The Natchez Festival of Music will open its 27th season Saturday night with Best of the Mississippi Blues II Starring Vasti Jackson, with Malcolm White as emcee and will announce its 2017 Champion of Culture Award recipients following intermission. This year’s season, By Way of the River — A Salute to the Mississippi Bicentennial, will include events that pay tribute to the state’s rich music heritage and will be Tuesday through Saturday throughout the month of May and will include free children’s events every Saturday morning.

Best of the Mississippi Blues II Starring Vasti Jackson will pay tribute to Blues icons of Mississippi such as B.B. King, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Dixon, Elmore James and many other bluesmen. Vasti Jackson is a Mississippi Cultural Ambassador, living blues legend, 2012 Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame inductee, 2015 Albert King Lifetime Guitar Award recipient and 2016 Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album for “The Soul of Jimmy Rodgers.”

Malcolm White, executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC), will serve as emcee for The Best of the Mississippi Blues II Saturday evening. White is originally from Stone County and received a bachelor’s degree in social studies from the University of Southern Mississippi and has previously served as director of the Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Division, past chairman of the Mississippi Blues Commission, associated with South Arts, Mississippi Blues and Country Music Trails, Downtown Jackson Partners. In 2015, White published a book of images he created from visits covering the state over several years titled “Little Stories: A Collection of Mississippi Photos.”

Best of the Mississippi Blues II Starring Vasti Jackson will be at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Natchez Performing Arts Center at Margaret Martin. Enjoy cash bar refreshments beginning at 6 p.m. in The Grape Escape Club Room. Admission is $25 ($10 for student K-12, adult with K-12 student, and college students and active military personnel with current ID).

The Natchez Festival of Music children’s events will also kick-off Saturday morning with “Little Red Riding Hood,” a musical stage production at 10 a.m. at Jefferson Street Methodist Church. Other children’s events will include A Musical Instrument Petting Zoo — an interactive, hands-on musical experience for kids May 13, Fairy Tales in Music — songs from the greatest fairy tale musical movies — May 20 and Painting with Emotion — draw and paint your own pictures inspired by music — May 27. All children’s events will be at 10 a.m. Jefferson Street Methodist Church and are free and open to the public.

Other upcoming events include Rossini, Puccini and Martinis at Waverly Plantation Tuesday, May 9, Rockin’ On the River featuring Brint Anderson at Bowie’s on Wednesday, May 10, Revolution, Romanticism and Rachmaninoff with Jonathan Levin, piano Thursday, May 11, That Sensational Sondheim Friday, May 12 at The Towers, From Mississippi to Motown Saturday, May 13, Camelot Saturday May 20, The King of Rock and Roll, an Evening of Elvis Presley starring Victor Trevino Friday, May 26, The Barber of Seville Saturday May 27 and so much more! For more information on our entire season, please visit natchezfestivalofmusic.com.

For tickets to all events, please visit natchezfestivalofmusic.com or Natchez Pilgrimage Tours, Destination Natchez or Tourology, order via telephone at 888-718-4253, or purchase at the door for all events. Come for the music, stay for the experience.

Katie McCabe is the marketing and public relations chairwoman of the Natchez Festival of Music.