Cedric Burnside Project and Cadillac Funk perform at Levitt AMP New Albany concert

Andrew Yurkow’s Cadillac Funk returned to New Albany as the opening act of the Fifth Levitt AMP New Albany free concert. It was a hot night on a holiday weekend; the crowd, though modest in size, seemed to contain quite a few fans of this group. Indeed, they do “bring the funk” to the table.

North Mississippi’s Cedric Burnside and Trenton Ayres, The Cedric Burnside Project, were the featured act at tonight’s concert, and are new to New Albany music fans. Both musicians are multi-talented, playing a variety of instruments and providing vocals in a variety of blues styles. It was easy to see why their most recent album, Descendents of Hill Country, was nomined for the Best Album Grammy.

Cool drinks, cool clothes and cool music were the order of the night by the Tallahatchie River

Cadillac Funk opened the fifth Levitt AMP concert

Taking in some music at Park-Along-the River

The Cedric Burnside Project was the headliner of the fifth free Levitt AMP concert at Park-Along-the-River

Part of the audience at the fifth Levitt AMP concert in New Albany

Maharaj Hanish, of Johannesburg, South Africa, enjoying the blues in New Albany

Maharaj Hanish would win the prize for the guy how came to Saturday night’s Levitt AMP concert from farthest away. He is a retired electronic technician from Johannesburg, South Africa. He is spending a month visiting the United States, has been to several of our large American cities, but says he likes New Albany best, thinks “it is a wonderful place” and has been “treated very, very well.” He is the uncle of Dr. Dinesh Ragnath, M.D. of New Albany, who is the pathologist at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Union County.

He likes American Blues Music and is a big fan of the USA. He will be leaving New Albany soon to continue his tour, but has arranged his schedule to return here briefly before flying back to South Africa.

Their family are ethnic Indian Hindus of whom there about 1.3-million living in South Africa today. Their ancestors immigrated from India to South Africa in 1860 as indentured servants.

Next week’s concert will feature Georgia’s rockers, Drivin’ n Cryin’, with an opening performance by Billy Pettinger, from Vancouver, Canada.