Blues Concert Series Announced

Hancock Tourism announces a new grant-funded concert series, with the first free concert slated for September 30th, featuring BlueShift with Tommy Moran and blues icon Vasti Jackson. 
- by Ellis Anderson 

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This week, Hancock Tourism announced a series of free concerts slated to take place on the grounds of the historic depot in Bay St. Louis, at the Alice Moseley Pavilion.  The first event will take place from 1pm – 4pm Saturday, September 30, featuring the Vasti Jackson Band and BlueShift.  

The Down Home Blues Music Series is presented by the Alice Moseley Museum, located in the historic depot. The concert series is funded by a grant from Visit Mississippi, through the Hancock County Tourism Bureau, which, in the past five years has funneled more than $4 million in grant funding into promoting Hancock County.

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The September concert features BlueShift, with noted guitarist Tommy Moran.  In the course of Moran’s musical career, he has played and recorded with performers like Jerry Fisher, Dr. John, Dion and Gatemouth Brown.  

​While BlueShift is a new group, it’s made up of top performers who have played together for years:  Pete Leoni, Gene Moran, Regan Taylor, and Chuck Lofton.  BlueShift will play from 1pm - 2:30pm.  

Vasti Jackson takes the stage from 3pm - 4pm.  According to Offbeat Magazine, Jackson “is known for sweat-drenched, soul-ripping performances marked by some of the most stunning and innovative guitar-playing in Blues today.”  

A 2012 Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee, and 2015 Albert King Lifetime Guitar Award recipient, Jackson tours internationally, yet according to event organizers, is delighted to return to “the Bay.”  Jackson was scheduled to headline the Alice Moseley Festival in June, but severe weather caused the cancellation of his performance. 

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BlueShift performing at the Pavilion in June 2017

Two additional events are planned in the free concert series.  The second is slated for January 20, 2018 and the third for June 2nd.  All will take place at the Alice Moseley Pavilion. 

The pavilion is situated amid the large live oak trees in front of the historic depot in Bay St. Louis, a fanciful building that's home to the Visitors Center, the Mardi Gras Museum and the Alice Moseley Museum ( located on the building's second floor). 

A nationally recognized folk artist and Bay St. Louis resident, Alice Moseley passed away in 2002 at the age of 94.  The museum was founded by her son, Tim.  

Both Alice and Tim Moseley have focused on the documentation of Mississippi culture, so hosting the Down Home Blues Music Series at the Pavilion is a natural outgrowth of that, said Tim Moseley, who also resides in Bay St. Louis. 

​"We hope that the Down Home Blues concert is just one of many events held at the Alice Moseley Pavilion," said Moseley.  "It's a place where  local families can bring their lawn chairs, sit under  live oak trees and listen to music."