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Mac McAnally, Mississippi singer/songwriter and bandmate with Jimmy Buffett, sports a DSU Fighting Okra t-shirt in this informal guitar pull in Atlanta...thanks, Mac!

Michael Mattox, Delta State student from Madison, Mississippi, recently contributed his long beautiful mane to the Locks of Love program for cancer survivors. Everyone at the Delta Music Institute (DMI) likes the new look, Michael!

Cole Furlow, Delta State graduate of the Delta Music Institute, is releasing his first full length release, "End of Days, Why Not You?" from his project DEAD GAZE. Copies will be available to purchase from Mirroruniversetapes.blogspot.com on March 16. Congratulations, Cole!

From left, Tricia Walker, singer and songwriter and director of the Delta Music Institute (DMI), accompanies award winning singer-songwriter Patti Ryan, as Duff Durrough, bandleader for Thacker Mountain Radio’s house band, The Yalobushwhackers, provides musical backing. Ryan was performing one of the most successful country hits of all time, “Looking for Love,” which she co-wrote with Wanda Mallette and musician Bob Morrison. Ryan has two American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, (ASCAP) Pop Awards, 15 ASCAP Country Awards, a Tony nomination, and two Grammy nominations.

Ryan, along with singer-songwriters George Jackson and Troy Jones, and the Yalobushwackers were featured in the live broadcast of Thacker Mountain Radio as a part of the DMI Anniversary Celebration held March 6.

Also included in the DMI Anniversary Celebration was the Mississippi Writers Roundtable for literary artists with a keynote address by Mississippi native, mystery writer and 2010 Harper Lee Award winner Carolyn Haines. The Writers Roundtable was sponsored by The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC), Mississippi Humanities Council, SonEdna Foundation, Inc., Delta Music Institute, and Delta State University, in celebration of the “Year of the Arts.”

The Thacker Mountain Radio show was taped in Studio A of the DMI, housed in historic Whitfield Building on the Delta State campus.

Ol' Skool Revue, R&B/Soul/Funk/Blues band from the Delta Music Institute at Delta State University, represented the Crossroads Blues Society of Rosedale with a blues set during the Youth Challenge showcase at the 26th International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN. The band performed at the historic New Daisy Theatre on Beale Street.....congratulations to the band and thanks to the Crossroads Blues Society for sponsoring this opportunity!

Ol’ Skool Revue, the Delta Music Institute’s (DMI) Blues/R&B/Soul/Funk band, has been selected to perform at the 2010 International Blues Challenge (IBC) in Memphis, January 20-23, 2010.

Ol’ Skool Revue will represent DMI and Delta State University in the Youth Challenge (IBC) during this 26th year of the International Blues Challenge. The band, made up of Delta State college students, will compete during the afternoon lineup on Friday, Jan. 22, showcasing their talents for record labels, media, festivals, managers, talent buyers and the fans.
The IBC has evolved into the nation's biggest and most respected showcase for Blues musicians ready to take their act to the national stage. The IBC is a judged "Battle of the Bands" in which competitors take the stage and play a short set for a panel of judges. The acts are judged based on an established set of criteria.

Each Affiliate of The Blues Foundation has the right to send a band and solo/duo act to represent the organization at the IBC Semi-Finals. Ol’ Skool Revue competed and was selected by the Crossroads Blues Society, an IBC affiliate from Rosedale, Mississippi.

In 2009, 100 bands and 60 solo/duo acts entered, filling the clubs up and down Beale Street for the semi-finals on Thursday and Friday and the finals at the Orpheum Theater on Saturday.
The Delta Music Institute is an independent center of study under the College of Arts & Sciences at Delta State University. It began with a generous donation by Fred Carl of the Viking Range Corporation in 2003.

The focus of the DMI is to provide students with a broad and thorough education in the technological, creative, and business areas of the music and entertainment industry.

For information, contact the DMI office at (662) 846-4579 or e-mail dmi.deltastate.edu.

Read all about it here....but make no mistake, we LOVE our Fighting Okra!!

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/dec/09/time-magazine-dubs-purple-aces-among-10-worst-team/

P. Diddy’s Starmaker winner, Liz Davis, performs during 2005 Homecoming festivities at Delta State


Mississippi native and former Delta State University student Liz Davis was crowned the winner of P. Diddy's Starmaker during Sunday night's finale broadcast of the MTV reality competition series.
The 21 year-old claimed the show's grand prize of a record deal with Sean "Diddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records label.

In winning Starmaker, Davis became the first predominantly country artist to sign with Bad Boy.

Liz, and her entire family have strong ties to the University.

“Our whole family spent time in Cleveland and at Delta State,” said Liz’s mother Lauree Davis. “Delta State played a big part in the lives of our family. Liz’s time there helped her to achieve the success she’s enjoying today.”

Liz’s father, Dale, and mother both attended Delta State on athletic scholarships.

“Dale played baseball for Coach “Boo” Ferriss from 1977-81 and I received the first tennis scholarship for a female in 1979,” said Davis.

Liz’s older sister, Kelli Davis-Cotton graduated from Delta State in 2004 with a degree in marketing. She now resides in Cleveland and works for Coopwood Communications.

Liz’s younger brother Jeffrey is a junior at Canton Academy. “Jeffrey is an athlete and we don’t know where he’ll go for sure, but he could wind up at Delta State just like the rest of the family,” laughed Davis.

Performing at a talent show in Jackson, Liz Davis caught the eye of Norbert Putnam, an accomplished musician and producer who played bass for Elvis Presley and helped launch the careers of Dan Fogleberg and Jimmy Buffet. Putnam encouraged Davis to enroll at Delta State University, where he was director of the Delta Music Institute,a center for music industry studies focused on educating students in the technological, business, and creative areas of the music industry.

Once enrolled at Delta State, another music instructor influenced Liz’s life and career path. She received a music scholarship and was a member of “Renaissance” a popular vocal and instrumental ensemble led by Gene Ayers.

“Gene Ayers probably had the greatest influence on Liz during her time at Delta State,” said Davis. “She absolutely loved to perform and ‘Renaissance’ gave her the opportunity.”

Another instructor who recognized Liz’s talent was current Director of the Delta Music Institute Tricia Walker. “I taught Liz in a song writing class and her focus was very evident even as a student,” said Walker. “Having spent over 25 years in the music business, I believe Liz’s natural ability and instinct will take her a long way in the music industry.”

In the fall of 2006 Liz Davis left Delta State to pursue a career in music full time.

“Liz felt in her heart it was time to make the move and we supported her,” said Davis. “Even so, our whole family has fond memories and we love Delta State.”

For now, Liz Davis is back in Nashville. “She’s waiting to go to New York to sign her contract with Bad Boy/Interscope records,” said Mom. “This opens the door to a world of possibilities and we couldn’t be more proud or excited.”

Ol' Skool Revue, the Delta Music Institute's R&B/Soul/Funk/Blues band, performed last week as the opening act for Blind Mississippi Morris at the world famous Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi...good food, good groove, good times!

Enjoy!

The 2009 DMI Summer Camp took a tour of the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center thi afternoon in Indianola, Mississippi. Campers and staff enjoyed the interactive features and high-definition presentations at the museum.

Here are some wonderful alumni members of the Delta State class of 1958 at last year's Homecoming celebration. They joined together in Ol' Whitfield, now DMI Studio A, to sing and record the DSU alma mater. They did a great job, don't you think?