Mississippi celebrates third annual Musicians Month
Communities across Mississippi will celebrate the third annual Mississippi Musicians Month this March with concerts, lectures, educational programs and special performances honoring artists and traditions that helped shape American music.
The monthlong celebration highlights the state’s influence on genres ranging from Delta blues and gospel to jazz, country, rock, pop and classical music. Events will take place in towns and cities statewide, recognizing musicians past and present and encouraging public participation through performances and cultural programming, organizers said.
Mississippi Musicians Month was established in 2024 when Gov. Tate Reeves signed legislation designating March as the annual observance, organizers said. The initiative was created to recognize Mississippi’s historic role in the global music landscape and to encourage communities to celebrate their local musical heritage.
Mississippi is often called the “Birthplace of America’s Music,” producing early pioneers such as Charley Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson and Jimmie Rodgers, and later performers including Elvis Presley, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Buffett, Faith Hill and Leontyne Price. “Great and timeless music is one of Mississippi’s chief exports,” officials with Opera Mississippi said. “By honoring the past while celebrating today’s artists and inspiring future generations, Mississippi Musicians Month affirms the state’s lasting role in shaping the soundtrack of American life.” Opera Mississippi was founded in 1945 and is the state’s only professional opera company and the ninth oldest continuously operating opera company in the United States.
Organizers said the celebration will include performances of all kinds, from singer-songwriters in coffee shops to blues festivals in the Delta and symphonic concerts. We will provide more information as it becomes available.
