Blues artist David “Honeyboy” Edwards performs in the Greer Garson Theatre for the Blue Shoe Project on Tuesday evening. (Stuart Palley)
Grammy award winning bluesman David “Honeyboy” Edwards came to SMU to share his music as well as stories about his life Tuesday night.
Edwards has performed all over the world, including Tokyo, Italy, France and Finland. He also appeared in the movie “The Dewey Cox Story” in 2007.
The show opened with a young bluesman, Marquise Knox, who was also from Mississippi. Knox’s sound was similar to blues legend Muddy Waters, who happens to be one of his greatest musical influences. Knox hopes to teach the younger generation about the blues to keep the music alive.
Edwards was introduced by Mike Dyson, who represents the blueshoe project, which is a program to teach students about the blues. The program promotes diversity and explains how the blues unified people in spite of the color of their skin when people were segregated.
The program began with Edwards who has already performed for 54,000 children in Texas this week alone. However, he was no newcomer to Texas; in the ’30s he used to perform in small clubs in Deep Ellum.
“Are you ready to hear the blues?” Dyson asked the audience. The audience began to roar and clap as Edwards walked on stage. Everyone quickly grew silent as he began to strum on his acoustic guitar.
As he began to sing with his soulful, raspy voice, the audience began to tap their feet and dance in their chairs. After each song, Dyson would ask Edwards questions about his life in the early ’30s, including the day guitar legend Robert Johnson died.
Honeyboy shared other grim stories, including the day Emmet Till was murdered in Money, Mississippi. The audience sighed and shook their heads with grief as they listened.
Edwards quickly shifted into a cheerful mood as he made jokes about his age.
“I’m older than black pepper,” he said with a smile.
He also purposely strummed guitar chords and chuckled as Dyson was trying to talk. The audience laughed at Edwards’ witty sense of humor.
“It was great to learn about culture from someone who isn’t a politician,” said SMU student Allison Reyes. Reyes enjoyed the mix between the music and listening to the stories Edwards shared.
The Honeyboy Edwards performance was one of many performances that will be going on this week to celebrate diversity and civil rights. Students and faculty are encouraged to be a part of the celebration.
