Garry Burnside performing at the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic at Waterford, MS, 6/30/12
North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic
Garry Burnside continues the legacy of his legendary father R. L. Burnside at the Hill Country Picnic at Waterford, MS, 6/30/12
The heat didn’t reduce the crowds or dampen the enthusiasm at the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic in Marshall County Saturday. This year the event was held along Highway 7 just below the town of Waterford. 6/30/12
Kenny Brown and Duwayne Burnside Live at the Beale Street Music Festival, 2012
Hill Country bluesman Kenny Brown grew up near Mississippi Joe Callicutt in Desoto County, and was eventually mentored by the late R.L. Burnside. He has been tireless in his effort to preserve the Hill Country Blues tradition, not only through his performances and recordings but through he and his wife’s organization of the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic which is held in Marshall County, Mississippi each June. Here Kenny and Duwayne Burnside perform at the Southern Comfort Blues Shack at the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, 5/6/12. You can purchase Kenny Brown’s most recent album “Can’t Stay Long” here:Â http://devildownrecords.com/
North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic 2012 at Betty Davis Bar-B-Que, Waterford, MS 6/29-30/12
Jimbo Mathus and the Tri-State Coalition closed out the regular schedule at the 2011 North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic. After their set, there was a jam session with many of the musicians who had played earlier, and then it was over for another year.
Kenny Brown, the “adopted son” of R. L. Burnside, and an organizer of the Hill Country Picnic gets the crowd on their feet dancing. June 25, 2011
Garry Burnside Live at the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic 2011
The Garry Burnside Band on stage at the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic, June 25, 2011
Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band at the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic 2011
Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band. Sharde also plays the piano, and incorporates other styles of music into the band’s repertoire. North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic, June 25, 2011
Preserving the Endangered Fife and Drum Music Tradition in Mississippi
Few musical experiences can compare to the raw power of African-American fife and drum music. Unfortunately, this musical style once found throughout the south is now found only amongst the members of one extended family in Panola County, Mississippi. Sharde Thomas upholds the legacy of her grandfather Otha Turner and his Rising Star Fife and Drum Band. They will be holding their annual picnic on the last weekend of August at Gravel Springs outside of Como, Mississippi.