Today, North Mississippi Allstars premiere their latest full-length blues-soaked entry with Relix. Still Shakin’ [listen here] arrives 29 years into the band’s prolific tenure as a sonic capstone of where they’ve been and how far they have come. Reflecting on their achievements and finding the footing for their next chapter, the band revisited their 2000 debut, Shake Hands with Shorty. By rooting their latest project to their first output, the Dickinson Brothers show, rather than tell, their audience what determination and resilience sound like: a modern definition of the Mississippi music with deep historical reference steeped in style and inventiveness.
“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. 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. We also wanted to feature our fantastic bandmates Joey Williams and Rayfield ‘Ray Ray’ Hollman, who inspire us to no end. Their contributions elevate NMA to new heights,” offers Luther.
The new collection bottles the brothers’ distinct brand of sound, bonding Mississippi Hill Country and Sacred Steel with psychedelic-fueled jams that allow for examination and experimentation, that generates advantageous sonic elixir. Like the group’s name entails, the Allstar method allows for a looser lineup, and an open invitation for collaboration, including the next generation of torchbearers featured on the record: Robert Kimbrough, son of Junior Kimbrough, and Duwayne Burnside, son of R.L. Burnside. It also features Kashia Hunter on steel guitar, Grahame Lesh, son of the Grateful Dead founding bassist Phil Lesh, to whom the set is dedicated.
Spanning originals and classic covers, Luther shared his thoughts on the Still Shakin’ tracklist, a combination of classic covers culled from Robert Johnson (“Preaching Blues”), Junior Kimbrough (“Stay All Night,” “My Mind is Ramblin’”), R.L. Burnside (“Poor Boy”), and beyond. Of “Stay All Night,” he says, “[a] Kimbrough classic that also waited for the right time. I knew I wanted to go on an instrumental journey at the end, but didn’t know where it would lead until we started recording. Writing instrumental music in the monomyth in the studio has proven very inspirational for this journey. We flipped Junior’s melody from minor to major; a pleasant surprise as the recording evolved. We recorded Junior’s son, Robert Kimbrough, in Holly Springs at Burnside’s Juke Joint for his authentic ‘cotton Patch blues’ flavor.”
Baked into the set is a thick layer of originality evoked on the title track, which Luther describes as, “grew from a studio improv jam and I knew I wanted to write a song for the title track, expressing our gratitude to anyone that has supported us over these 25 years. Stringing hill country inside jokes together, the lyrics kept coming to me and I laid them down on the road using my kid’s karaoke mic.”
Luther and Cody Dickinson began the North Mississippi Allstars in 1996 to bring musicians together using a loose concept, not unlike the jam scene’s “And Friends” approach, and their father’s career as inspiration. The brothers embarked on their first national tour while backing scene elder R.L. Burnside. Luther commented, “That experience blew my mind, and Cody and I have been on the road ever since.”
The new LP will be available across digital platforms tomorrow and in compact disc and standard black vinyl options. A limited red color LP edition, autographed by the band, and a limited autographed CD edition will be available via Independent Retailers. A limited-to-600 yellow color LP signed by the band will be available via Heady Wax Fiends.
Honoring their history, North Mississippi Allstars will take to the road and celebrate 30 years in 2026, following the release of Still Shakin’—tour dates.
Pre-orders are available for an autographed CD edition and an exclusive and very limited silver 25th Anniversary Pressing signed by the band.
Stream the album here and listen to the first track below:
Still Shakin’ Track Listing:
1. Preachin’ Blues
2. Stay All Night (feat. Robert Kimbrough & Joey Williams)
3. My Mind is Ramblin’
4. Pray for Peace (feat. Joey Williams)
5. K.C. Jones (Part II) (feat. Jojo Hermann & Grahame Lesh)
6. Still Shakin’
7. Poor Boy (feat. Duwayne Burnside)
8. Don’t Let the Devil Ride (feat. Joey Williams)
9. Write Me a Few Lines (CD & Digital Only Bonus Track)
10. John Henry
11. Monomyth (Folk Hero’s Last Ride)
Content shared from relix.com.