North Mississippi Allstars

Brothers Luther and Cody Dickinson started the North Mississippi Allstars (Allstars) in 1996 as a loose collective of musicians from their North Mississippi home. They were inspired by their father, Jim Dickinson, as well as their neighbors and famed musical elders R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Otha Turner, and Fred McDowell. For their first national tour, the Allstars backed Burnside on the Ass Pocket of Whiskey tour in 1997, selling out shows across North America, and they’ve been on the road ever since. 

When the Dickinson brothers first started the Allstars, they played Mississippi music as straight-ahead and traditionally as they could. Soon, their sound evolved to include psych-rock improvisation while maintaining folk and blues melodies and lyrics, a style they deemed Modern Mississippi Music.

The Allstars began touring in 1998, and the touring lineup at various times included Cedric Burnside, Garry Burnside, Chris Chew, Berry Oakley Jr. (Allman Betts Band), and Oteil Burbridge (Allman Brothers Band, Dead & Company). Currently, the band features Joey Williams (Music Director and guitarist of the Blind Boys of Alabama) and Ray “Ray Ray” Holloman (guitarist for Eminem, Ne-Yo), who elevate the band to new heights. Throughout their careers, they have shared the stage with countless legends, among them Phil Lesh, Mavis Staples, Robert Plant, Buddy Gut, John Hiatt, and even Snoop Dogg.

Still Shakin’ was released on June 6, 2025. For this 11-track album, the Allstars went back to the beginning—namely, their 2000 debut, Shake Hands with Shorty. Still Shakin’  is a daringly inventive expansion of that album, showing how much the Dickinson brothers have grown in the last 25 years. They did not seek to recreate the sound of Shake Hands with Shorty but to recapture the spirit of invention and excitement. 

Still Shakin’ includes a new generation of North Mississippi musicians like Robert Burnside, son of Junior Kimbrough, and Duwayne Burnside, son of R.L. Burnside. It also features Kashia Hunter on steel guitar and Grahame Lesh, son of Grateful Dead founding member Phil Lesh (to whom Still Shakin’ is dedicated), as well as the current Allstars band members. The album is offered in the memory of Lesh, a great mentor and huge influence on the Allstars. Though the Dickinson brothers did not grow up playing Dead songs, Phil and Grahame taught them not only to perform the songs but also to understand the greater philosophies and intentions behind the music. Grahame’s bass playing on Still Shakin’ is a reassurance that the Lesh tradition lives on.

The Allstars let their current experiments, explorations, obsessions, and influences naturally infuse the music on Still Shakin’, plugging acoustic instruments into homemade tube amps, which were then plugged directly into the recording board to create some amazingly fuzzy, funky guitar textures. This celebratory album is Modern Mississippi Music filtered through the group’s current musical instincts. It has a lighthearted spirit of gratitude and joy and isn’t weighed down by concept or agenda. 

Luther Dickinson says, “Still Shakin’ is a celebration of our life-changing first album, which we released 25 years ago, and a love letter of appreciation to everyone who supported us and kept us in the game all these years. Touring this album cycle into 2026 will mark thirty years since we started North Mississippi Allstars, and we couldn’t resist commemorating those anniversaries with a new record. In the spirit of our debut, we recorded Mississippi classics that, despite inspiring us to start the band in 1996, we have yet to record.”