COURTESY: JIMBOMATHUS.COM
Practically pulled from a Faulkner novel, Jimbo Mathus is a folky, southern dream. With a lifetime of musical experience, several different musical groups and a plethora of chart toppers under his belt, Mathus carries himself with the poise and charm of a true southern gentleman. With a Deep South upbringing, Mathus said he hopes to tackle all the nitty-gritty aspects of the South in an honest and humble way.
As an Oxford native, Mathus was afforded a substantial foundation in music and the arts.
“I grew up in a family of musicians,” Mathus said. “I had heavy, heavy roots in the blues and music in general. I grew up in this. My nanny was Rosetta Patton, the daughter of Charlie Patton, who was recording in the 1930s. He’s one of the bedrock musicians of all American music.”
With such a lofty musical legacy, Mathus was destined to become a southern blues god. The South served as a platform for the rest of his extensive musical career, which includes a hand in the southern jazz group Squirrel Nut Zippers, where the cultural aspects of the Deep South clearly shine through.
“I just grew up in it,” Mathus said. “I’m steeped in it, and I’ve also had a particular mind of being really avant-garde and progressive. Being educated and being steadfast and speaking Deep South culture, music and literature.”
Now, even in his solo career, Mathus wears his southern heritage as a sort of badge of honor, letting it seep through nearly every aspect of his music.
“I would say it’s a very progressive southern style,” Mathus said. “It’s infused with a lot of different elements, ranging from visual arts to literature to music. It’s a hybrid style. If anyone wants to really look at what I’m doing, they can really dig deep in there and see different references to poets, to writers, to music, to funky shit. And it’s a really heavy thing.”
Mathus fondly refers to his musical style as “catfish” music, coined from the delicious southern staple.
“I call it that because the catfish is the ultimate southern creature,” Mathus said. “That’s the stereotype. And I work with a lot of stereotypes, and I break a lot of stereotypes.”
Mathus’s work delves far deeper than the deepest southern homes, touching on subjects that remain close to the artist’s heart.
“It’s not an elitist type thing,” Mathus said. “My music is about bringing people together. It’s about life. It’s about kids. It’s about family. It’s about people coming together. That’s the social music of the South. That’s what makes us great.”
Whether he’s gracing a humble southern stage or a grand arena, Mathus wishes more than anything to generate feeling and emotion from the audience.
“I want to bring something to the table that’s not just hollow entertainment,” Mathus said. “There’s gonna be some real shit in there. I wanna inject something in there.
Proud Larry’s will have the great honor of welcoming Jimbo Mathus back home at 9 p.m. tonight. Doors will open at 8 p.m., and tickets can be bought online or at the door for $10.
“I know that everywhere I go, whether that be L.A. or Seattle or Chicago or any other town, I’m representing Mississippi,” Mathus said. “With my songs, with my words, with my actions, with my guitar playing, I really represent us, and I try to show us in the best light. We’ve got tons of things and talent to be proud of in this state.”
