasoned blues performers.

We'll continue our voyage across the state collecting photos and oral histories of Mississippi's Top 40 blues legends. Stay tuned to watch this historic series of portrait paintings, oral histories and music unfold.

H.C. with L.C.

We visited 82-year-old blues legend L.C. Ulmer at his home in Ellisville for our 12th Blues @ Home photo shoot and interview.

L.C. shared stories of his long and thriving blues career, which has taken him all over the world and brought him back home to Mississippi. 

He also gave us a sneak peek of his prized 1965 Gretsch guitar just like the one Chet Atkins played...

 L.C. has held many jobs over the years. He's been a janitor and a truck driver. He's picked cotton and cut timber. But, the one thing he has been ever since he can remember is a blues musician.

Eddie Shaw

We caught up with blues legend Eddie Shaw, in Mississippi from his current Chicago residence, after he was honored with a Mississippi Blues Trail marker in Benoit. Eddie, who led Howlin' Wolf's band, is a legendary blues saxophone player. We were lucky to catch him on one of his trips home to the Mississippi Delta, and we're honored to add him to our list of musicians for Blues @ Home.

Here, Eddie stands next to the blues marker that honors his achievements as a blues performer:

H.C. Porter photographs Eddie Shaw inside a Benoit juke joint:

Next, we're headed south to continue our Blues @ Home journey. Don't miss out. Stay tuned here and online for more news and updates.

In the Country with Kenny Brown

We drove out near Potts Camp in North Mississippi this week to hang out with Kenny Brown and his animals on his 30-plus acres of land. Kenny was the 10th blues legend we've added to the Blues @ Home project. The excitement continues with each and every blues legend. Stay tuned, as always, for more additions.
Check out this slideshow to get a sneak peek of the amazing talent Kenny brings to the project: