Over the last decade or so, Hill Country bluesman Duwayne Burnside has sponsored a fall picnic, usually in September. It was usually called the R. L. Burnside Memorial Picnic, and was held in numerous places in Marshall County, Mississippi, including The Blues Shack in Waterford, a spot along old Highway 78 near Lake Center, and even a place out toward Chewalla Lake east of Holly Springs. But this year, Duwayne named his picnic after himself and located it at Zinn Experimental Farms along the Old Hernando Road west of Holly Springs.
Although this inaugural event was attended mostly by musicians, it was an interesting beginning, as it consisted more of jamming by various musicians than an ordinary concert. There were some visitors tenting on the grounds, and fried fish and barbecue, and musicians included Duwayne himself, Lady Trucker and her band, Shakedown from Hattiesburg, the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band from Como, Mississippi, and the Brackish Water Band.
The music stretched from traditional blues to Southern roots rock and even fife and drum, and although the weather was hot, there was no rain to mar the weekend’s events. Let’s hope the Duwayne Burnside Blues Festival will continue for many years to come.