Cedric Burnside Project, Cadillac Funk at Levitt AMP New Albany concert Saturday July 2nd

New Albany, MS– This Saturday night, July 2nd, the Levitt AMP New Albany concert series will feature The Cedric Burnside Project, a band composed of Cedric Burnside and Trenton Ayres, both of whom are from the hills of North Mississippi.

Cedric Burnside

Cedric, a blues drummer, guitarist, singer and songwriter, is the multi-talented grandson of the hill-county’s  legendary bluesman, R. L. Burnside. The Cedric Burnside Project’s latest CD, Descendents of Hill Country, was nominated for a Best Blues Album Grammy, and Cedric Burnside has won “Blues Drummer of the Year” multiple times.

Burnside says “he was born with the blues” and began building his hypnotic style early in life, playing at his grandfather’s porch parties. By the age of 13, he began to tour with his grandfather’s band, as a drummer.

Trenton Ayers is the son of guitarist Earl “Little Joe” Ayers (Junior Kimbrough), and also grew up in North Mississippi. Ayers is well known for both his extensive knowledge of the blues and his outstanding skills on both the guitar and the bass. His genres include blues, soul, Jazz, R&B, funk and fusion.

Together, Burnside and Ayers are “on a mission” to bring the North Mississippi sound to the world. Their performance at the famous Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival last year in Scotland was a big step toward achieving that goal.

You are guaranteed to hear some outstanding “field music,” as Burnside describes it.

Cadillac Funk returns to New Albany

Cadillac Funk makes a return trip to New Albany to open this Saturday’s concert. The group is headed up by Andrew Yurkow, who grew up in Indianola and Cleveland, MS, and now lives in Oxford. Yurkow, a “hardworking, songwriting, super funky guitar player,” presides over a changing group of musicians who have performed across the Southeast. Their sound may vary from the 1970’s P-Funk, through the 1980’s Red Hot Chili Peppers to Prince, and though you may not know exactly who will take the stage for this performance, you can be assured that they will bring a great show to New Albany.

So, if you are a fan of blues, or funk, or funky blues, bring your lawn chair and settle in for a treat at the Park-Along-the-River. The opening act begins at 7:30 PM.

Check out some sample sounds below.