Mississippi bluesman Cedric Burnside will release his new album, Benton County Relic, on September 14th, via Single Lock Records. Although Hill Country Blues is decades old, Burnside’s interpretation of the genre cuts deeper than most modern takes.
Cedric is the grandson of legendary blues musician R.L. Burnside, and the son of drummer Calvin Jackson. He still lives close to the Holly Springs, Mississippi home where he was raised by his grandfather, and carries the torch of bringing Hill Country Blues to the modern day.
Hill Country Blues has a distinct sound. “We like also to call it Field Music,” Cedric says. “It is music that one cannot really write, that type of music that has got no 16 bars, no 12 bars, it is just field music that comes from the heart. I am a Hill Country man and I will die a Hill Country man.”
With his pedigree Burnside has literally been playing music all his life. He was Grammy-nominated in 2015 for Best Blues Album for the Cedric Burnside Project’s Descendants of Hill Country, and was the recipient of the Blues Music Awards honor as Drummer of the Year for four consecutive years. He has performed and recorded with countless musicians, including Junior Kimbrough, Kenny Brown, North Mississippi Allstars, and dozens more.
In 2006, he was featured in Craig Brewer’s critically acclaimed feature film Black Snake Moan, playing drums alongside Samuel L. Jackson. (The film is a loose tribute to R.L. Burnside, and gives many nods to the late bluesman.)
With Benton County Relic, Burnside showcases his electric and acoustic guitar prowess, recording the record in just two days with drummer/slide guitarist Brian Jay in the latter’s Brooklyn home studio.
We’re proud to bring you the world premiere of “Hard to Stay Cool.”
*Feature image courtesy of Missing Piece Group
