Mississippi News

Cedric Burnside named NEA Heritage Fellow

Photo by Stephen Payne

North Mississippi Hill Country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Cedric Burnside has been named a 2021 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) National Heritage Fellow.

Growing up in North Mississippi’s Marshall and Benton counties, Burnside is the grandson of Hill Country blues legend R.L. Burnside. Cedric was playing with his grandfather early in life and at age 13 was traveling with R.L and his band, playing drums . 

Cedric began traveling around the North American continent to represent the unique genre of blues music that was Hill Country blues.  

Burnside today is expanding the next generation of the North Mississippi sound. He has put together nine albums, individual and collaborative.  Burnside has been awarded several Blues Music Awards for his work as a drummer. He earned a Grammy nomination for the 2015 album project Descendants of Hill Country and another for his solo recording, 2018’s Benton County Relic. 

His current album is called “I Be Trying.”

DeSoto County News Service

Bob Bakken

Bob Bakken provides content for DeSoto County News and its social media channels. He is an award-winning broadcaster, along with being a reporter and photographer, and has done sports media relations work with junior and minor league hockey teams. Along with his reports on this website, you will find this veteran media member providing sports updates and high school football play-by-play on Rebel 95.3 FM Radio.

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