UPDATE: Due to a recent injury, Taj Mahal is unable to perform at this time. We hope to reschedule this American Strings event in the fall.

Join host Bob Santelli for an evening of intimate conversation and live performance with an international music legend. The online event is free and open to all. Registration is required.

Taj Mahal is a towering musical figure -- a legend who transcended the blues not by leaving them behind, but by revealing their magnificent scope to the world. Quantifying the 79-year-old’s significance is impossible, but people try anyway. A 2017 Grammy win for "TajMo," Taj’s collaboration with Keb’ Mo’, brought his Grammy tally to three wins and 14 nominations, and underscored his undiminished relevance more than 50 years after his solo debut. Blues Hall of Fame membership, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association, and other honors punctuate his resume.

Taj appreciates the accolades, but his motivation lies elsewhere. “I just want to be able to make the music that I’m hearing come to me -- and that’s what I did,” Taj says. “When I say, ‘I did,’ I’m not coming from the ego. The music comes from somewhere. You’re just the conduit it comes through. You’re there to receive the gift.”

The webcast event is part of CLA’s American String Series. Hosted by OSU Director of Popular Music and Performing Arts Bob Santelli, each segment of American Strings is comprised of a conversation and solo performance by successful artists from a variety of genres, making for a one of a kind opportunity to appreciate and know better the great American music tradition.

"The blues is bigger than most people think. You could hear Mozart play the blues. It might be more like a lament. It might be more melancholy. But I'm going to tell you: the blues is in there."     --Taj Mahal