Eclectic blues artist Alvin Youngblood Hart will bring his award-winning sound to the State Theatre and International Bistro Thursday night.
Hart, who was born in California but made frequent trips to Mississippi as a child, has played some of the world’s greatest venues, including London’s Royal Albert Hall and the Hollywood Bowl. He has attributed his unique style in part to his roots in the north Mississippi hill country, where both branches of his family tree go back for many generations.
His music, which has been said to defy so-called blues purists, has proven largely successful. In 1997, Hart received the W.C. Handy Award for best new artist. His ’98 release Territory received the Downbeat Music Critics Poll Award for best blues album. In 2000, Hart’s album Soul was placed in The New York Times’ top 10 releases of 2000 and was named the BBC’s blues record of the year.
In addition, his 2002 release Down in the Alley was on the U.S. blues album bestseller list. The album also garnered a nod for one of the highest honors in the music industry in 2003-a Grammy nominee for best traditional blues album.
Dave Hood, owner of the Bistro, said Hart requested to come back after playing a show there last year.
“He was going on tour again and they called me and told me that he liked the Theatre and wanted to come back and play again,” Hood said. “I love the blues and I love his CD.”
Hood also said he plans to start bringing blues artists to the Theatre every semester because he wants to bring the blues, which are “such a Southern tradition,” back to Starkville.
“Blues appeals to both genders and all ages,” Hood said. “I definitely think the students, faculty and others who live in Starkville will enjoy it.”
Wayne Kelly, coordinator and 10-year DJ for WMSV’s Sunday night blues show The Juke, said Hart is a fantastic musician.
“His personal legacy is split between Mississippi and California,” Kelly said. “He covers a really broad spectrum of stuff. His first album he released was very faithful to Mississippi acoustic blues. Since then, he’s stepped pretty far afield of traditional blues. There are few musicians who can step onstage and deliver the way he does.”
Kelly also described Hart, a “guitar-freak of sorts” who has been known to play multiple guitars onstage, as a multi-stylist.
“He can go from the acoustic blues that come from the Mississippi Delta and hill country, right into very edgy rock stuff, and sometimes even a sort of alt-country rock,” Kelley said. “He’s even done some Hank Williams-sounding material. He’s got a lot of dimensions to his music and his style.”
Hart will begin at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.