Multi-award winning blues musician Watermelon Slim teamed up with HeavyDrunk recently at Dial Back Sound in Water Valley, to produce their new album, “Bluesland Theme Park.”

They will perform at Proud Larry’s on Thursday, Feb. 27 to support the 11-track blues-rock release, along with a red-hot Delta rhythm section, fresh off a European tour. The free show kicks off at 8 p.m.

“This was born in the dish pit of The Bluesberry (Cafe) in Clarksdale, Mississippi,” said vocalist & guitarist Rob Robinson, aka HeavyDrunk, who also produced the record.

The idea of Bluesland Theme Park was inspired by the roller coaster thrill ride effect of the band HeavyDrunk, laid alongside the shrilling scream of Watermelon Slim’s bottleneck slide guitar, sometimes executed with a spark plug socket.

Also Robinson’s gritty vocals, especially on some of the laidback blues songs, add to the bizarre and colorful theme park effect.  

Slim and Robinson met in Clarksdale, and joined musical forces after Robinson heard and admired a rendition of “Little Bighorn,” masterfully performed by Slim, one of the most soulful and recognizable singer/harmonica players active today. 

Originally William Homans, III, Slim gained his nickname from working on a watermelon farm. A Vietnam veteran, he also was a longtime truck driver, and had stints as a forklift operator, and sawmiller.

Shortly after, Robinson enthusiastically booked studio time and rallied a sizable group of the best players in the region together for the sessions. 

Among many great tracks, one highlight is “Watermelon Girl,” a collaboration between Robinson and late-great Louisiana singer-songwriter/guitarist Tony Joe White, which is bound to become a summer anthem. It also features steel drums by Oxford’s own Professor Ricky Burkhead.  

Other standouts are “Church Bells,” an earworm that folks will be singing for days after the show, and the album closer, “Fresh,” an old-time groove that’s sure to get ‘em moving out on the dancefloor.