The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience, known as The MAX, announced its 2026-2027 Hall of Fame inductees. The museum, located in Meridian, features exhibits celebrating Mississippi artists and their contributions to the arts.
Inductees include Mississippi John Hurt, a folk blues guitarist born in Avalon in 1893. Hurt was known for his fingerpicking style and played a role in the 1960s folk blues revival. The class also features the Mississippi Mass Choir, founded in 1988 by Frank Williams. The choir, with over 150 members, achieved a record on Billboard’s gospel charts by staying at No. 1 for 45 weeks and has earned four Grammy nominations and five Stellar Awards.
Charley Patton, born in 1891 in Hinds County, joins the class as a pioneering blues artist. Known as the “Father of Delta Blues,” Patton was influential in shaping the genre. Also inducted is Bobby Rush, a Louisiana-born blues musician based in Jackson since the 1980s. Rush has won three Grammys, 18 Blues Music Awards, and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. Rounding out the class is Conway Twitty, a country artist born in Friars Point in 1933, who scored 55 No. 1 singles and sold over 50 million records before his death in 1993.
The MAX museum features five permanent galleries, two changing exhibit spaces, a recording studio, art studios, an outdoor amphitheater, a museum store, and the Hall of Fame rotunda. The rotunda, two stories high, displays past and current inductees who have significantly impacted the arts. The museum describes the class as reinforcing Mississippi’s reputation as the birthplace of American music.
An induction ceremony is scheduled for Jan. 28, 2027, at the MSU Riley Center, followed by a reception at The MAX, according to the museum’s announcement.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
