Steve Miller is heading back to the stage with a deeper purpose\u2014and some very special company. As a longtime Jazz at Lincoln Center board member, Miller is teaming up with country icon Marty Stuart and his powerhouse band, The Fabulous Superlatives, for two Music From Appalachia concerts on December 7 and 8 at Lincoln Center\u2019s Rose Theater. The second show will also be livestreamed on the Jazz at Lincoln Center Facebook page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This event is more than a concert\u2014it\u2019s a musical exploration. After previous shows highlighting the legacies of Miles Davis, T-Bone Walker, and the blues triangle of the Mississippi Delta, Chicago, and Texas, Miller is now turning his focus to the unique blend of mountain music and blues that came out of Appalachia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe blues came over with the slaves and developed primarily in the Mississippi Delta,\u201d Miller explained to Billboard. \u201cBut Appalachian blues is fascinating\u2014it grew out of coal mining communities where African and European musical traditions collided. You had Scots-Irish folk music mixing with Delta blues, banjos and fiddles blending with blues guitars. It\u2019s a sound shaped by shared labor, hardship, and storytelling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The setlist will feature timeless songs like \u201cIn the Pines,\u201d \u201cOld Hat,\u201d \u201cNo Hard Times,\u201d \u201cJohn Henry,\u201d \u201cThe Great Speckled Bird,\u201d and \u201cThe Unseen Hand.\u201d Mississippi\u2019s Pastor Evelyn Hubbard will join on organ, and both the performances and musical arrangements will be archived as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center\u2019s expanding blues education efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Miller\u2019s collaboration with Stuart goes beyond the stage\u2014they\u2019ve shared performances at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in Nashville, building chemistry through mutual respect. \u201cThey\u2019re one of the best live bands on the planet,\u201d Miller says. \u201cIt\u2019s a thrill to work with them and give them a new platform outside the Americana world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the collaboration won\u2019t stop there. The Steve Miller Band will tour next summer with Marty Stuart and The Fabulous Superlatives, promising more genre-crossing moments and spontaneous jam sessions. \u201cThey\u2019re already asking to do \u2018Jet Airliner\u2019 and \u2018Going to the Country,\u2019\u201d Miller laughs. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a blast\u2014and I\u2019ll be getting mandolin lessons along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to performing, Miller has been combing through his archives as he approaches his 50th recording anniversary. Despite some reluctance, he\u2019s discovered \u201cthree or four CDs\u2019 worth\u201d of unreleased material\u2014studio gems and live cuts he now plans to release next year. \u201cI\u2019m a perfectionist, so some of it drives me crazy,\u201d he admits, \u201cbut others find it really interesting. So I\u2019m letting go and putting it out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the tour and archival releases, Miller plans to take a well-earned break to reflect, write, and reset. \u201cI\u2019ve been touring nonstop for 16 years,\u201d he says. \u201cNow I want to think about what\u2019s next\u2014how I want to go out, what kind of music I want to leave behind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n