Matheson Museum visitors will be exploring music history with a Yale musicologist tonight.
James Hepokoski, the chair of the Yale University Music Department, will be hosting “Tampa Red and Hokum Blues: Early Roots of Rock and Roll” from 6 to 8 p.m. Admission for this event is free and is sponsored by the Yale Club of Gainesville.
This event is the first time in two years that there has been a presentation by an Ivy League professor, said Stephanie Pastore, the marketing and public relations museum technician for the Matheson History Museum.
“James Hepokoski will trace the evolution of blues to rock and roll,” Pastore said. “His lecture examines how the hokum blues of the late 1920s were the basis for the musical sensations of the 1950s as ‘Rock Around the Clock,’ ‘Jailhouse Rock,’ ‘Rockin’ Robin’ and more.”
This tour through Florida’s music history will be presented in conjunction with the museum’s current exhibition called “Florida’s Got the Blues.”
The exhibition opened Feb. 9 and ends April 30, and it showcases musicians who pioneered blues music during the early 20th century.
In this exhibition, viewers can explore the stories of many notable blues artists who had roots in Florida, Pastore said. The exhibit allows viewers to stand face-to-face with Ray Charles, admire a costume worn by Bo Diddley and features musicians such as Tampa Red, Diamond Teeth Mary and Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers.
Lindsey Tran, a UF music education junior, said she’s gone to similar events in the past and plans to attend the presentation.
“Learning about the study of music and how it has developed in our culture through James Hepokoski’s eyes will be the most interesting part,” the 21-year-old said.
[A version of this story ran on page 10 on 2/26/2015 under the headline “Yale professor to speak at Matheson Museum”]
