Guitarist and songwriter Luther Dickinson is best known for his hard-touring blues-rock band the North Mississippi Allstars, but he’s scaled back the bombast on Blues & Ballads (A Folksinger’s Songbook), his new solo record, out now on New West. Dickinson is Southern-music royalty—his father was legendary producer and session player Jim Dickinson—and Blues & Ballads collects 21 tunes, both classics and stripped-down Allstars jams, that ably reflect the region’s rich and complicated heritage. Mavis Staples, J.J. Grey and others assist. Bassist Amy LaVere and guitarist Will Sexton will open Wednesday’s show. As always, BYOB to Normaltown Hall, New West’s discreetly cool listening room at the corner of Meigs and Pope streets.
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