Portsmouth’s Ryan Lee Crosby returns to the Four Corners Arts Center on Saturday, April 26th, for an afternoon guitar workshop and concert that spotlights the Bentonia and North Mississippi country blues traditions.
Crosby’s offering in Tiverton comes on the heels of performances and workshops in Mississippi, at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale and at the Blue Front Cafe in Bentonia. Crosby has been a long time practitioner of these regional styles, which he has studied firsthand on stage and in recording sessions with Grammy nominated bluesmen Jimmy “Duck” Holmes and the late RL Boyce.
Crosby’s upcoming 2025 album, At the Blue Front, was self-produced on a reel to reel tape machine with Holmes in Bentonia, in the field recording tradition of ethnomusicologists Alan Lomax and Dr. David Evans. For the concert, as well as the album, Crosby is joined by longtime collaborator Grant Smith on percussion, whose list of international performing credits includes dates with Itzhak Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, the Violent Femmes and the Atlanta Symphony.
Crosby, who relocated to Portsmouth after living and working in Boston from 1998-2022, is a full time musician, teacher and producer. During his time in the city, he played the club scene regularly while also touring the US and Europe.
Over the last decade, he has performed in eight countries, on festival stages, in listening rooms and juke joints.Crosby’s unique interpretation of the Bentonia Blues includes the music’s roots in West Africa, as suggested by Grant Smith’s calabash, which drives Ryan Lee’s 12 string guitar, lap style dobro and dynamic vocals.
Crosby says, “I am truly glad to offer this afternoon and evening of education and culture. It is my honor to share what I’ve learned about the music of Bentonia and North Mississippi, which was brought to the Newport Folk Festival in the 1960s by such artists as Skip James, Fred McDowell, John Lee Hooker and Robert Wilkins.
Anyone who is interested in learning more about the music is encouraged to attend the all levels guitar workshop from 2-4pm and then the evening concert at 7pm, both at the Tiverton Meeting House.
It is my hope that people who already love the music will learn something new and that those who are discovering it for the first time will find it as enthralling and beautiful as I have.” Ryan Lee Crosby was recently nominated for “Favorite Blues Act” in the 2025 Motif Music Awards.
He has also been nominated for four Boston Music Awards and was named “Best Singer/Songwriter” in the 2006 Boston Phoenix/ WFNX Radio Music Poll. He composed and performed the film score for the award-winning documentary Racing the Rez (PBS).
Crosby has performed on stages all across Europe and the U.S., including at Mississippi’s renowned Juke Joint, Bentonia Blues and Deep Blues Festivals, as well as the Meadowlark Festival in New York. His latest album, Winter Hill Blues, was produced by Bruce Watson (RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Fat Possum Records). Ryan Lee Crosby currently lives in Portsmouth, where he teaches and produces music from his home studio.
Ryan Lee Crosby Official Website: www.ryanleecrosby.com Winter Hill Blues album link: https://ryanleecrosby.bandcamp.com/album/ winter-hill-blues Ryan Lee Crosby Social
What: Ryan Lee Crosby Blues Guitar Workshop and Concert at the Meeting House
When: Saturday, April 26th at 7:00 PM
Who: All Ages
Admission: Tickets: $20 concert, / $25 workshop
Ticket link: fourcornersarts.org/concerts-events
Venue: The Meeting House, 3850 Main Rd. Tiverton, RI 02878
Ryan Lee Crosby offers Blue’s Guitar Workshop and Evening Concert at The Meeting House in Tiverton’s Four Corners