Mississippi Delta meets the Jersey Shore at this Springsteen Archives co-sponsored event
The Jersey Shore's got the blues.
Anthony “Big A” Sherrod and the Allstars, direct from the Mississippi Delta, and Kenny “Stringbean” Sorensen will play at 8 p.m. Friday, June 2, at the Lauren K. Woods Theatre on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch.
The program is called The Mississippi Delta Meets the Jersey Shore.
The night is presented by the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation, the nonprofit supporting and preserving jazz and blues in New Jersey, and the Bruce Springsteen Archives & Center for American Music at Monmouth University.
"Delta Blues plays a significant role in the landscape of American music," said Eileen Chapman, director of the Springsteen Archives, in a statement. "Dating back over 100 years, this music art form has been a major influence for both blues and rock performers throughout the world. Contemporary artists such as Bonnie Raitt, Cat Power, the Rolling Stones and others were inspired by the works of Delta Blues icons such as Son House, Robert Johnson and B.B. King. Our collaboration with JSJBF demonstrates our role in promoting all forms of American music and its impact on our culture.”
Sherrod, a native of Clarksdale, was mentored by bluesman Johnnie Billington, and he played with B.B. King as a child. Sorensen's Boardwalk Social Club is a long-running hit Mondays in the summer on the Asbury Park boardwalk outside Low Dive.
The show on Friday is the first of a new collaboration between the Springsteen Archives and the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation.
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“Countless fans travel from around the globe to experience the home of the blues, and I know they receive the same warm welcome that I get every time I return,” said Christine Clark Zemla of the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation in a statement. “I’m thrilled to be launching a partnership in which we can join two communities bonded by rich musical legacies and — we may be surprised to learn — so much more!”
The Delta blues night, co-sponsored by the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and Visit Clarksdale, will include music, stories and more.
Tickets, $25, are available via jsjbf.org.
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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Springsteen Archives co-sponsors blues show at Monmouth University
