Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band | Carrying Mississippi’s Fife-and-Drum Tradition Forward
Hall of Records · Chamber of Knowledge
Shardé Thomas-Mallory and the Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band carry a living North Mississippi tradition inherited through Otha Turner into new performances, recordings and generations.
Record Overview
The Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band, led by Shardé Thomas-Mallory and Chris Mallory, carries forward a Black North Mississippi musical tradition closely associated with Thomas-Mallory’s grandfather, Otha Turner.
Documented Record
Fife-and-drum music in Mississippi predates guitar-centered blues and historically accompanied Black dances, picnics and community gatherings. Thomas-Mallory learned both performance and instrument-making within the family tradition.
Cultural Significance
This is a record of cultural transmission in real time: a tradition survives because descendants continue to play it, teach it, adapt it and gather people around it.
Record Timeline
- Otha Turner sustains North Mississippi fife-and-drum through performances and community picnics.
- Thomas-Mallory learns the tradition within her family.
- 2025: Rising Stars contribute fife and drum to the film Sinners.
- 2026: The G.O.A.T. Picnic continues the Turner family gathering tradition in Coldwater, Mississippi.
Living Archive
- How is repertoire passed from one generation to the next?
- What recordings best preserve the sound of contemporary Rising Stars performances?
- How does the G.O.A.T. Picnic function as both musical event and community archive?
Sources & Documentation
- Smithsonian Folklife Festival ; G.O.A.T. Picnic and Shardé Thomas-Mallory
- Mississippi Free Press ; Festival of Festivals and G.O.A.T. Picnic
Image note: Subject image added to this rebuilt Hall record.
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