PICAYUNE – Music lovers are invited to welcome spring with bluegrass, country, blues, and gospel performances in the Crosby Arboretum’s scenic outdoor setting.

Mississippi State University’s Crosby Arboretum in Picayune will host a three-part spring 2011 music series. The lineup is as follows:

• Lisa Lambert and The Pine Ridge Boys (bluegrass, old-time country, blues and gospel) on March 12 at 1 p.m.
• Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry and Band (blues) on April 23 at 1 p.m.
• Kenny Brown and Band (blues) on May 21 at 1 p.m.

Also on March 12, Don Wicks, poet and writer with the Pearl River County Historical Society, will tell tales of local history. He will provide information on poet Pearl Rivers, who served as the New Orleans Times Picayune editor in 1876. Members can attend this talk for free, and the fee for nonmembers is $5.

The April 23 event will coincide with the arboretum’s spring plant sale.

Arboretum members’ price for the concerts is $5 per performance and $3 for members’ children. The price is $10 for nonmembers and $6 for nonmembers’ children. Tickets can be purchased at the door. For more information, call (601) 799-2311.

The arboretum is located off I-59 Exit 4 on Ridge Road (between Wal-Mart and I-59).

The series is funded in part by the Mississippi Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit http://www.crosbyarboretum.msstate.edu.

Writer: Karen Templeton