He’s been around for years and he’s pretty well known around these parts. Now Virgil Brawley is getting some recognition as part of an exhibit at the Greater Jackson Arts Council.

     The “Blame it on the Blues” exhibit features, among other things, the entire Blues Cast collection done by artist Sharon McConnell Dickerson.

     “Virgil is an amazing artist and person,” McConnell said. “He has done so much for the blues.”

     McConnell is known for this collection, made up of over 50 famous blues musicians from Mississippi. This is the first time the entire collection has been shown together in the state.

     “It’s been very, very well received,” McConnell said.

     One thing that makes Brawley stand out in this collection is that he’s one of few white men to make it in a black dominated genre.

     “I’ve had a love for it, and it’s been in my soul for a long time,” Brawley said. “Just because I’m white, don’t mean I can’t play the blues.” 

     And play the blues he does. Brawley, who graduated from Brookhaven High School in the late 1960s, returned to Mississippi in 1996 after living in Texas for a while.

     “I took a month off from playing [this past month],” he said. “It’s the first time in [16 years] I haven’t played.”

     And he’ll quickly be returning to that stage. He’ll be a part of Brookstock XII this week, and he’s playing at the Story Teller’s Ball in August as part of the “Blame it on the Blues” exhibit.

     “I feel honored to be a Mississippi blues man,” he said.

     McConnell’s piece isn’t the only instance of Brawley in the exhibit. Long-time friend and artist Don Jacobs, who is also from Brookhaven, did a painting of Brawley’s band, The Juvenators, for the show.

     “I had been planning to do it for about a year and a half,” Jacobs said. “This seemed like a good opportunity to do something with Virgil’s band and give them a little recognition.”

     Jacob’s piece was part of the juried exhibition that featured multimedia pieces relating to the blues from artists all over the state.

     Other exhibit features include H.C. Porter’s “Blues @ Home” black-and-white photos, photos from Ken Murphy’s “State of Blues” coffee table book and paintings of the Hwy 61 Blues Trail by Sandra Murchison.

     The exhibit runs through August 31 and is free to the public.