My introduction to Mississippi hill country blues came from The Black Keys amazing 2021 album and homage to this incredible living chapter of the blues, Delta Kreme. Many of the songs are from hill country greats like R.L. Burnside and Junior Kimbrough.
Ever since, we have been playing on The Bus not only the Keys' interpretations but the originals from Burnside, Kimbrough and remakes from a wide variety of artists and bands, like the Doors' Crawling Kingsnake, which is the side two of L.A. Woman & is also featured on Delta Kreme.
From a great 2022 interview with The Black Keys' Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney in Guitar World, the author notes - "It's hard to understate the impact Mississippi hill country blues had on Auerbach and Carney, and it’s fair to say the Black Keys wouldn’t exist without the songs on Delta Kream." So, you can imagine my kid in a candy store feeling as The Bus pulled up to Denver's new and amazing Jazz Center, Dazzle - which recently moved into its brand new space in the Denver Performing Arts Center and it was our first trip there.
How do we sum up Kent Burnside? I haven't found a better descriptor of Kent, and the legacy / roots he represents, than this piece from the Durango Blues Train: "Burnside was born into the blues. He grew up in the North Mississippi Hill Country and is the eldest grandson of blues legend R.L. Burnside. As a boy, Kent worked in the fields surrounding Holly Springs, Potts Camp and Chulahoma. He sold sandwiches to folks who gathered at the family farm to hear his grandfather play the blues.
When Kent was nine, R.L. gave him his first guitar lesson. Today, Kent Burnside travels the world to continue his family’s important musical legacy and build his own. Kent’s powerful, raw, deeply soulful performances are at once hypnotic, dark, hopeful, engaging and danceable. Kent wants every person to leave his show with a smile on their face and real Mississippi Blues in their heart."
Enjoy the outtakes from this great night of blues at a great new space situated right in the bustling downtown Denver Arts Center, surely to become one of America's great homes to jazz and the blues!
Rock on,
DJ Mateo
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