The Delta Blues Museum is unveiling a special summer exhibit in partnership with The Malaco Music Group, in celebration of the group’s 50th anniversary year.
This Thursday, the museum will open “The Last Soul Company: 50 Years of Excellence” honoring Malaco's milestone. The museum has worked with the historic label to create a gallery display, which was also promoted at Malaco's gospel concert in Jackson last week.
“The collaboration with Malaco Music Group formalizes the symbiotic relationship between the record company and the Delta Blues Museum,” said Shelley Ritter, director of the Delta Blues Museum.
“We are pleased to celebrate Malaco's longstanding work as we pay homage daily to many of the legendary recording artists associated with the label such as Fred McDowell, Little Milton Campbell, Artie 'Blues Boy' White, Denise LaSalle, Dorothy Moore, Bobby Rush and others.”
The exhibit will feature vintage recording equipment, a video retrospective of Malaco and other important historical items that span the 50 years of the company’s growth.
Of the collaboration, Malaco co-founder Tommy Couch Sr. said, “We are excited to curate the exhibit in conjunction with Delta Blues Museum to showcase our contribution to the historic blues genre.
“And we are honored to share a few of the countless memories from so many recording sessions with our artists. Many of those artists are from the Mississippi Delta, including Little Milton from Inverness, Denise LaSalle, who grew up near Sidon, and Tyron Davis, who was born in Greenville.”
An opening reception, with music provided by Clarksdale musician Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, will be held at the museum on Thursday, July 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. The reception is free and open to the public.
The special exhibit is sponsored by Cathead Vodka, Barnes Petty Financial Advisors, Hunter Paper, True Value Hyde Brothers Lumber Company and the Mississippi Arts Commission.
Established in 1979 by the Carnegie Public Library Board of Trustees and re-organized as a stand-alone museum in 1999, the Delta Blues Museum is Mississippi's oldest music museum and the nation’s first museum dedicated to the American art form known as the Blues.
