Superstar country band named headliner for bicentennial celebration

A band with strong ties to South Mississippi will be headlining a party thrown by Gov. Phil Bryant to celebrate the state’s 200th anniversary.

Bryant on Tuesday named The Band Perry as the headline act for the 2017 Governor’s Bicentennial Celebration South Concert on April 1 at Centennial Plaza.

The Perry siblings — Kimberly, Reid and Neil — were born in Madison, but moved to the Mobile area, where they began their music careers.

The band’s debut album, “The Band Perry,” released in 2010, included the hits “If I Die Young” and “Postcards From Paris.” The album “Pioneer” followed in 2013.

The band will be releasing its third album, “My Bad Imagination,” sometime in 2017. It will be the band’s first straight-forward pop album.

The Perrys have family members on the Coast.

“We have tons of family in the area — our grandparents live in Gulfport,” Neil Perry said in a previous interview with the Sun Herald. “It’s the area where music got started for us.”

The Band Perry last played a show in South Mississippi in June 2016 at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi.

Bryant said a Gulfport native and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame also will perform at the bicentennial show.

Jaimoe, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, will bring Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band to perform during the April 1 celebration. On Thursday, Jaimoe will be in Jackson, where he will receive the Governor’s Arts Award from Bryant.

Also scheduled to perform at the celebration are Tupelo native Paul Thorn and “We Are Mississippi,” an original production featuring Vasti Jackson.

The April 1 concert will be free, but a ticket will be required for admission. More information can be found at http://ms200south.org/

This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 2:11 PM with the headline "Superstar country band named headliner for bicentennial celebration."