Blue Velvet

The path to Wendy's "otherworldly" sound began with listening at Holly Spring 's  Rust College blues and gospel festival in 1987.  After years of practicing, she stepped out into Oxford's thriving band scene of 1996.  Slide guitar communes, like a voice, with listeners in both spiritual and  secular settings.  In addition to Oxford Square venues, her slide guitar has blended in church with piano and congregational voices to bring the old hymns into the present.  A year-long apprenticeship with the late great internationally-known  bluesman Mr. Bill Howl-N-Madd Perry, opened the door to traveling and sitting in with his band throughout North Mississippi in towns such as Greenville, Clarksdale, Indianola, Waterford, Merigold and Tupelo.   In 2024-2025, Wendy in turn became the mentor, receiving a prestigious Mississippi Arts Commission-National Endowment for the Arts grant to pass along her knowledge and experience to Ms. Sophia Doyle.  Garrison's music is streaming on all platforms.  Photo by Bruce Newman

Jennifer Mizenko was born into a family of musicians, but because she was a girl she was put in dancing school instead of music school and her expression of music became dance. Even her kindergarten report card states "She shows a great interest in music.".  While growing up Jennifer did all forms of dance, including tap dance and was known to spy on her big brother's music practice.  Jennifer is a Professor Emerita of Dance and is finally pursuing her passion for music through drumming.  Jennifer is studying drums with Professor Ricky Burkhead and online with the Shed Club in Sacramento, California.  She loves discovering the connection between the rhythms she is learning to play on the drums, that she has been moving in her body her whole life.  Jennifer is thrilled to be a part of Blue Velvet, and loves playing the blues with these ladies!  Photo by Bruce Newman

Reese Robinson is a Mississippi-based guitar and bass player who approaches music with the idea that it’s not about rules; it’s about feel. Reese plays bass for Blue Velvet, while simultaneously pursuing various solo projects. Her passion for real, authentic human music drives it all. Equally at home holding down the rhythm end on bass or soloing on guitar, Reese complements the sound of the music, weaving into the space. This allows her to appreciate different styles of music, specifically the blues. Primarily a classic rock player, she has only recently discovered the sound of Mississippi: the Blues. In June 2026, Reese participated in the Hill Country Guitar Workshop, where blues is passed down from the masters. She continues to follow the sound of live music wherever it takes her.

A musician all her life, Andrea is perhaps best known as a performer in the Mississippi Hill Country tradition.  Over the past decade she has become recognized as a regular at festivals and blues venues with peers of Mississippi Hill Country families,  such as Garry Burnside.  More recently she has been performing solo, including earning a spot  at the 2026 world-famous North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic.  Catch her act here  in Oxford, and in Memphis where she shows off her guitar riffs, songwriting, and steady bluesy voice. Photo by Bruce Newman