The North Mississippi Allstars' Keys to the Kingdom - released in February - was recorded and partly written in the wake of the 2009 death of Jim Dickinson, father to the band's brothers Luther and Cody and a noted producer and musician himself.

But the opening three songs should banish any thought that the album is a somber affair. Even when facing mortality straight-on, there's a joyful noise inherent in the band's blues-based music. And that will surely be evident when Luther and Cody Dickinson perform on Friday in a North Mississippi Allstars duo show at the Redstone Room.

From the sturdy blues of album opener "This A'Way" to the angry kiss-off of "Jumpercable Blues" to the gospel-tinged celebration of "The Meeting" featuring guest vocals by Mavis Staples, this is the sort of meaty roots music that earned the band multiple Grammy nominations and a Blues Music Award. The Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot said that the album is the band's best since its 2000 debut: "The Allstars play with unassuming ardor, letting the rawness seep through the edges of the arrangements. Drummer Cody Dickinson in particular delivers exactly what each song needs, nothing less, and keeps things swinging. It's the kind of unsentimental yet passionate tribute a musical legend and family cornerstone would surely appreciate."

This year's Mississippi Valley Blues Festival - co-sponsored by the River Cities' Reader - will be held July 1 through 3 in downtown Davenport's LeClaire Park. The event features 27 acts spread over two stages, and the music begins at 5 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

In the links that follow, you'll find interviews with five of this year's performers.

• Eric Gales: Friday, July 1, 7 p.m., Bandshell
• Lionel Young Band: Saturday, July 2, 4 p.m., Bandshell
• Nellie "Tiger" Travis: Saturday, July 2, 7:30 p.m., Tent Stage
• The Paul Smoker Notet: Sunday, July 3, 5:30 p.m., Tent Stage
• Otis Clay: Sunday, July 3, 9:30 p.m., Tent Stage

In addition, the full festival schedule can be found on the back page of this week's River Cities' Reader or at MVBS.org/fest.

Advance tickets - $17 for a single day and $50 for the weekend - are available through June 30 at the Adler Theatre box office, Ticketmaster outlets, and local Hy-Vee stores. Admission at the gate is $20 per day. Children 14 and younger are admitted free with a paid adult.

When Nellie "Tiger" Travis sang "Wang Dang Doodle" - Koko Taylor's signature hit - she could never hit the high notes in the chorus: "We gonna pitch a wang dang doodle all night long."

"I always did it down low," Travis said in a recent phone interview. Then came Taylor's funeral in 2009.

"I hit the high note for the first time ever," Travis said. "That day, it just came out like that. ... I do it all the time now. ... I can't explain it. I don't know if it was a spirit thing, or if I was just so full until it just came out ... . I just know I hit it now."

With his 2008 victory in the solo/duo division, and his six-man ensemble's 2011 triumph in the band category, Lionel Young stands as the first double winner in the history of Memphis' International Blues Challenge (IBC). Meanwhile, the reviews that he and his Lionel Young Band have amassed would seem to back up the IBC's choices; Blues Blast Magazine wrote that the group "deserve[s] a place on your must-see list," and American Blues News called Young himself "an entertainer's entertainer."

Yet even given his awards and plaudits, this Colorado-based musician - one of the genre's few professional violinists - understands the importance of daily practice, and not just at the blues elements you might expect.

"Most people play loud and proud all the time," says Young during a recent phone interview. "Especially in the blues. But in any music, just like in any conversation, dynamics play a very important part. You know, when people want you to pay attention to what they're saying, they can either yell at you, or they can say something re-e-eally quiet. If you say something really quiet, people listen a lot harder.