Acclaimed national hit blends Delta blues with symphonic depth, power
Jackson, Mississippi — Mississippi Symphony Orchestra is thrilled to host Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience in Jackson on Friday, March 27, for its first-ever show in its home state. Tickets go on sale Friday (1/30) for the 7:30 p.m. show at Thalia Mara Hall.
MSO will perform alongside blues artists from Clarksdale’s Ground Zero Blues Club, which Freeman co-founded, in a show that doubles down on Mississippi’s cultural legacy as the Birthplace of America’s Music. Mississippi’s premier orchestra and top Mississippi Delta blues performers will come together for a unique fusion of symphonic grandeur and raw, emotional grit. Jackson joins the landmark concert series’ inaugural 20-city tour across the country and into Canada.
Academy Award winner and celebrated screen icon Freeman narrates the immersive experience, which weaves song and story in a cinematic journey through the origin and evolution of blues music.
The music born in the Delta laid the groundwork for genres that followed, shaping jazz, rock’n’roll, R&B, soul and hip hop. The event’s song list sweeps along that history, in tunes made famous by Robert Johnson, B.B. King, The Staples Singers and more, all the way up to current originals, to highlight the music’s ancestral influence and its enduring relevance.
The tour, developed in collaboration with Park Avenue Artists, has become a national hit gatheringraves and standing ovations for its cinematic experience and electrifying, soul-stirring effect. The concert series benefits the Ground Zero Arts Foundation and is presented in partnership with Visit Mississippi, Visit Clarksdale, Memphis Tourism, and Crossroads Economic Partnership.
“The show invites people from all over to come for the experience,” MSO President and Executive Director Janet Reihle said. Its timing, the night before Jackson’s epic Hal’s St. Paddy’s Parade, kicks off a sensational weekend of home-grown culture and fun in the capital city.
“This performance will be important for Jackson and the state of Mississippi. It will celebrate us as the birthplace of America’s music as it should be celebrated – with Mississippi’s own orchestra!” beamed Reihle from the plaza at the reopening of Thalia Mara Hall in downtown Jackson.
“This hall was built for moments just like this.”
Tickets for “Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience” start at $45 and are available only at ticketmaster.com, msorchestra.com or in person at Ardenland in Duling Hall.
“Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience” is hosted by MSO through the leadership of its board and presented in collaboration with Visit Mississippi, Visit Clarksdale, Memphis Tourism, and Crossroads Economic Partnership. MSO is supported in part by the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.
Who: Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
What: Morgan Freeman’s Symphonic Blues Experience, a collaboration with Park Avenue Artists
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 27, 2026
Where: Thalia Mara Hall, 255 E. Pascagoula Street, Jackson, MS
Website: msorchestra.com
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