Founded 1963 Relaunched 2019. The Postmodern South.
Remembering the Legacy of R. L. Burnside at the Blues Shack in Waterford, Mississippi
Remembering the Legacy of R. L. Burnside at the Blues Shack in Waterford, Mississippi

Remembering the Legacy of R. L. Burnside at the Blues Shack in Waterford, Mississippi

437 Duwayne Burnside & Little Joe Ayers438 Burnside Picnic439 Duwayne Burnside, Little Joe Ayers & Kenny Brown440 Burnside Picnic441 Little Joe Ayers442 Burnside Picnic443 Burnside Picnic444 Duwayne Burnside & Son445 Kenny Brown446 Kenny Brown447 Kenny Brown448 Little Joe Ayers449 Little Joe Ayers450 Burnside Picnic451 Burnside Picnic452 Burnside Picnic453 Burnside Picnic454 Kenny Brown & Duwayne Burnside455 Little Joe Ayers456 Kenny Brown & Duwayne Burnside457 Duwayne Burnside458 Kenny Brown, Duwayne Burnside & Little Joe Ayers459 Duwayne Burnside & Little Joe Ayers460 Little Joe Ayers461 Kenny Brown462 Burnside Picnic463 Little Joe Ayers464 Little Joe Ayers465 Duwayne Burnside466 Burnside Picnic467 Kenny Brown468 Burnside Picnic469 Burnside Picnic470 Burnside Picnic471 Little Joe Ayers472 Burnside Picnic473 Bongos475 Little Joe Ayers476 Little Joe Ayers477 Little Joe Ayers478 Little Joe Ayers479 Burnside Picnic480 Harmonica and Drums481 Little Joe Ayers482 Young Drummer483 Little Joe Ayers
On the Friday night of the Labor Day Weekend, I headed down into Marshall County, Mississippi for the first year of what is to be an annual picnic in memory of the late Hill Country blues guitarist R. L. Burnside. The event was being held at a place called the Blues Shack near Malone, Mississippi (although it was advertised as Waterford, Mississippi), which was just off of Highway 310 on the Old Oxford Road, not far from the old Burnside Blues Cafe location. The crowd was smaller than I had expected, perhaps because there was a threat of rain, but the blues was absolutely magnificent, with R.L.’s son Duwayne Burnside playing alongside two other great Hill Country guitarists, Kenny Brown and Little Joe Ayers. The small crowd and the outdoor stage in front of the shack gave the event the feel of a family get-together, and there was barbecue smoking on the oil-barrel grill beside the stage. Younger musicians came and went from the stage, and the music was still going strong when I left at midnight, with thunder and lightning visible to the west.






Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.