Still Shakin' [CD], North Mississippi Allstars, CD

North Mississippi Allstars was founded by brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson in 1996 as a loose collective of musicians from North Mississippi and Memphis, TN, inspired by their neighbors, RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Otha Turner and the late Fred McDowell. Over the years the touring lineup has included, Cedric, Duwayne and Garry Burnside, Chris Chew, Berry Oakley Jr, Oteil Burbridge, Ray Ray Hollowman (guitar player for Eminem and Ne-Yo), and currently Joey Williams (of the Blind Boys of Alabama). Since their Grammy nominated debut album in 2000 they have toured the world, shared the stage with countless legends, Mavis Staples, Robert Plant, John Hiatt, the Allman Brothers, Buddy Guy, Snoop Dogg, and Phil Lesh to name a few, while earning multiple Grammy nominations for their experimental albums of Psychedelic folk roots rock.

“Still Shakin’ is a celebration of their life-changing first album Shake Hands with Shorty, released 25 years ago. They dipped into the North Mississippi repertoire and experience of the ‘90s, touring with RL Burnside, recording Otha Turner, hanging at Junior’s Juke, filtering new interpretations through their current instincts. The well never runs dry and the cast of characters never fails.

They recorded their 2nd generation friends Duwayne Burnside and Robert Kimbrough at Duwayne’s Juke Joint in Holly Springs. The Sacred Steel Guitar of bandmates Ray Ray Hollowman and Kashiah Hunter blessed the music alongside the vocals and rhythm of Joey Williams, from the Blind Boys of Alabama. Their albums meld music to come but are always a snapshot of who they are running with presently. That to say, Ray Ray and Joey have enriched NMA’s music for the last few years and they cherish their contributions to Still Shakin’. The group looks forward to the next 25 years of North Mississippi World Boogie.