North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic Artist Guide

Welcome to the 2022 North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic!

The Local Voice media company in Oxford, Mississippi is PROUD to partner with Kenny & Sara Brown to bring you the Official Festival Guide of the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic.

There are FREE souvenir copies printed and distributed around the Picnic, at the Front Gate, Snack Bar, Merchandise Tent, and a Digital Download is here. All are limited editions.

Scroll now for Info and Links to all the Artists at the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic.

See you there!

– Newt Rayburn (Publisher) and Nature Humphries (Editor)

Click here for Vendor Information

Robert Kimbrough Sr. Blues Connection

Playing Friday, June 24 at 4 pm

Robert Kimbrough Sr continues the Cotton Patch Soul Blues style created by his father, the legendary Junior Kimbrough. From an early age, Robert was steeped in the sounds and life of North Mississippi and it’s distinctive style of blues.

Website: RobertKimbroughSr.com

Rocket 88

Playing Friday, June 24 at 5 pm

Rocket 88 are Rosemond Posey (vocals + guitar) from Vicksburg, Jamie Posey (vocals + guitar) from Meridian, Robert Chaffe (keyboards) from New Orleans, Nathan Robbins (bass + sound) from Pontotoc, and Ryan Rogers (drums) from Forest, Mississippi.

Rocket 88 was formed in the summer of 2005 and their Mississippi soaked sound is a local staple.

Website: Rocket88Music.com
Instagram: @Rocket88music

R.L.Boyce

Playing Friday, June 24 at 6 pm

RL Boyce began his blues odyssey on drums at age 15. First recorded at a family picnic September 4, 1970 by famed Folklorist Dr. David Evans. RL accompanied his Uncle Otha Turner’s Rising Stars Fife and Drum Band and never stopped.

Website: RLBoycepicnic.com

Kudzu Kings

Playing Friday, June 24 at 7 pm

Click here for more Kudzu Kings articles and videos from The Local Voice

Kudzu Kings are the Roots Rock band from Oxford, Mississippi. Their sound blends Country, Bluegrass, Blues, and RocknRoll, with a traditional dose of Hill Country improvisation.

Kudzu Kings features local legends George McConnell, Robert Chaffe, Tate Moore, Dave Woolworth, Chuck Sigler, and Max Williams.

Website: KudzuKings.com
Instagram: @KudzuKings

Kent Burnside

Playing Friday, June 24 at 8 pm

Kent Burnside hails from Holly Springs, Mississippi, and is the oldest Grandson of blues legend, R.L. Burnside. His playing dots the globe, and his style is unlike any other: dark, hypnotic, inviting… and very dance-able.

Website: BurnsideKent.com

Cary Hudson

Playing Friday, June 24 at 9:15 pm

Local legend Cary Hudson is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from the great state of Mississippi who resides somewhere between Memphis and New Orleans. You might remember him from Blue Mountain, but Cary is a legend all on his own.

Click here for The Local Voice’s 2022 interview with Cary Hudson

Website: Cary Hudson
Facebook: caryhudsonmusic
Instagram: @thisiscaryhudson

Duwayne Burnside

Playing Friday, June 24 at 10:15 pm

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Duwayne Burnside is one of 14 children born to R.L. Burnside. He has been a frequent performer with the North Mississippi Allstars since the early 1990s. The young Burnside learned his first few guitar licks and chords from his father, but proved a quick study and soon began playing with local club owner Junior Kimbrough & The Soul Blues Boys.

Facebook: DuwayneBurnsidemusic

John McDowell & Christine Conley

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 9:30 am

While their love of music began long before their love for each other, Christine Conley and John McDowell have combined the two to create fun and inspiring songs that will leave you smiling.

YouTube: Songwriter Spotlight E20 John McDowell and Christine Conley, September 16, 2021

Just Groovin’ Experience

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 10 am

Just Groovin’ Experience musical performances from various Memphis musicians and singers from all walks of life.

Facebook: Just Groovin Experience
YouTube: Just Groovin” Experience 05/27/2022

Bill Steber & Libby Rae Watson

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 11 am

Libby Rae Watson is an authentic Blues woman who has been playing since the early 1970s, when she discovered the Blues in her hometown of Pascagoula. She helped organize the talent for the very first Delta Blues Festival in Greenville, Mississippi in 1978.

Libby Rae has played many festivals and music venues all over the world, as a solo performer and collaborator.

At the 2022 North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic, Libby Rae will be joined by legendary Blues Documenter, Photographer, and Musician, Bill Steber of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Click here for The Local Voice’s 2021 interview with Libby Rae Watson

Webpage: Libby Rae Watson
Webpage: Bill Steber
YouTube: Libby Rae Watson, Bill Steber, and Sam Rorex – Hill Country Picnic 2016
Facebook: Libby Rae Watson
Facebook: Bill Steber

Brad Moneymaker with Marlow Dorrough

Playing Saturday, June 25 at noon.

Marlow Dorrough is the drummer and guitarist from Ruleville, Mississippi. He is the son of legendary Mississippi guitarist Duff Dorrough. He has played with The Revelators, Solar Porch, Brad Moneymaker Band, and many more.

Click here for The Local Voice’s 2022 interview with Marlow Dorrough

Facebook: MarlowDorrough
Facebook: Brad Moneymaker Band

Trenton Ayers ft. Wolfeagle

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 1 pm

Trenton Ayers has been playing guitar since age four in the Holly Springs area. Trenton has played with Cedric Burnside, The Electric Mudd, and more. GRAMMY nominated in 2015.

Webpage: Trenton Ayers
Facebook: Trenton Ayers
Twitter: Trenton Ayers
Instagram: Trenton Ayers
YouTube Channel: Trenton Ayers Hands of Fire
YouTube: How to get that Hill Country Blues guitar tone with Grammy nominee Trenton Ayers

Memphissippi Sounds

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 2 pm

Memphissippi Sounds is Cameron Kimbrough (Grandson of Junior Kimbrough) on drums and Damion “Yella P” Pearson on harmonica. Their custom blend of North Mississippi Hill Country Blues, Memphis Blues & Soul, Rock, Pop, and Hip-Hop has taken them beyond this region.

Webpage: Memphissippisounds.com
Facebook: Memphissippisounds
Instagram: Memphissippisounds
You Tube: Memphissippisounds

Rising Stars Fife & Drum Band

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 3 pm.

Click here for The Local Voice’s 2022 Interview with Shardé Thomas

Sometimes it seems, fife and drum music is a vanishing music tradition. Otha Turner kept the tradition alive with the Rising Star Fife & Drum Band.

Otha’s Granddaughter Shardé Thomas is leading the group in a new direction now.

Facebook: @risingstarsfifeanddrum
Facebook: @fifemastor
Instagram: @risingstarsfifeanddrum

Eric Deaton

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 4 pm.

Eric Deaton is the Torch-Bearer of the North Mississippi Hill Country Blues tradition, having received an apprenticeship first-hand from the masters of this particularly hypnotic, backwoods strain of blues.

Recently, Eric Deaton recorded albums with The Black Keys and Hank Williams, Jr.

Click here for The Local Voice’s 2022 Interview with Eric Deaton

Website: EricDeatonMusic.com
Facebook: @Eric Deaton
The Local Voice: The Black Keys Release R.L. Burnside Cover Song Video Featuring Local Musicians Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton

Garry Burnside

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 5:30 pm.

Garry Burnside is a gifted guitarist inspired by his father the late legendary, RL Burnside. Garry Burnside is a native of Holly Springs, Mississippi, and has been playing guitar and traveling the world since the age of 11.

Click here for The Local Voice’s 2022 interview with Garry Burnside

Website: GarryBurnside.com
Facebook: @GarryBurnside
Instagram: @Garry_Burnside

Kenny Brown

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 7 pm

Kenny Brown is an American Guitarist skilled in the North Mississippi Hill Country Blues style.

He played for over 20 years with the legend R.L. Burnside, who referred to Kenny as his “white son.”

Kenny has released many solo albums and his music has been featured in films. like Black Snake Moan (featuring Samuel L. Jackson).

Kenny Brown is World Renowned, playing the Mississippi Hill Country Blues style across The Globe.

Kenny has played on tracks by by Asie Payton, CeDell Davis, Paul “Wine” Jones, Frank Frost, and Cyndi Lauper.

Most recently, Kenny Brown has been featured on albums by The Black Keys and Hank Williams Jr.

Web page: KennyBrownMusic.com
Spotify: Kenny Brown
Facebook: Kenny Brown

YouTube: Kenny Brown – “You’ve Got to Move” and “France Chance” at Music in the Hall 13
YouTube: Kenny Brown’s Band “Goin’ Down South” with Cedric Burnside Blues Rules 2019
YouTube: Kenny Brown – Full Set – Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival (2018)

The Local Voice: The Black Keys Release R.L. Burnside Cover Song Video Featuring Local Musicians Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton

Guitar World: Meet Kenny Brown, the greatest of the Hill Country blues sidemen
Memphis Flyer: Kenny Brown: Mississippi Blues Heavyweight Weighs In On His Country Heroes

Alvin Youngblood Hart’s Muscle Theory

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 8:30 pm

Alvin Youngblood Hart’s praises have been sung by everyone from Bob Dylan to guitar gods Gary Moore & Mick Taylor. He spent his formative years on the West Coast, in the Midwest, and the Mid-South, but was born in Oakland, California in 1963 to a family of post WWII Mississippi transplants.

Website: Alvin Youngblood Hart
Facebook: Alvin Youngblood Hart On Tour
Spotify: Alvin Youngblood Hart
Instagram: Alvin Youngblood Hart

YouTube: Alvin Youngblood Hart
YouTube: Alvin Youngblood Hart’s Muscle Theory – Millennium Stage (May 14, 2022)
YouTube: Alvin Youngblood Hart & Muscle Theory – Full Set – Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival (2016)

North Mississippi Allstars

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 10 pm

After 25 years, twelve albums, four GRAMMY® Award nominations, and sold out shows everywhere, North Mississippi Allstars open up their world once again on their thirteenth album, Set Sail, welcoming other family into the fold.

As legend has it, Luther and Cody Dickinson started the band in 1996 as a loose collective of like-minded second-generation musicians who shared a local repertoire and regional style. Over the years, the lineup shifted by design, and each subsequent record offered up a different combination of collaborators.

This time around, they are mining the talents of Jesse Williams on bass, and Lamar Williams Jr. on vocals.

During the Allman Betts Band Family Revival, the Dickinsons linked up with Lamar, son of the Allman Brothers bassist Lamar Williams, Sr., becoming fast friends, collaborators, and eventually paving the way for the album, Set Sail.

Click here for The Local Voice’s 2021 interview with Luther Dickinson

Website: North Mississippi All Stars
Facebook: North Mississippi All Stars
Instagram: North Mississippi Allstars
Twitter: North Mississippi Allstars
YouTube: North Mississippi Allstars
iTunes: North Mississippi Allstars
Spotify: North Mississippi Allstars

Hill Country Kings

Playing Saturday, June 25 at 11:30 pm

Featuring an all-star lineup of North Mississippi Hill Country musicians, this late night jam is sure to be exciting!

North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic Sponsors

R&B Feder Charitable Foundation for the Beaux–Arts • The Local Voice • Cetacea Sound • Yuengling • Visit Mississippi • Fat Possum • Frank Kossen • One Day Signs • Margo Cooper • Hick’s Convention Services • Mike & Lisa Bennett • Haynie Construction • The Library Bar & Grille • Tom & Connie Kossen • Court Square Inn • Home Place Pastures • Blues on the Porch