Those Allstars stay busy. The Brothers Dickinson recently returned from a European tour promoting their latest record, World Boogie Is Coming. They will play their Thanksgiving homecoming show on Friday, November 29th, at Minglewood Hall. But that’s not the half of it. The North Mississippi Allstars have partnered with the Mid-South Food Bank to gather the goods. You can bring canned food (check the date) and take a selfie at the donation desk to be part of the Food Bank’s online photo album of helpful blues fans. Don’t go missing from that. We’ll be looking for you.
Think the Allstars are through packing this night with excitement? WRONG. The band announced that the concert will be filmed for release on DVD, and the crew will be 100 percent local, according to Cody Dickinson’s Facebook page. As far as the concert is concerned, there will be plenty of surprises as special guests are lined up to join the Allstars onstage. Even if the guests were 100 percent local, this would be something to see, given the brothers’ recent two-month stint at Minglewood under the Sons of Mudboy aegis. That band, a second-generation continuation of father Jim Dickinson’s legendary outfit with Sid Selvidge, Lee Baker, and national treasure Jimmy Crosthwait, rounded up a who’s who of contemporary Memphis players: Harry Peel, Al Gamble, George Sluppick, Paul Taylor, and others. Who needs out-of-towners?
Another point of interest: Pay attention to Luther’s guitar. The elder Dickinson brother was paid a tremendous honor last year when Gibson introduced the Luther Dickinson ES-335. The 335 is an essential blues tool: B.B. King’s Lucille is a 335. Chuck Berry? Yep. Orbison and John Lee Hooker too. Gibson let Luther add details to the design, including a block inside the frame to cut down on feedback, a Bigsby tremolo, and the paint. That paint job was copied from Father Jim’s 335 and enters the official Gibson palette of colors as “Dickinson Burst.” Wow.