North Mississippi Allstars Announce New Album, ‘Set Sail,’ Share Title Track

photo by Jason Thrasher

On January 28, New West Records will release the latest album from North Mississippi Allstars. Set Sail is the follow up to 2019’s Up and Rolling, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Once again, Cody and Luther Dickinson produced the record, which is now available for pre-order.

“North Mississippi Allstars means family,” Cody explains. “I get the joy of working with my brother. Our families keep growing too. There’s a sense of history. The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to record this music, so younger kids can hear it. I just want to make sure we pass it on. It’s a huge honor to be a part of this tradition

The roster of musicians on Set Sail also includes Jesse Williams on bass and Lamar Williams, Jr. on vocals. Lamar’s father was the former bass player for the Allman Brothers Band, and as Luther notes, “The chemistry we have with this lineup is powerful. We are all second-generation musicians and share a telepathic, relaxed ease about creating and performing. I believe music is a form of communion with our loved ones and conjuring this vibe with members of musical families can be inspirational. Lamar and I are like-minded. I’ve never had the pleasure of working with a singing partner like Lamar. He has a true-blue quality in his musicality that will pull you in and break your heart. At the same time, Jesse grew up playing music with his brothers and his father—as did we. He plays like a sibling. We recorded the album fresh off the road and captured the energy we had worked up with him. I’m drawn to musical families, regardless of style. Playing with second- or third-generation players allows us an easy unspoken musical dialog. It’s not a big thing; it’s just what we do. We never had to figure out what it means and takes to be a musician. We all inherently know.”

Today we are premiering the lyric video for the title track. Luther explains,  “’The water may rise but we shall set sail. Though the flood imagery is used to illustrate perseverance when times are hard, ‘Set Sail’ is truly about my respect for the first generation American Freedom Rockers who are still with us, whose lives and music stands for open minded and open hearted freedom. Cody and I have been fortunate to play music with Mavis Staples, Phil Lesh, William Bell, and Blind Boys of Alabama and we strive to live up to their example.

“We have to prove to the elders that their fight will carry on and pass through the future generations. It’s important that the younger generation knows that you have to fight for love and that battle is never ending. Progress can feel like one step forward and two steps back but we have to press on. 

“Bill Withers acoustic guitar playing inspired me to build the songs up from my nylon string guitar. With the current chemistry NMA has of Cody, myself with Jesse Williams on bass and Lamar Williams, Jr. adding vocals, the new songs came to life!

The initial concepts of these songs have been hanging around in my lyric book for years. They have been waiting for the right time to be finished.”

Set Sail will be released digitally on January 28 with CD and Vinyl to follow on April 1. The band’s upcoming tour dates appear below the video.

Tour Dates: 

2021

November 02 – St. Johnsbury, VT – Fuller Hall 

November 03 – Burlington, VT – Flynn Center for the Performing Arts 

November 05 – Cohoes, NY – Cohoes Music Hall 

November 06 – Princeton, NJ – McCarter Theater 

November 07 – Brookville, NY – Tilles Center’s Concert Hall 

November 09 – Pittsburgh, PA – Byham Theater 

November 10 – Williamsport, PA – Community Arts Center 

November 11 – Philadelphia, PA – Merriam Theatre 

November 13 – Cincinnati, OH – Memorial OTR 

November 14 – Charleston, WV – Mountain Stage 

November 17 – Bloomington, IL – Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts 

November 18 – Evanston, IL – SPACE 

November 19 – Milwaukee, WI – South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center 

November 20 – Red Wing, MN – Sheldon Theatre 

November 21 – Eau Claire, WI – Pablo Center for the Confluence 

November 27 – St. Louis, MO – The Factory * 

November 29th – Dallas, TX – Majestic Theater *

November 30th – Austin, TX – ACL Live at the Moody Theater *

December 01 – New Orleans, LA – Saenger Theater 

December 02 – Atlanta, GA – Coca-Cola Roxy *

December 03 – Sarasota, FL – Van Wezel PAC *

December 07 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theater *

December 08 – New York, NY – Beacon Theater *

December 09 – Philadelphia, PA – The Met *

December 10 – Silver Spring, MD – Fillmore *

December 11 – Ann Arbor, MI – Michigan Theater *

December 12 – Chicago, IL – Chicago Theater * 

December 14 – Tulsa, OK – Brady Theater *

December 16 – Phoenix, AZ – Arizona Federal Theater * 

December 17 – Las Vegas, NV – Theater at Virgin Hotels *

December 18 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore *

December 19 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern * 

December 31 – Macon, GA – Macon City Auditorium * 

2022 

February 01 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up 

February 02 – Venice, CA – Venice West 

February 03 – Sacramento, CA – Harlow’s 

February 04 – Crystal Bay, NV – Crystal Bay Club 

February 05 – San Francisco, CA – The Independent 

February 06 – Felton, CA – Felton Music Hall 

February 08 – Boise, ID – Egyptian Theatre 

February 09 – Bend, OR – Tower Theatre 

February 10 – Eugene, OR – Hult Center for the Performing Arts 

February 11 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater 

February 12 – Seattle, WA – Nectars 

June 01 – London, UK – Lafayette, London 

June 06 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso Noord 

*The Allman Family Revival 

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