Contact: Harriet Laird

STARKVILLE, Miss.—An experience like no other is coming to Mississippi State this October as Grammy winner John Paul White brings his fusion of Southern rock, Americana and country music to the Hump alongside the Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra.

The Oct. 18 event is a reimagination of a single voice and guitar joined by orchestral music that is winning White even more indie, folk, country and adult alternative superfans. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the performance at 7:30 p.m.

Daniel Stevens, head of the MSU Department of Music, is the special night’s cover conductor and friend of White’s.

“We all know how enjoyable one of John Paul’s concerts can be, and with the complements of the orchestra his music is magnified,” Stevens said. “I hope people of all ages will travel from the farthest corners for this rare crossover performance.”

Winner of multiple Grammys as a former member of The Civil Wars, the singer/songwriter co-wrote the 2009 EP “Poison and Wine,” with the title track exposing the duo to a national audience when featured in the sixth season of the long-running TV show “Grey’s Anatomy.” It also was a track in the 2011 rom-com movie “Something Borrowed” starring Kate Hudson.

A longtime concert opener for Adele, White moved further into the spotlight with the lyrics he co-wrote with Taylor Swift for her song “Safe and Sound” from "The Hunger Games" soundtrack. It was a 2011 Grammy winner for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

His most recent solo music venture is the 2019 release “The Hurting Kind,” a slight departure from his rock and Americana beginnings, which resonates with a 1960s Nashville sound, according to a news release. He teams up with infamous “Whispering” Bill Anderson to co-write the track “I Wish I Could Write You a Song.” Other critically acclaimed White albums include 2016’s “Beulah” and 2008’s “The Long Goodbye.”

The Tennessee native lives in Florence, Alabama, near Muscle Shoals, known as “The Hit Recording Capital of the World” where music greats such as Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Little Richard and others boosted their careers.

Student tickets are free and can be reserved online or in person in MSU’s Center for Student Activities, Colvard Student Union, third floor. Individual tickets can be purchased online at msstate.universitytickets.com. For more information, contact the Center for Student Activities at 662-325-2930.

The event is sponsored by MSU’s Lyceum Series and Music Maker Productions, and the Starkville-MSU Symphony Orchestra.

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