It’s just something about going back to where you started, says Charlie Musselwhite, the Grammy Award winning bluesman and harmonica player who is a Kosciusko native.
“It’s hard to explain, but it’s a good feeling — a connection, a heart connection,” he said.
Musselwhite will return to the place where he was born to perform in a live concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 29 at the Skipworth Performing Arts Center.
He said it’s hard to put into words what it means to him to perform in Kosciusko.
“It’s something special about going back to where you’re from, where you were born, and playing for the people there,” he said. “I’m hoping I can put a smile on their faces with the music.”
Musselwhite lived in Kosciusko until he was 3 years old, when his family moved to Memphis. “But I spent many of my summers back there, so I have a lot of memories of Kosciusko around my grandmother’s house,” he said. “The old homestead was up in Possumneck.”
This will be Musselwhite’s first full concert in Kosciusko. He performed in an outdoor concert after a celebration of his Mississippi Blues Trail marker being unveiled on West Washington Street along the downtown square in April 2009.
“The Legacy of Charlie Musselwhite runs deep and wide,” said Dr. Tim Alford with the Skipworth Performing Arts Center. “His mastery of the harmonica, his musicality, his creative genius, speaks across the music landscape. His body of work is a beacon to those seeking a deeper understanding of the blues. Plus he is just plain fun to listen to. We are so glad he looks kindly upon his home.”
Musselwhite’s six-decade career includes the release of nearly 40 albums and 15 Grammy nominations. His first Grammy win came in 2014 for Best Blues Album for “Get Up!” with Ben Harper. His most recent Grammy nomination was this year. He is the 33-time winner of the Blues Music Award, has won the Living Blues Award multiple times and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2010.
Musselwhite’s career launched as a harmonica player during the 1960s Chicago blues scene, and his first album, “Stand Back! Here Comes Charley Musselwhite’s Southside Band,” came out in 1967.
Musselwhite is known as a master harmonica player, vocalist and songwriter. He is also a talented guitarist, and his latest album, “Mississippi Son” released in 2022, features Musselwhite performing guitar, vocals and harmonica.
For the Saturday night performance, however, Musselwhite will be performing with his band.
“We do a lot of different tunes. It’s dancing music. If there’s a dance floor, I hope people will get up and dance,” he said.
Musselwhite said concertgoers can expect to have a good time.
“Some people hear the term blues, and they think, ‘I don’t want to hear that; that’s just something sad,’” he said. “But, actually, it’s to get rid of that feeling. Blues is like a celebration; it’s like time to party. Even though we might have tough times, we can do this. That’s the spirit of blues — it’s keeping on keeping on. If people might be fans of harmonica music, well I play harmonica, harmonica blues. You can tap your foot to it or dance or just listen. It’s the whole purpose of music — it’s your buddy when you’re up; it’s your comforter when you’re down. I just hope people will come, enjoy it, have a good time, and go home with a smile on their face.”
Musselwhite now lives in downtown Clarksdale. He has had a residence there for about 10 years but moved back to Mississippi permanently a couple of years ago.
“People from Mississippi are always from Mississippi, that means something. Wherever you go, you take Mississippi with you,” he said. “It makes sense to me to be here. It makes my heart feel good to be home in Mississippi.”
Musselwhite has many fond memories of his time spent in Attala County as a child.
“I remember one day, it must have been in the ’50s, somebody had, and I don’t know where they got it, an alligator tied up to a lamp post on the square, and they were showing it off,” he reminisced. “People were standing around looking at it.”
He said he also remembers when a cattle auction was held on the square and going to the old feed store — “It had the big red and white checkered painting on the front of the building on the square. My uncle worked there.”
He would spend time with his grandparents and remembers hearing stories his grandfather would tell, such as the time he lived in Oklahoma and got into a shootout with the infamous outlaw Al Spencer.
Musselwhite would travel by train from Memphis to Durant.
“Uncle Young would meet me in Durant when I would take the train from Memphis and drive me back through Sallis to Kosciusko, and he would always have a bag of boiled peanuts on the seat between us in his pickup,” he said. “I still love boiled peanuts.”
Musselwhite said he is looking forward to returning to his hometown.
“Be prepared to have a good time,” said Musselwhite. “I’m really excited about playing in my hometown and looking forward to it. And hope everybody has a good time.”
Tickets can be purchased in advance for $30 online at https://www.kfeems.org/concert-tickets and are also available at City Hall. Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $40 each on the day of the concert.
