Ryan Lee Crosby is currently based in Rhode Island, but his musical heart is in Mississippi. He has released numerous albums, toured internationally and is a leading practitioner of the Bentonia School of rural Delta blues, as well as a world music explorer. Smithsonian Magazine praised his ability to "bring influences from Africa and India to the Bentonia sound." “What first intrigued me about Ryan Lee Crosby is how rare he is on paper: a former English major and post-punk rocker who can channel 1930s Mississippi.” - Lauren Daley — WBUR/NPR.
Crosby's new album "At the Blue Front" (featuring Grammy nominated bluesman Jimmy “Duck” Holmes) offers a haunting, hypnotic meld of Bentonia and Hill Country blues. Recorded on reel to reel tape over two afternoons at Holmes’ iconic Mississippi juke joint, the album was produced, recorded and mixed by Crosby, with a selection of original compositions, traditional repertoire and fully improvised songs.
Crosby finds deep inspiration and spiritual refuge in Bentonia, where he has been mentored for six years by Holmes, the man who is widely regarded as the last living master of the style. Blending reverence for tradition with a modern, trance-inducing approach, Crosby's process is informed by diverse influences that include Indian raga, ambient music and post-punk rock. For Crosby, all these seemingly disparate threads weave together through the meditative power of the blues.
With collaborators Grant Smith and Jay Scheffler, At the Blue Front captures a moving journey of self-discovery, resilience, and artistic clarity. “Playing with Jimmy,” Crosby says, “it’s the joy, it’s the learning, it’s the connection and transcendence and what feels to me like a fulfillment of life’s purpose.”
$15/pp. Free parking is readily available along adjacent Lyme Street. Refreshments will be available. Seating is limited; advance ticket purchase via the following link recommended:
https://www.musicnowfoundation.org/event-details-registration/ryan-lee-crosby-and-grant-smith
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