CLEVELAND — Since the opening of GRAMMY Museum Mississippi last March, the Museum has presented more than 30 education and public programs that featured talented up-and-coming artists as well as established, award-winning singers, songwriters, musicians, and engineers. In 2016, the Museum hosted programs in the Sanders Soundstage with soul and gospel legend Mavis Staples, former Black Crowes guitarist Marc Ford, and legendary Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick to name a few. This year, the Museum is thrilled to start the New Year with two music legends, Eddie “Chank” Willis and Bobby Rush.

On Monday at 6 p.m., the Museum will screen the film “Standing in the Shadows of Motown,” which tells the story of the Funk Brothers, a group of talented musicians recruited by Berry Gordy to record musical tracks for Motown. These musicians were responsible for the backing tracks for a large number of soul and R&B hits produced by Motown, including songs by the Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, and others. The Museum is pleased to bring the legendary session guitarist and member of the Funk Brothers, Eddie “Chank” Willis, to the Sanders Soundstage for a discussion about his career and his Motown experiences. The discussion will be moderated by Scott Barretta, host of Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s “Highway 61” blues program.

February’s programming begins with another music living legend in the soundstage on Feb. 1, at 7 p.m., the great bluesman Bobby Rush. Rush has enjoyed a 60-plus year career and is a 59th GRAMMY Awards®nominee for Best Traditional Blues Album for his most recent album, Porcupine Meat.  He has garnered four Blues Music Award nominations, including Album of the Year for his latest GRAMMY®-nominated release and Best Historical Release for his 50-year career retrospective box set. The Museum is pleased to welcome this consummate storyteller and performer to the Sanders Soundstage for an intimate performance and conversation on his long and successful career.

“We are thrilled to bring these music legends to the Museum,” said Emily Havens, executive director of GRAMMY Museum® Mississippi. “We hope that the community will come out and enjoy these programs.” 

Tickets for “An Evening with Eddie ‘Chank’ Willis” are $10 and are available online. Tickets for “An Evening with Bobby Rush” are $25 for Museum Members and $30 for non-members and are also available online. Additionally, tickets for both programs can be purchased by calling the Museum box office at 662-441-0100, or in person at the Museum at 800 W. Sunflower Road in Cleveland. 

 

About GRAMMY Museum Mississippi

Built and operated by the Cleveland Music Foundation — a non-profit organization developed in 2011 — the 28,000-square-foot GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is housed near the campus of Delta State University, home of the Delta Music Institute’s Entertainment Industry Studies program, which features the most unique audio recording facilities in the South. Similar to its sister Museum — the GRAMMY Museum at L.A. LIVE — GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is dedicated to exploring the past, present and future of music, and the cultural context from which it emerges, while casting a focused spotlight on the deep musical roots of Mississippi. The Museum features a dynamic combination of public events, educational programming, engaging multimedia presentations, and interactive permanent and traveling exhibits, including a Mississippi-centric area that introduces visitors to the impact of Mississippi’s songwriters, producers and musicians on the traditional and modern music landscape.  For more information about GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, visit www.grammymuseumms.org. For breaking news and exclusive content, follow @GRAMMYMuseumMS on Twitter and Instagram, and like “GRAMMY Museum Mississippi” on Facebook.  For behind-the-scenes access, add us on Snapchat at GRAMMYMuseumMS.