MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2024 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Horhn, Barnett, Chassaniol, England, McCaughn, Sparks, Whaley, McLendon
A RESOLUTION EXTENDING THE RECOGNITION OF THE MISSISSIPPI SENATE TO VETERAN NORTH MISSISSIPPI HILL COUNTRY BLUES MUSICIAN CEDRIC BURNSIDE AS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2024 GOVERNOR'S ARTS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN MUSIC.
WHEREAS, the Governor's Arts Awards Program has announced its 2024 recipients, which include well-known veteran North Mississippi Hill Country blues musician Cedric Burnside as the 2024 Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Music; and
WHEREAS, established in 1988, Governor's Arts Awards are given to individuals and organizations to recognize outstanding work in the artistic disciplines, as well as arts-based community development and arts patronage in Mississippi. The awards are presented in partnership with the Governor's Office and signify the important relationship between government and the arts; and
WHEREAS, North Mississippi Hill Country blues musician Cedric Burnside was born in Memphis on August 26, 1978. For three decades, Burnside gained rich experience performing in the Hill Country blues tradition, notably playing drums for many years with his grandfather, Hill Country blues legend R.L. Burnside (1926-2005). Cedric later became active as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for work that both honored local traditions and broke new ground musically; and
WHEREAS, he grew up in the Holly Springs, Mississippi, area in a large household headed by R.L. Burnside and his wife Alice Mae, the parents of Cedric's mother, Linda. His father, Calvin Jackson (1961-2015), began playing drums and recording with R.L. Burnside in his mid-teens; and
WHEREAS, Cedric Burnside's first exposure to blues was via house parties hosted by his grandfather, including Jackson and Cedric Burnside's uncles, Daniel and Joseph Burnside. Other family members, including his uncles: Junior, Dexter, Duwayne and Garry, would also perform occasionally at the house parties. Cedric was also immersed in rural traditions, helping the family raise crops and tend to their animals; and
WHEREAS, in the early 1990s, the Burnside family moved to a home in Chulahoma, southwest of Holly Springs, next door to "Junior's Place," a juke joint run by Junior Kimbrough. Until this point, Burnside mainly had played drums on buckets, pans and cans. He now took every opportunity to play the drum kit in the club. In the mid-1990s, Calvin Jackson moved to the Netherlands, and Cedric Burnside became the regular drummer for his grandfather's band. In addition to playing at Junior Kimbrough's, Cedric Burnside began touring nationally and internationally with his grandfather, who had gained fame via his recordings on Fat Possum Records. He appeared on multiple R.L. Burnside albums and played drums on the recordings of other artists from the region, including the North Mississippi Allstars, his Uncle Duwayne, and Kenny Brown (R.L. Burnside's guitarist); he also toured with Brown as a duo; and
WHEREAS, his first album was Burnside Exploration (2006), recorded with Garry Burnside, followed by two collaborations with Lightnin' Malcolm. As the Cedric Burnside Project, he recorded The Way I Am (2012), featuring rap lyrics by his brother Cody (1982-2012), and the Grammy-nominated Descendants of Hill Country (2015), featuring Garry Burnside and Trenton Ayers, son of Hill Country blues veteran Earl "Little Joe" Ayers. His first solo album was the Grammy-nominated Benton County Relic (2018), followed by the critically acclaimed and Grammy-winning album I Be Trying (2021), which features him on guitar and mixes traditional Hill Country sounds with new compositions; and
WHEREAS, Burnside gained acclaim among blues fans for his powerful and enthusiastic drumming, as well as his off-stage charm and poise. He is the recipient of multiple blues music awards and living blues awards. Burnside was in his early 40s in 2021 when he was named a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) National Heritage Fellow. Shortly after receiving the NEA National Heritage Fellowship, he began appearing in the touring musical Voices of Mississippi, based on the fieldwork of folklorist William Ferris. The musical, staged at Lincoln Center in early 2022, celebrates Burnside's and other younger artists' deep roots in Hill Country traditions; and
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we pay tribute and express appreciation for the talent of a Mississippi musician who has made Mississippi a better place and exemplifies the music traditions of our great state:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby extend the recognition of the Mississippi Senate to veteran North Mississippi Hill Country blues musician Cedric Burnside as the recipient of the 2024 Governor's Arts Award for Excellence in Music and extend our congratulations to Cedric Burnside on this auspicious occasion.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Cedric Burnside as part of the Governor's Arts Awards presentation and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.