As a cultural hub of Mississippi, Oxford has a reputation for celebrating artists and their work. Musical talent, in particular, has a special place in Oxford’s heart.
The Brown Bag Lecture Series is a part of The University of Mississippi’s way of connecting students and faculty with artists and experts from our area. The University of Mississippi Center of Southern Studies features artists from around the area during Brown Bag Lectures each Wednesday in the fall and spring semesters.
Today’s Brown Bag Lecture features debut country music singer and songwriter, Chance Moore, and the story of the creation of his first album “A Country Boy Like Me.”
Moore is a Mississippi native from Okolona in his early twenties.
“This is my first record, and we’ve been working on it for two years,” Moore said. “It was a two-year journey of figuring out who I am and what kind of music I wanted to play.”
Bryan Ward, Moore’s producer based in Oxford, and Adam Gussow, resident blues artist and associate professor for English and Southern studies, will also be featured. The trio met through The Tone Room, Ward’s recording studio, which he describes as the “Little Studio that Could.”
“They are two of the most unlikely guys you’d ever meet in the same place,” Ward said of Gussow and Moore. However, the three men found a unique working relationship.
“Bryan records local talent in a side room studio on North Lamar,” Gussow said. “We’ve recorded three local blues albums together.”
Gussow and Ward met at a festival in Ward’s hometown of Water Valley where Gussow was performing. After that, the two worked together on several albums and a music video entitled “Crossroad Blues,” resulting in international notice for Gussow.
“Adam and I have a give and take relationship,” Ward said of his work with Gussow. “Chance fell right into that.”
Moore and Gussow have collaborated on songs such as “Escape from You,” included in “A Country Boy Like Me.”
“Chance is a bit like Scotty McCreery, or Merle Haggard at 24,” Gussow said of the featured artist. “In Oxford, we hear about local music, music recorded in Mississippi, but it’s rare that we get to see it happening.”
One of the songs Gussow and Moore collaborated on will be played during the Brown Bag Lecture. Moore will perform a cover of the Elvis Presley song, “Trying to Get to You,” and preview his music video. Ward will also talk about The Tone Room and his work with the local artists.
“My role in the Brown Bag Lecture is to support the testimony of Chance and Adam and how they met at the studio,” Ward said. “And, now that the record is done, actually getting out there and pushing it.”
Gussow said he feels his role in the Brown Bag Lecture is both academic and artistic.
“It’s my mission as a Southern studies professor and a musician to be a conduit between the life I live as a professor and the life I live as a musician after hours,” Gussow said.
He will also speak during the Brown Bag Lecture about his work with Moore and The Tone Room.
“My style is traditionalist country. My songs tell a story,” Moore said about his debut album and performance.
Moore’s album, “A Country Boy Like Me,” is now available on Amazon for download and will soon be available on iTunes. More information on the artist and his work can be found on the Chance Moore Music Facebook page.
Brown Bag Lectures take place at noon on Wednesdays in Barnard Observatory.
