For the first time in his home state, Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience will be presented on Friday, March 27. The show is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall, located at 255 E. Pascagoula Street in downtown Jackson.
“Bringing the Morgan Freeman Symphonic Blues Experience to Mississippi is more than a performance – it’s a homecoming,” says Janet Riehle, MSO President and Executive Director. “It’s a chance to celebrate who we are and where this music comes from. Mississippi is the birthplace of America’s music – not just the blues. But even in this performance, you hear that heritage in the songs dust my broomRecorded in Jackson and widely credited as the foundation of rock and roll. This is our Mississippi story, and it’s shaping music around the world.
The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra (MSO) will perform with blues artists from Clarksdale’s Ground Zero Blues Club, which Freeman co-founded with the late Bill Luckett.
In a video posted on the MSO Facebook page, Morgan Freeman says, “I look forward to sharing the symphonic blues experience with you, with the help of the finest blues musicians I know. Symphonic Blues is a powerful journey through the heart and soul of the Mississippi Delta, where the raw spirit of the blues meets the depth and richness of an orchestra.”
Freeman, an Academy Award-winning actor and Mississippi native, will narrate that immersive experience, weaving song and story into a cinematic journey through the origins and evolution of blues music.
The Symphonic Blues Tour was developed in collaboration with Park Avenue Artists, and has become a national hit, receiving rave reviews and standing ovations for its electrifying, soul-stirring impact.
The concert is hosted by MSO under the leadership of its Board of Directors and in collaboration with Visit Mississippi, Visit Clarksdale, Memphis Tourism and Crossroads Economic Partnership.
“For the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, presenting this work at home is personal and purposeful,” Rehle says. “Morgan Freeman has long been a champion for Mississippi and blues musicians, and his vision of bringing blues artists together with a full symphony creates something powerful. This production has reached audiences across the country and internationally. Bringing it back to Mississippi solidifies this orchestra’s role as the state’s largest performing arts organization and reflects the caliber of the musicians who perform here and teach here. These are the same artists who continue to inspire young people. Putting instruments in the hands and building the next generation of Mississippi musicians. But it’s more than a genre – or even an aspect of our culture, it’s about recognizing the artists who spend their lives honing their craft and giving that work to audiences.
The Morgan Freeman Symphonic Blues Experience underscores a simple truth: Mississippi doesn’t just have a musical past – it continues to generate and sustain it. “It’s about ownership and pride,” Rehle says. “Presenting this work here recognizes the people, sound and impact that began in Mississippi – and ensures it continues to be seen, heard and valued.”
Martin Gellner is the composer, conductor and musical director of Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience. Hailing from Austria, Gellner has taken his mastery of reimagining Delta classics with sweeping orchestral power, creating a sound that is both contained and revelatory.
Riehle notes that Thalia Mara Hall is designed for moments like these. “Join us for our homecoming on March 27,” says Freeman.
Tickets are available in person at Ardenland at Dulling Hall or online here or at Ticketmaster.com
— Article credited to Susan Marquez for the Magnolia Tribune —
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