Check out these rising blues stars on the Mississippi Public Broadcasting Amped & Wired video with Young Bluesmen Jontavious Willis and Marquis Knox.
If you haven’t heard of them yet, remember their names: Jontavious Willis and Marquis Knox … because it won’t be long before all serious blues fans know who they are!
JSJBF Board member Christine Zemla recently spoke with blues historian Scott Barretta, who shared with her an interview/performance video of these two young and extremely talented musicians. Filming took place at the Mississippi Grammy Museum.
Young Bluesmen | Amped & Wired | Mississippi Public Broadcasting – Video
The filming of this episode of the Mississippi Public Broadcasting program “Amped and Wired” took place at the Mississippi Grammy Museum, as part of the International Conference on the Blues, which is held each year at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. This was part of the theme of “Rising Blues Stars.” The following evening Jontavious Willis and Marquise Knox were joined by Christone “Kingfish” Ingram at a concert at the courthouse square in Cleveland, where W.C. Handy made a decision to pursue the blues after seeing a group playing there. As this video demonstrates, the blues remains a vibrant tradition and an avenue through which younger artists can express themselves in terms of recognizing their cultural heritage and expressing their contemporary concerns.
~ Scott Barretta
Scott Barretta is the host of Highway 61 radio on Mississippi Public Broadcasting, a writer for the Mississippi Blues Trail, and the former editor of and continuing contributor to Living Blues magazine. He teaches courses on the blues at both Delta State and the University of Mississippi.
For more information on the Delta State University International Conference on the Blues contact: chriszemla@gmail.com.