Ralph Eubanks is the author of When It’s Darkness on the Delta: How America’s Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land (Beacon Press).

The book describes how the Mississippi Delta is often faulted for the sins of the South, a regional backwater that willfully cleaved itself from the modern world. But buried beneath the politics and white-washed histories lies the Delta’s true story.

“I am from the coast of Mississippi. Growing up, the Delta was as foreign to me as another country. Ralph Eubanks’s When It’s Darkness on the Delta brings the Delta home to me. He breaks down assumptions with tenderness and unflinching honesty.” – Eddie Glaude, Jr. author, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own

“Eubanks speaks truth to power about an iconic and ill-understood American landscape and proves beyond question that as the Mississippi Delta goes, so goes our republic.” — Richard Ford

“Ralph Eubanks nimbly, and profoundly, rides the voices of the folks making the Delta.” – Kiese Laymon

Corky Siegel is known internationally as one of the world’s great blues harmonica players, keyboardists and songwriters.

His professional career began in 1964 when he co-founded the now legendary Siegel-Schwall Band in Chicago with guitarist Jim Schwall.

That group was part of a musical community of young white blues artists that included Paul Butterfield, Charlie Musselwhite, Harvey Mandel, Barry Goldberg, Nick Gravenites and Michael Bloomfield.

These young players learned the Chicago blues style at the source – hanging out and performing with such titans as Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, and Buddy Guy.

In recent years Siegel has become known for combining classical music and blues into Chamber Blues. His releases, all available on Dawserly Records, include: Symphonic Blues No. 6; Something Wrong – Corky Solo (2022); and MORE Different Voices – Chamber Blues (2022).

Other recordings can be found on RCA, Vanguard, Alligator, and on the iconic classical label, Deutsche Grammophon.

Siegel, proclaimed an “…underappreciated national treasure,” by Downbeat magazine, is a two-time Emmy Award winner and member of the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame.

The Veal Brothers began their gospel music career in 1975, singing in older churches in and around their home of Gloster, MS, a small town in the southwestern part of the state.

Larry Veal Sr. is a leader of the group and performs as one of the main background singers. His oldest brother, Robert Veal, Jr., is also a lead singer. Another brother, Charles, is an alto singer in the background and the first lead guitar player. Jerry, a baritone, plays drums. L. C. Clark sings tenor, Geoffrey Gibson plays bass guitar, Tony Turner, keyboard, and Charles Veal, Jr., keyboard.

The group has established their own record label, Prosperity Records.

Their latest album is Live at Home, an uplifting set of tunes that features hot guitar, horns and the group’s incomparable harmonies. Highlights are, “Joy,” “The Price is Right” and Help Me.”

Their previous album was Feel the Spirit. (We certainly will!)