Folks can head to the Vicksburg City Auditorium for a night of history and smooth Jazz Sunday, as the “Mississippi American Jazz Legends,” concert takes place from 5-8 p.m.

The concert will honor Mississippi Jazz legends like, Mulgrew Miller, Hank Jones and Milt Hinton, the latter two being from Vicksburg. Performing there will be Vicksburg’s own famous jazz and blues artist Andy Hardwick, performing with his ensemble, Andy Hardwick and Friends with Adib Sabir performing vocals for the group. The Kimble Funchess Music Group, featuring Funchess on the trumpet and Henry Rhodes on vocals, will also play.

“I’m really excited about this. The Vicksburg Blues society received a grant from Visit Mississippi to present this show, and it’s all about building tourism, building Vicksburg as a destination, and bringing visitors in that will enjoy our cultural heritage,” Shirley Waring of the Vicksburg Blues Society said.

The blues society wanted to make sure the event would be easily accessible for the public. 

“We feel like music is one of the most important things to bring people together culturally, socially, intellectually, emotionally… it’s a bonding experience,” Waring said. “We wanted to make sure that people who couldn’t afford a ticket, or that just needed to have that experience, could be part of this.”

In order to do this, they made sure that a number of complimentary tickets would be set aside.

“We arranged for our sponsors to underwrite 200 tickets that we’re giving out to students and underserved adults,” Waring said. “It was a feeling of generosity and caring on our part, that we want to reach out and make this available to the community, so it should be a wonderful experience, I wouldn’t want anybody to miss out on this.”

The concert also gives a chance to showcase the local talent Vicksburg has to offer. 

“We have these amazing artists from Vicksburg. Creating these world-class events to bring people to Vicksburg is very important to me,” Waring said. “It’s not ordinary entertainment, and it’s a very top-flight realm of artists that we choose to do these performances.”

A general admission ticket costs $15 in advance or $20 at the door, and reserved seats cost $35 in advance and $40 at the door. VIP reserved seats cost $50, and a VIP reserved table for 10 costs $500.

Tickets can be purchased at Lorelei Books, 1103 Washington St., at the Outlets at Vicksburg, 4000 S. Frontage Rd., or online at msjazzlegends.eventbrite.com

If students or under-served adults would like to request a complimentary ticket, they can email Waring at ShirleyWaring@VicksburgHeritage.com