Music Maker is partnering with the University of Southern Mississippi to bring the Music Maker Stage to the Southern Mississippi Roots Festival this October! The Music Maker Stage will showcase a broad view of Southern music through a great lineup of performers.

The Music Maker Stage will be outdoors in Town Square Park in downtown Hattiesburg, MS on Saturday, October 13th from Noon-4pm. Performers will include regional artists Ben Payton, L.C. Ulmer, and the Drew Young Band in addition to Ironing Board Sam.

Friday night, the festival will present a “Roots Reunion” at the Saenger Theater in Hattiesburg from 7 – 9pm. Lineup will include Magnolia Junction, Wes Lee, Cross Ties, Scott Chism and the Better Half and Ben Payton.

Tickets for this festival are FREE so mark your calendars and be sure you check out the Music Maker Stage October 13th!

Info about the artists:

• Ben Payton, of Jackson, Mississippi is an acoustic blues artist with roots in the Delta. His great passion for blues history and teaching others about acoustic country blues makes him a perfect addition to the Music Maker Stage. He was recently honored to represent his home state of Mississippi in Washington DC for the American Folklife Center’s Homegrown Concert Series presented by the Library of Congress. More at https://benpayton.com/

• At 79 years young, L.C. Ulmer brings to the Music Maker Stage his boogie music from South Mississippi. He drove a truck for the last 40 years out of Chicago and moved back to his home state of Mississippi 2004. L.C. has driven railroad spikes, picked cotton, had a one man band in Joliet, Illinois, worked as a janitor, a yardman, and a shoeshiner to name a few occupations. More at https://hillcountryrecords.com/artistlc.html

• Drew Young of the Drew Young Band is back in New Orleans by way of New York City, and brings that Cresent City Sound to the Music Maker Stage. Drew is originally from Atlanta, Ga and got his start in the trenches of nearby Athens, as the founder and frontman of the jangly guitar-driven Ruben Kincaid. Since then, he’s been traversing the country in a variety of beat up vehicles, stopping along the way to work with some of the most talented musicians and offbeat characters in “the biz.” Musical inspirations include The Band, Tom Petty and Neil Young. More at https://www.drewyoung.com/

• Ironing Board Sam, a singer, songwriter and piano player, was a house musician on the first televised African-American music revue called “Night Train” and then became one of the best-loved entertainers on the Crescent City’s music scene, before relocating to N.C. and working with Music Maker. Since 2010 Ironing Board Sam has released his first album on the Music Maker label, Going Up, and performed at venues all over the country such as the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. His energetic performance will keep the Music Maker Stage rockin’! More at https://musicmakernew.staging.wpengine.com/artists_profile/ironing-board-sam