“Cedric Burnside carries the mantle – the joy and the burdens and the history of the North Mississippi hill country blues, a style like no other in Southern Music” – The Bitter Southerner
“Grammy-nominated Blues musician Cedric Burnside remembers his roots” – NPR Weekend Edition
“The Big Bad Burnside Sound is back… and how!” – MOJO
“Cedric expands the sonic landscape in a way not too many other artists can do…while ushering the genre into a beautifully Black future.” – Ebony
“Hypnotic hill country…with live-wire playing.” – Rolling Stone
“Timely and timeless…showcases the best of what Cedric does” – Afropunk
“Cedric proudly carries the mantle of Mississippi hill country blues into the 21st century”
– Afropop Worldwide
GRAMMY-nominated musicianCedric Burnside has shared the cathartic opening track from his new album I Be Trying – out June 25 on Single Lock Records / Remote Control Records – today: an acoustic-driven reflection on recent times aptly titled ‘The World Can Be So Cold‘. As only a true Mississippi bluesman can, Burnside channels those acute experiences of pain, anger, frustration and hurt into an intimate, vulnerable and profound look into his inner life. Recorded at Memphis’ hallowed Royal Studios, Cedric draws from his years collaborating with his legendary grandfather RL Burnside while crafting a bold, contemporary Black American sound that serves as a masterclass in Mississippi Hill Country Blues from its greatest living practitioner.
Watch a behind-the-scenes clip of the recording of ‘The World Can Be So Cold‘ from Royal Studios HERE. Burnside previously shared ‘Step In‘ from the Boo Mitchell-produced record, which was met with much early excitement. Watch HERE.
I Be Trying marks Cedric‘s latest chapter in a career that began at age 13 with an unmatched musical education in his grandfather’s touring band. Now serving as the leading global ambassador for the Hill Country Blues, a genre at once African and American, southern and Mississippian – local and universal – the album also features musicians like North Mississippi All-Stars frontman Luther Dickinson, Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell and New Orleans drummer Reed Watson (John Paul White, etc). With a release on the artist-run Southern independent label Single Lock Records, the collection unmistakably charts a path forward for the Mississippi blues of a modern South.