Mississippi Gabe Carter was born in South Bend, Indiana. He was raised in rural Southwest Michigan. He was the only child of divorced parents and moved around among towns within the area.
Carter was given his first guitar at age five. The guitar was purchased, by his father, for $5.00 at a garage sale. Carter started by teaching himself to play blues on one string. He also played along with his father, who played blues on the piano.
As a young man Carter saw a guitarist by the name of Jack Owens -- of Bentonia, Mississippi -- in a documentary that had been rented on video from the local public library. Carter, from that point on, was deeply influenced by the music of Owens; and the school of music that is native to the Bentonia region of Mississippi. By far, the most well known musician from Bentonia was Skip James. During Carter's last decade of living and busking on the streets in Chicago, he earned the nickname "Mississippi" through his front porch, "down-home" style of playing.
Today, Carter's blues has remained firmly rooted in the blues tradition and style of Bentonia; and has grown into something completely original and unique to the genre. In the summer of 2009 Carter played at the now legendary Deep Blues Festival of Minneapolis. In March of 2010 he performed at the Blues Autour du Zinc, blues festival in Beauvais, France. In the spring of 2010 he toured the South American country of Peru. And he also traveled to Bari, Italy to perform at the Tra Blues e Avant-Garde, blues festival in July of 2010.
Carter has released two solo albums, Midnight Dream and Live at Duke's with Uncle Walt, both having received worldwide critical acclaim.
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