Exhibitions

BILL STEBER’S DEEP ROOTS: EVOCATIONS OF THE MISSISSIPPI BLUES

Bessie Smith Cultural Center / 200 E M L King Blvd. October 3 - 4th

Bill Steber

Noted Blues documentarian, photographer, and musician Bill Steber will be presenting images from his exhibit Deep Roots: Evocations of the Mississippi Blues, in a talk at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 3.

Steber, a photojournalist based in Murfreesboro, TN, has documented blues culture in Mississippi for the last 30+ years, chronicling the state’s blues musicians, juke joints, churches, river baptisms, hoodoo practitioners, traditional farming methods, folk traditions and other significant traditions that gave birth to or influenced the blues. This presentation, along with an exhibit of Bill’s images in the UTC Fine Arts Center lobby from September 30 through October 4, and his concert as one half of the HooDoo Men on Friday evening, October 4, 2024 in the UTC Fine Arts Center are all part of the Fine Arts Center’s and the Bessie Smith Cultural Center’s mutual interest in bringing awareness of the condition of the Mississippi Delta culture and music to a wider audience. Bill notes that “not only has the blues world lost many important artists, but the arrival of casinos has brought with them a flood of fast food, chain stores, and competition to the rural juke joints that help keep the Blues alive in Mississippi. These changes are significant because the history of the Blues parallels the history of Black Americans in the twentieth century… “

This presentation Thursday evening will provide not only a history of the Mississippi Delta region and its culture since World War II, but it will also provide the context for the HooDoo Men’s concert on Friday night. This event is free and open to the public.