March 28, 2024
Annapolis, US 48 F

Maryland Hall to host “Blues @ Home” traveling exposition plus live performance

Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts (MHCA) will host a performance by Blues legends Bobby Rush, Eden Brent, and Vasti Jackson on Thursday, January 18 at 8 pm in the Main Theatre.  The performance — titled Bobby Rush and Company — is held in conjunction with the traveling exhibition Blues @ Home: Mississippi’s Living Blues Legends, on display from January 8 through March 3 in Maryland Hall’s galleries.  Tickets to the performance are $25 and are available at www.marylandhall.org or by calling 410-280-5640.

Maryland Hall will host a free public reception on January 18 at 6 pm prior to the ticketed performance where guests can meet the exhibit’s artist, H.C. Porter and the blues performers.

Blues @ Home: Mississippi’s Living Blues Legends provides a glimpse into America’s music and the unique cultural heritage of Mississippi’s blues legends. The exhibit features 21 mixed media paintings created by internationally-known artist H.C. Porter which are paired with the music and oral histories of the legends to create a multimedia experience:  Hear the Blues. See the Blues. The exhibition also includes black and white fine art photographs of world-famous performers, including the late David “Honeyboy” Edwards, the late B.B. King, and Bobby Rush.

Renowned artist H.C. Porter splits her time between her primary residence in Vicksburg, Mississippi and a home in Annapolis.  Her artwork is in private and corporate collections around the globe and has been featured in numerous museum exhibitions for the past 30 years. The 21 original mixed media portraits were created through a process involving black and white photography, silkscreen transfer, acrylic paints and Prismacolor pencils that enable the artist to add vibrant detail and imagery to each picture.  Porter also recorded the artists speaking about their lives and their talents. Segments of the interviews can be heard through a handheld audio wand that allows visitors to listen at their own pace as they view a portrait.

“Seeing the bluesmen in a personal, home environment through the eyes of an artist is a unique opportunity,” says Porter.  “In the Blues @ Home Project, I have set out to document Mississippi’s legendary storytellers…the living legends of Mississippi bluesmen and women.”

Blues legend Bobby Rush headlines this performance and will be joined by fellow legends Vasti Jackson and Eden Brent.  Bobby Rush is a 2017 Grammy award winner for his latest album, Porcupine Meat.   A member of the Blues Hall of Fame and a ten-time winner of the Blues Music Award, he was named B.B. King Entertainer of the Year, and he has a 50+ year career as a musician, composer and singer.

Joining Rush is Vasti Jackson, a world renowned guitarist and vocalist, 2012 Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee and 2015 Albert King Lifetime Guitar Award recipient.  Jackson is known for sweat-drenched, soul-ripping live performances marked by stunning and innovative guitar playing. Jackson’s stellar vocals, fiery guitar, and stage presence capture the audience, and leaves a lasting impression that celebrates the triumph of the blues and the joy of rhythm that is soul satisfying to all that are lucky enough to experience his music.

Nicknamed “Little Boogaloo” by her Mississippi mentor Boogaloo Ames, Eden Brent is much more than her signature boogie-woogie piano and juke-joint blues holler. She is a celebrated songwriter and dynamic performer, with numerous nominations and awards including eleven Blues Music Award nominations since 2009 and three BMA trophies. Her most recent Yellow Dog Records album, Jigsaw Heart was nominated for BMA Acoustic Album of the Year, continuing a streak of nominations for her last three albums.

The Blues @ Home exhibition made its public debut at the University of Mississippi Museum in April 2014, traveled to the B.B. King Museum in Indianola in August 2014 followed by The National Blues Museum on the Museum’s opening day, April 2, 2016.

The performers appearances are sponsored by The MacKenzie Companies.

Maryland Hall is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts, and a grant from the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County.

Dedicated to “art for all,” Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts is the community’s arts center, providing lifelong, accessible engagement in the arts. MHCA is located at 801 Chase Street, Annapolis.  For more information, go to www.marylandhall.org or call 410-263-5544.

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