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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe evening\u2019s featured performers will include Delta artists Steve Azar<\/strong>, the B.B. King Museum All Stars<\/strong>, the Buford Sisters<\/strong>, Variety<\/strong>, and Tricia Walker<\/strong>. The evening\u2019s headliner will be Dove Award-winning artist Buddy Greene<\/strong>, who wrote the Christmas classic \u201cMary, Did You Know?\u201d Greene will be accompanied by multi-instrumentalist Jeff Taylor<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proceeds from \u201cHave Yourself A Delta Little Christmas\u201d will benefit the music education programs of GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, which seek to use music as a gateway to learning by inspiring and cultivating creativity, critical thinking and self-expression.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Buddy Greene <\/strong>is one of Nashville\u2019s most accomplished and respected musicians. Greene has been performing for audiences since the tender age of 10, with his first big break coming when he landed a position in country superstar Jerry Reed<\/strong>\u2019s band. Over the last 30-plus years, Greene has performed across America, made numerous trips abroad, and released 20 recording projects. His album, Sojourner\u2019s Song<\/strong><\/em>, won the Gospel Music Association\u2019s Dove Award for Best Country Album, and he has received nine other Dove Award nominations. Through his long association with Bill<\/strong> and Gloria Gaither<\/strong>, Greene has become a favorite gospel performer, appearing often on the Gaithers\u2019 popular Homecoming video series where Greene\u2019s performance of the \u201cWilliam Tell Overture\u201d at Carnegie Hall has been viewed by millions on YouTube.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Professional accordionist and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Taylor <\/strong>grew up in Batavia, New York, and began playing accordion and keyboards in his dad\u2019s band when he was 10. He studied classical piano at the Eastman School of Music and was leader of a small jazz\/rock group when he was in the Air Force in Ohio. He has recorded with Elvis Costello<\/strong>, Paul Simon<\/strong>, Harry Connick Jr.<\/strong>, Keith<\/strong> and Kristyn Getty<\/strong>, Amy Grant<\/strong>, George Strait<\/strong>, the Chieftains<\/strong>, Martina McBride<\/strong>, Buddy Greene<\/strong>, Vince Gill<\/strong>, and Ricky Skaggs<\/strong>. He was a featured artist on the Ricky Skagg\u2019s & Kentucky Thunder Instrumentals <\/em>album that won a GRAMMY in 2007 for Best Bluegrass Album. Besides excelling on accordion and piano, he also shines on the concertina, penny whistle, mandolin, and bouzouki.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A modern-day renaissance man, hit songwriter, recording artist, music producer, talk show host, golfer, and philanthropist, Steve Azar<\/strong> likes to call his own breed of music \u201cDelta Soul,\u201d a mixture of country, rock, and blues. His debut album Waitin\u2019 On Joe <\/strong><\/em>was released in 2001, with the title track going to No. 1 on CMT. From the same album, the hit single \u201cI Don\u2019t Have To Be Me, \u2018Til Monday,\u201d received three Million-Air awards from BMI and is one of the top five most-played songs of the past decade on country radio. As a songwriter, Azar has had cuts by Reba McEntire<\/strong>, among many others, and has written successfully for several movies. Azar currently serves as the official Music & Culture Ambassador of Mississippi and was the recipient of the 2018 Governor’s Choice Award, given annually by the Mississippi Arts Commission. Azar also enjoys being the artist in residence at the Delta Music Institute Entertainment Industry Studies program at Delta State University.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n A Mississippi singer\/songwriter, Tricia Walker<\/strong> has become one of the clearest voices of her own time and place. She earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in music education from Delta State University and a graduate degree from Mississippi College before moving to Nashville where she signed publishing contracts with gospel music publisher Word, Inc. and Polygram Music. At Polygram, she wrote for legendary producer Jerry Kennedy<\/strong>. Her songs have been recorded on GRAMMY-nominated discs by Kathy Troccoli, Debby Boone, the Imperials, Patty Loveless, Faith Hill<\/strong>, and Alison Krauss<\/strong>, whose performance of Walker\u2019s \u201cLooking in the Eyes of Love\u201d earned a GRAMMY Award. Walker\u2019s instrumental skills earned her a spot as a backing musician and vocalist for Connie Smith, Shania Twain<\/strong>, and Paul Overstreet<\/strong>. Along with Pam Tillis, Karen Staley<\/strong>, and Ashley Cleveland<\/strong>, Walker was a founding member of \u201cWomen in the Round,\u201d one of the most celebrated foursomes at Nashville\u2019s prestigious Bluebird Caf\u00e9. Walker returned to her native Mississippi in 2006 to become director of the Delta Music Institute, an entertainment industry studies program at Delta State University, and recently retired from that position. She was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019 by the Mississippi Writer\u2019s Guild.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hailing from Glendora<\/strong>, Mississippi, The Buford Sisters<\/strong> have been singing together since before they can remember. Their annual Christmas concert features three generations of Buford women\u2014mother Gwin<\/strong>, four daughters, and two granddaughters. The four musically talented sisters, Lee Threadgill<\/strong>, Pryor Lampton<\/strong>, Sarah Goodwyn<\/strong>, and Donna Spell<\/strong> will share the spotlight for the GRAMMY Museum Mississippi\u2019s \u201cHave Yourself A Delta Little Christmas\u201d show.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The popular brother\/sister duo of Eric<\/strong> and Shara Edwards<\/strong>, Variety<\/strong> has been performing together for more than 25 years, traveling across the country entertaining audiences with multiple styles of music, from country to R&B. They have performed for private parties, family reunions, festivals, and churches. Even though the sister and brother perform a \u201cvariety” of music, gospel music has always been the forefront for the duo. Together, they have recorded four gospel albums, and Eric recently released a solo R&B album entitled, Those Vinyl Days<\/strong><\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Under the direction of Jimmie Lee, Jr.<\/strong>, The B.B. King Museum All Stars <\/strong>perform to inspire Mississippi Delta youth and enhance their academic, cognitive, performance, and leadership skills by utilizing music to express themselves as well as communicate with others. Their mission is to empower, unite, and heal through music, art, and education while sharing with the world the rich cultural heritage of the Mississippi Delta.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Developed by the Cleveland Music Foundation<\/strong>\u2014a nonprofit organization founded in 2011\u2014the 28,000-square-foot GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is housed near the campus of Delta State University<\/strong>, home of the Delta Music Institute’s Entertainment Industry Studies program, which features the most unique audio recording facilities in the South. Affiliated with the Recording AcademyTM, GRAMMY Museum Mississippi is dedicated to exploring the past, present, and future of music, and the cultural context from which it emerges, while casting a focused spotlight on the deep musical roots of Mississippi. The Museum features a dynamic combination of public events, educational programming, engaging multimedia presentations, and interactive permanent and traveling exhibits, including a Mississippi-centric area that introduces visitors to the impact of Mississippi’s songwriters, producers, and musicians on the traditional and modern music landscape.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n To stay up-to-date on GRAMMY Museum Mississippi programming, subscribe to the Museum’s newsletter at grammymuseumms.org\/newsletter<\/strong>.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Special evening of festive and inspirational holiday music to held on Monday, December 2 GRAMMY Museum\u00ae Mississippi will<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":81636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3220],"tags":[15629,15633,8580,15628,15632,9809,10580,15630,15631,12221],"class_list":["post-81629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-delta-2","tag-b-b-king-museum-allstars","tag-buddy-greene","tag-grammy-museum-mississippi","tag-have-yourself-a-delta-little-christmas","tag-jeff-taylor","tag-sanders-soundstage","tag-steve-azar","tag-the-buford-sisters","tag-tricia-walker","tag-variety"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/2019-11-20-Delta-Little-Christmas.jpg?fit=620%2C349&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.buddygreene.com\/images\/biophoto.jpg?w=640\")
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