The Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show
Bluegrass Revival
Gertrude C. Ford Academic Complex recital hall
Millsaps College
Jackson, Ms
11-08-01

 
The twang of an acoustic guitar shimmies alongside the upbeat pluck of a banjo. A fiddle sings the melody with sweet speed, 
and the bass slides along beneath it all. With the recent resurgence of all things nostalgic, 
bluegrass music is enjoying renewed popularity on the contemporary airwaves.

The Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show is an acoustic, traditional country music show dedicated to the preservation and 
performance of the original American musical art form known as bluegrass. The performers will appear as part of the Millsaps 
Arts & Lecture Series on Nov. 8 at 7:00 p.m. in the Gertrude C. Ford Academic Complex recital hall.

The five-piece band, which dresses in period clothing and plays into a box microphone, features the rustic sounds of the 
rhythm guitar, acoustic upright bass, 5-string banjo, mandolin and fiddle. 
After a successful 1999 debut album and appearances at the International Bluegrass Music Association Trade Show and Fan Fest, 
The Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show released its most recent project, In Full Color. 
Band members include Karl Shiflett, Kris Shiflett, Jake Jenkins, Lyle Meador and Chuck Westerman.

"The Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show isn't a band. It's a time machine," writes critic Richard Smith in Bluegrass Unlimited Magazine. 
"The costumes, the mic and the music are all part of a carefully constructed act. Yet it's no act at all. 
To Karl and his sidemen, the show they put on isn't a put-on."

Agrees Dirty Linen Magazine, "This is bluegrass the way God & Daddy Bill intended, played with verve and imagination without 
copying the old models too closely. A reassuring reminder that the real stuff is still very much with us."

"Bluegrass has gone so far from where it started that it's similar to what's happening in modern country music today," 
says Karl Shiflett. "The trend in bluegrass music these days is so contemporary. We just refer to our music as country music, 
always have. It's simply music for country people."

Admission for the show is $10 for adults and $5 for students. For more information, 
contact Luran Buchanan at (601) 974-1043 or buchall@millsaps.edu.

The Millsaps Arts and Lecture Series provides unique and entertaining programs to the Jackson area. 
Begun as a link between the College and the Jackson community, the series has evolved into a showcase for nationally known writers, 
musicians, artists and political figures. Upcoming programs include a program featuring leading scholars on Jefferson Davis on 
Jan. 15 and a discussion with stars of National Public Radio on Feb. 12.