North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic Artist Guide June 23 & 24, 2023

The North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic takes place June 23–24, 2023 in Waterford, Mississippi

The Local Voice media company in Oxford, Mississippi is proud to partner with Sara and Kenny Brown again to bring you the official festival guide. There are free souvenir printed copies around the picnic grounds and a digital download is available here. Scroll down this page for additional information and links to all the artists at this year’s Hill Country Picnic. See you at the Picnic!

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

Download the digital edition of the newspaper here

BUY TICKETS HERE!

ON-LINE TICKET SALES END SUNDAY, JUNE 19 AT MIDNIGHT.

ALL TICKET SALES AT THE GATE ARE CASH ONLY.

VIP TICKETS MUST BE PURCHASED ONLINE BY MIDNIGHT 6/18/23.

Gates open Thursday, June 22 at 5:00 pm. NO EARLY ARRIVALS. Music goes from 4:00 pm till midnight on Friday and 10:00 am till midnight on Saturday. All Picnic attendees must be off site by Sunday, June 25 by noon – no late departures.

The following tickets are available at the gate:

Friday Only: $25
Saturday Only: $25

Camping: $15
Flat rate of $15/person to spend 1–3 nights. If you spend the night you pay $15, no cars in camp ground.

RV Fee: $100
Ice Chest inside festival: $10 (NO GLASS allowed on festival site.)

CASH ONLY – NO ATM AVAILABLE AT FESTIVAL SITE

NO GLASS: ALL ICE CHEST WILL BE CHECKED BEFORE ENTRANCE TO THE FESTIVAL SITE. NO GLASS WILL BE ALLOWED ON SITE.

If you go out the ticket gate, you must have your wristband on to re-enter the festival site.

Parking is FREE!

Children 12 and under FREE

Really Cool Art Vendors and Picnic Merch are available for sale on site, Picnic Merch is CASH ONLY!

NO OPEN FIRES ANYWHERE ON THE FESTIVAL SITE

WHAT TO BRING

Bug Spray
Blanket or Chair for sitting
Water
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Hat for shade
Raingear
Shade Tent
more water!

WHAT NOT TO BRING

No Weapons
No Glass Containers will be allowed ANYWHERE on the festival site
For Safety Reasons – NO Motorized Vehicles inside the festival (No golf carts or 4 wheelers except by event staff).
For Safety Reasons – NO Pets
No Professional Photography equipment, please restrict photos to the first 2 songs of each artist set and NO video or audio recording.

THEY HAVE

Portable toilets
Showers
Water faucets for drinking water
Vendors will be selling various food, snacks, beer, and beverages.

The Hill Country Picnic takes place at Betty Davis Ponderosa
Corner of HWY 7 South and HWY 310
3359 Old Oxford Road
Waterford, Mississippi 38685
View Map

Click here for Vendor Information

John McDowell & Christine Conley

Playing Friday, June 23 at 4:00 pm

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

Proud Hound

Playing Friday, June 23 at 4:45 pm

CLick here for The Local Voice’s 2023 Interview with Proud Hound

Proud Hound, self-described as Hill Country Blues-Rock, is a four-piece based out of Como, Mississippi. In this year’s Local Favorites Awards, published by The Local Voice, Proud Hound won Favorite New Band, Favorite Guitarist (1st place to Connor Alexander, 3rd place to Kody Harrell), Favorite Bassist (Kane Harrell), and Favorite Drummer (Justin Webb).

YouTube: @proudhound
Facebook: /proudhoundband
Instagram: /proudhoundband/

Robert Kimbrough Sr. Blues Connection

Playing Friday, June 23 at 5:45 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 its distinctive style of blues.

Website: RobertKimbroughSr.com

R.L. Boyce

Playing Friday, June 23 at 6:45 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 23 at 7:30 pm

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

Kudzu Kings is an alternative country/roots rock jam band from Oxford, Mississippi. Their sound has been categorized as a blend of country music, bluegrass, and improvisational rock & roll.

Website: KudzuKings.com
Instagram: @KudzuKings

Kent Burnside

Playing Friday, June 23 at 8:45 pm

Kent Burnside hails from Holly Springs, Mississippi, as the oldest grandson and pupil 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 23 at 10:00 pm

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

Cary Hudson is a singer-songwriter and guitarist from the great state of Mississippi who resides somewhere between Memphis and New Orleans.

Website: Cary Hudson
Facebook: caryhudsonmusic
Instagram: @thisiscaryhudson

Duwayne Burnside

Playing Friday, June 23 at 11:15 pm

Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Duwayne Burnside is one of 14 children born to legendary North Mississippi musician 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 and the Soul Blues Boys.

Facebook: DuwayneBurnsidemusic

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Rocket 88

Playing Saturday, June 24 at 10 am

Click here to read The Local Voice’s 2023 Interview with Jamie and Rosamond Posey of Rocket 88

Rocket 88 was formed in the summer of 2005 and has since brought its Mississippi soaked sound to venues all over the Southeast. Rosamond Posey (vocals, rhythm guitar) from Vicksburg, Miss.; Jamie Posey (vocals, lead guitar, harmonica) from Meridian, Mississippi; Robert Chaffe (keyboards, organ) from New Orleans, Louisiana; Ryan Rogers (drums, vocals) from Forest, Mississippi; and Nathan Robbins (bass, vocals) from Pontotoc, Mississippi, make up the core.

Website: Rocket88Music.com
Instagram: @Rocket88music

Just Groovin’ Experience

Playing Saturday, June 24 at 11 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

Libby Rae Watson

Playing Saturday, June 24 at 12 noon

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

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.

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

Lawdogs with Marlow Dorrough

Playing Saturday, June 24 at 1:00 pm.

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

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

Facebook: MarlowDorrough

Trenton Ayers ft. Wolfeagle

Playing Saturday, June 24 at 2:00 pm

Trenton Ayers has been playing guitar since age four. He has played with The Electric Mudd, Cedric Burnside Project, and more. He was nominated for a GRAMMY 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 24 at 3 pm

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

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

Rising Stars Fife & Drum Band

Playing Saturday, June 24 at 4 pm.

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

Traditional fife and drum music is a vanishing American folk music tradition derived from country blues, martial music tradition, and African rhythms. The late Otha Turner founded the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band, which is now led by his granddaughter Shardé Thomas.

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

Eric Deaton

Playing Saturday, June 24 at 5:15 pm.

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

Eric Deaton is a 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. Eric has recorded albums with The Black Keys and Hank Williams, Jr.

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

Charlie Musselwhite Duo

Playing Saturday, June 24 at 6:45 pm

Click here for The Local Voice’s 2023 Interview with Charlie Musselwhite

“Blues Tells The Truth in a World That’s Full of Lies: Charlie Musselwhite’s New Acoustic Album Wins Blues Music Award”

Mississippi-born, Memphis-raised, Grammy Award-winning music legend Charlie Musselwhite is renowned worldwide as a master harmonica player, a seasoned, truth-telling vocalist, and an original songwriter rooted deep within the blues tradition. A groundbreaking recording artist since the 1960s, Musselwhite has never stopped creating trailblazing music while remaining firmly rooted in the blues.

Website: charliemusselwhite.com/
Facebook: /CharlieMusselwhiteFanPage
Twitter: /musselwhiteharp
YouTube: /MusselwhiteHarp
Instagram: /charliemusselwhiteofficial/

Kenny Brown

Playing Saturday, June 24 at 8:15 pm

Kenny Brown is an American blues slide guitarist skilled in the North Mississippi Hill Country Blues style. He played for over 20 years with the legend RL Burnside, who refered to Kenny as his “white son.” Kenny has released many solo albums and his music has been featured in film on Black Snake Moan (featuring Samuel L. Jackson). He’s 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 24 at 9:30 pm

Known as a “musician’s musician,” Alvin Youngblood Hart’s praises have been sung by everyone from Bob Dylan to guitar gods Gary Moore & Mick Taylor. Alvin was born in Oakland, California, in 1963 to a family of post WWII Mississippi transplants. After a couple false starts, he began to play the guitar, in earnest, in 1977. The Hart family was never one to stay put. Spending his formative years on the West Coast, in the Midwest, and the Mid-South surely influenced Alvin’s wide ranging musical perspective.

Click here for The Local Voice’s 2021 Interview with Alvin Youngblood Hart

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)

Garry Burnside

Playing Saturday, June 24 at 11:00 pm.

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

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.

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

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