Mississippi Native: Andrew Bryant

"Somehow at the end of every tour, every road always led back to Mississippi. And it still does."

What does it mean to call Mississippi home? Why do people choose to leave or live in this weird, wonderful, and sometimes infuriating place? Today we hear from Oxford-based musician Andrew Bryant, whose newest album Prodigal will be released on November 3, 2023.

Featured contributor Andrew Bryant lives in Oxford. Photo by Robbie Brindley

Where are you from? 

I currently live and work in Oxford, MS, but I grew up about 30 miles south of here in Calhoun County. 

How long have you lived in Mississippi? 

I have been a resident of Mississippi my entire life. 

What does “home” mean to you? How does Mississippi fit into that definition

The idea of “home” has always somewhat eluded me. I suppose I grew up thinking of home like most people: as merely the place you live, where you lay your head down, where your family comes from, etc. But as I’ve grown, my idea of home has broadened. I guess if I had to put it simply, home is the place your heart goes when you feel lost. For me, the two cannot exist without each other. Nature factors heavily into what makes me feel at home. So Mississippi fits into that first category, and the second, because I was born and raised and have lived here all my life. But there are other places that I’ve felt at home too, so that makes it confusing for me. I feel most at peace, or at home, sitting on a porch with my guitar, watching and listening to the birds, or driving on some uninhabited, winding backroad with the windows down, aimlessly wandering the long-ago-cut human trails hidden in the trees. 

Andrew performing with his band Water Liars. Photos by Matt Ruppert.

How have you cultivated community in Mississippi? Who are the people who have made you feel rooted here? 

The first time I ever felt part of a community was when I first started playing music with other people. I started out playing music with other people in church, and that felt really good, but I didn’t completely feel like I belonged there, and I still don’t, because of all the rules about what you can and can’t say or do or believe in those spaces. So I started playing in rock bands in my late teens, and I started making friends and playing shows in other spaces, and it was in those spaces that I felt like I’d found “my people.” And to this day, I’ve not found a community that I feel more rooted in. So I try to keep that connection as much as I can. And there’s plenty of that in Mississippi. I think we live in the most musical state in the nation, albeit a little more off the beaten path, and virtually ignored in the mainstream. 

We’ve always been told our place is dead last. 50th of 50. But for me, I think growing up here, and being told that over and over, it has put a chip on my shoulder that I’m always trying to knock off.