CLEVELAND, Ohio - For a quarter of a century Luther and Cody Dickinson and their musical collective, the North Mississippi Allstars, have been lighting and carrying the torch for what they’ve dubbed “Modern Mississippi Music,” an amalgam of Mississippi Hill Country Blues and the punk, psych and stoner rock of the now fifty-something duo’s salad days.
The sons of venerated producer-session musician Jim Dickinson (Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Mudhoney), singer-guitarist Luther and his younger drumming brother Cody, were born and raised in the Memphis area until their father moved the family to the Mississippi Hill Country during their middle school years. There, they were immersed in the music of neighbors and local legends, including singer-guitarists Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, Otha Turner and Mississippi Fred McDowell, among others.
They formed The North Mississippi Allstars in 1996 and have made 12 albums, mixing varying lineups of musicians and styles, but all rooted in the blues. The band will bring music from those past albums, plus tunes from their brand new celebratory release “Still Shakin,’” to the Beachland Ballroom on Wednesday, June 18. Tickets for the show are available at beachlandballroom.com.
The show will be the group’s first local show in 19 years, a fact that came as a surprise to Luther Dickinson.
“It’s been too long. Wow, I can’t wait to get up there,” Dickinson said from home, a few days before a short European tour.
“I’ll tell you what: I’m such a fan of the Ohio music scene. I mean, so many great musicians come out of there. I meet a lot of musicians from Ohio around Nashville and all over. It’s just a fantastic musical scene. I love it,” he said.
“Still Shakin,’” released on June 6, is celebratory because the All-Stars, who by design, have never had a fixed lineup, are looking back to their acclaimed 2000 debut, “Shake Hands With Shorty,” which earned the band a W.C. Handy Blues Award for Best New Artist and the first of three Grammy nominations for Best Contemporary Blues Album.
Originally, the band planned to do the now industry-standard expanded anniversary edition or perhaps even a box set.
“That got hung up in corporate red tape, and it just made me so mad. I was like, ‘Forget that. Let’s just make a new record.’ And I’m so glad that it worked out that way. I’d much rather look forward then look backwards,” he said.
Throughout the band’s recorded and touring history, the brothers have made a point to include the offspring of other musical legends in their band and their records – artists like Duane Betts, and Lamar Williams Jr., the sons of former Allman Brothers Band members Dickey Betts (guitar) and Lamar Williams (bass), respectively.
For “Still Shakin’,” guests include Robert Kimbrough (son of Junior Kimbrough), Duwayne Burnside (son of R.L. Burnside) and Grahame Lesh (son of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh), to whom the album is dedicated. Also appearing is Widespread Panic keyboardist Jojo Hermann.
The album, recorded with the current lineup featuring Ray Ray Holloman on bass and pedal steel and Joey Williams on guitar and vocals, stays true to the band’s Modern Mississippi Music sound.
The 11 tracks on “Still Shakin’” mix carefully chosen covers, including songs by Kimbrough and Robert Johnson, with originals such as the jumping country blues shuffle of “Prayer For Peace,” and the funky, grooving title track, where Luther, with his southern drawl that occasionally sounds like a young, Dr. John if the good doctor had grown up in Mississippi instead of New Orleans, recounts the band’s trajectory and thanks fans:
“You gotta fake it till you make it, son / Loose arrangements and low expectations / Either you got it or you ain’t son / Appreciate all of y’all keeping us on the run.”
But while the album sort of looks back, it’s also about the 2025 North Mississippi Allstars. Dickinson said many of the songs on the album have been in and out of the hard-touring band’s live sets for years or were attempted for past albums but didn’t feel right at that time.
“Songs have a funny way of finding their own time. Sometimes you’ll hear a song and think, ‘Oh, I forgot about that song. Oh, yeah, I should try that again. Let’s see how that feels at this point in time with this cast of characters,’” he said, mentioning Robert Johnson’s album opener, “Preaching Blues” and Kimbrough’s “Stay All Night.”
“We’ve been playing those forever off and on, but with the players that we’re working with right now, they really took him to a new place. And, the record is about the anniversary, but it’s also about featuring our bandmates right now. Joey Williams and ‘Ray Ray’ Holloman are fantastic musicians that we’re so fortunate to get to play with,” Dickinson said.
Dickinson, who made his first recorded appearance soloing on The Replacements’ song “Shooting Dirty Pool” from “Pleased to Meet Me, produced by his father, said he hates listening to his old music and doesn’t trust people who enjoy wallowing in their past musical achievements for fun.
“Those people are not trustworthy. It’s not healthy,” he said.
And though he prefers to look into the future, he acknowledges the fun of his early days in the Memphis all-ages punk DIY scene – “screaming nonsense over distorted guitars. It wasn’t punk. It was just loud and terrible,” he said.
But after moving to the Hill Country and falling in love with its music, it took the brothers years for their “Modern Mississippi Music” concept – and their musical and listening skills – to settle in and mature.
Describing himself as a “late bloomer, Dickinson said he had to learn through experience that aggression and roots music don’t mix well.
But now, with decades of records and shows and lessons learned from some of the greats and their peers, the North Mississippi Allstars have matured into a fine, smoothly blended vintage musical wine.
“Well, more like some muscadine homemade wine that’s turned to vinegar,” Dickinson said with a chuckle.
The Mississippi Allstars are playing at the Beachland Ballroom, 15711 Waterloo Road, Cleveland, at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18. Tickets, $30-$35 plus fees, are available at beachlandballroom.com.