NMA started by brother Luther and Cody Dickinson in 1996 as a loose collective of musicians from their North Mississippi home inspired by their father Jim Dickinson as well as neighbors and musical elders of their community; RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Otha Turner and Fred McDowell.
Luther’s first national tour was the RL Burnside Ass Pocket of Whiskey tour in 1997, selling out shows in the US and Canada. “Kenny Brown hired me to tour with RL and Cedric and showed me the ropes. That experience blew my mind. Cody and I have been on the road ever since.”
NMA began touring in 1998 and over the years the touring lineup has included, Cedric, Duwayne and Garry Burnside, Chris Chew, Berry Oakley Jr, Oteil Burbruidgem and currently Joey Williams of the Blind Boys of Alabama and Ray Ray Hollowman, guitar player for Eminem and Nee-O.
Since their debut album in 2000 and hitting the never ending road, they have shared the stage with countless legends; Phil Lesh, Mavis Staples, Robert Plant, John Hiatt, the Allman Brothers, The Black Crowes, Buddy Guy, Snoop Dogg, and Jon Spencer to name a few, while earning multiple grammy nominations for their experimental albums of they like to call Modern Mississippi Music.
This show will feature a special opening set by Luther Dickinson & Datrian Johnson.
While playing with Phil Lesh, Luther Dickinson connected with Lesh’s son, Grahame, and together they launched Dead Blues—a Phil & Friends offshoot reimagining traditional blues and folk songs from the Grateful Dead catalog.
Originally conceived as a live show concept, Dead Blues evolved into a recording project after Dickinson met vocalist Datrian Johnson, introduced by John Medeski. Inspired by Johnson’s soulful voice, the group recorded Dead Blues Volume I, offering fresh interpretations of American roots classics.
The album features North Mississippi Allstars members Cody Dickinson and Rayfield “Ray Ray” Holloman, along with Memphis collaborators Paul Taylor (New Memphis Colorways) and Steve Selvidge.
Dead Blues Vol I is set for release on October 17, 2025 via Strolling Bones Records.