North Mississippi Allstars

You can call them a blues trio, a Southern-rock group or a jam band, but there's no denying that whatever the North Mississippi Allstars do, it's working out pretty well. After ten years as a band and the release of a half-dozen CDs, the group has a modestly successful recording career — but thanks to a relentless gigging schedule, its true strong suit is as a live act. By playing more than 200 live dates a year, guitarist and vocalist Luther Dickinson, his younger brother Cody on drums, and bassist Chris Chew have developed their own take on the power-trio format — one that brings together country-blues, hard rock and the patchouli-scented aroma of post-Grateful Dead psychedelia in an improvisatory swirl.