As the sons of legendary music producer Jim Dickinson, Luther and Cody Dickinson were almost preordained to be musicians. Growing up exposed to the sounds of Mississippi Fred McDowell [ tickets ] and R.L. Burnside [ tickets ], the brothers--along with Chris Chew--were inspired to form a band in 1996. Named for the region they call home, North Mississippi Allstars [ tickets ] were born.

Generating a roots-rock/blues sound, the group released its debut album, "Shake Hands with Shorty," in 2000, followed by "51 Phantom" the following year. That led to a tour with John Medeski [ tickets ] and Robert Randolph [ tickets ], and the group has been steadily producing albums and touring tirelessly ever since.

In fact, the band is on the road right now, on tour in support of their latest release, "Do It Like We Used To." Fans can catch them in Fayetteville, AR, next Wednesday (1/14) as well as on several more dates through mid February.

The North Mississippi Allstars headlined The Independent in San
Francisco three years ago, and here are some of the photos I took of the guys in action.