If you go
› What: Levitt Amp Concert› Where: Bessie Smith Cultural Center, 200 E. M.L. King Blvd.› When: 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 4› Admission: Free› For more information: 423-402-0452
Self-described as “an organic public intellectual bluesologist,” Clark “Deaconbluz” White and his Holysmoke Band’s lively take on traditional blues music will have the audience dancing at the Levitt Amp concert Thursday, Oct. 4, at Bessie Smith Cultural Center.
The band delights audiences with its eclectic fusion of blues, zydeco and old-school R&B.
Growing up, White was encouraged by his family to share his love of music, making his first televised musical performance at age 5 when he sang “The Yellow Rose of Texas” clad in a cowboy outfit at WDEF’s studios.
Throughout his childhood, his parents stressed the importance of higher learning, which inspired him to attend Morehouse College in Atlanta and later to earn his Ph.D from Michigan State University, as well as pursuing post-doctoral work at Harvard University.
All the while, though, he says he “always knew that music, in some form or fashion, would play a vital role in life.”
Deaconbluz and the Holysmoke Band have performed at Riverbend Festival, National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, Philadelphia African-American Museum and DeKalb County Blues and Jazz Festival in Decatur, Georgia.
White is currently the director of programming and a producer of the annual Blues in the Knob festival. He has served as a visiting scholar at the WEB DuBois Center for African-American Studies at Harvard University and the Delta Cultural and Research Center at Mississippi Valley State University.
As a nationally known speaker, consultant and blues music educator, White has taught at Michigan State University, Temple University, Northeastern University, Brown University and Morehouse College.