Duwayne Burnside – Red Rooster
Lucky 13 Records
10 Tracks – 40 minutes
The son of R.L. Burnside continues to grow his father’s Hill Country blues sound but turning it into his own. Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, he grew up in the backbone of the Hill Country sound. He learned to play by listening to the music that regularly occurred on the back porch of homes. Growing up he played alongside R.L. and his neighbor and another mentor in Junior Kimbrough. He initially played drums in his father’s band and was first recorded at age ten playing drums with the group Sound Groove Machine.
He quickly moved on to playing guitar, bass and providing his own vocals. Still in his teens, he moved to Memphis where he encountered another mentor, Little Jimmy King, who had him playing regularly in his band. He also had the opportunity to play with Albert King, B.B. King and Bobby Bland among others. He released his first record, Live at the Mint, in 1998 on Lucky 13 Records. He grew up playing music with Luther and Cody Dickinson who lived in nearby Hernando, Mississippi which led him to join the brothers in The North Mississippi Allstars from 2001 – 2004. He was featured in that band’s 2003 release, Polaris, which featured Duwayne on lead vocals on two songs. In 2005, Duwayne released his second album, Under Pressure, again on Lucky 13 Records. That record led to his nomination for Best New Blues Artist at the 2006 W.C. Handy Blues Awards. He released a third album, Acoustic Burnside, in 2022. Along the way he opened his own juke joint, the Burnside Bar & Grill, in Holly Springs to carry on his family legacy.
Duwayne had been working on the record that would become Red Rooster for some time. Going full circle with his connections, Cody Dickinson produced the album and joins with his brother, Luther Dickinson, playing on the album with Jimbo Mathus, the founder and frontman of the Squirrel Nut Zippers, completing the band.
He opens the album with his version of R.L. Burnside’s “Nightmare”, keeping the haunted roots of the song but giving it a modern edge with some stirring guitar work as he declares “you’re a nightmare just for me. I went home last night and sat down on my bed and cried thinking about my woman who just cannot be satisfied. He next moves into the roots rocker “Circle in the Sky”, a song from the Allstars’ 2001 album, Phantom, but again converting it into his own sound complete with Jimi Hendrix styled overtones and a Hillside touch to a slightly psychedelic song. The first original “Somebody Done Stole My Girl” clearly identifies the song’s theme and moves into a more soulful approach.
He establishes “Things Ain’t Going My Way” as he says “I am walking around this Mississippi town, can’t find my baby, might as well lay these blues down” with a ripping guitar run amid a move back to the classic Hill Country sound. He slows things down for a soulful song written by Jimbo Mathus as he pleads “Don’t treat me mean. I can’t argue you with you no more. All I want you to do, baby, is “Talk Sweet to Me”. “Tribute” is a memory of his early learning at the feet of R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and others noting that “I will never forget the way you played the blues”.
Duwayne announces “I don’t care what people say, I don’t care what they do, I’m “Crazy About You” as he moves back into the rhythmic Hillside sound with a touch of soul in the vocals. R.L.’s grandson, Cody Burnside, who died in a car crash in Minnesota in November 2025, adds a rap on “King” melding the traditional sound with the more current musical direction. Bobby Womack’s “Down & Out” moves into a bit of funk and soul. He concludes with the 7-1/2 minute “Mississippi Here I Come”, featuring an acoustic guitar instrumental that runs over half the song’s length before Duwayne starts singing about returning to Mississippi and the things he enjoys there noting he is “tired of this city living”. and looks forward to “Cornbread, black eyed peas”. “If you want to get a good meal, baby, just go on back to the farm”.
Duwayne’s guitar is a standout supporting his raw, energetic vocals. While clearly maintaining much of the elements of his upbringing, he moves the songs into new directions mixing his roots with his Memphis leanings and the more modern sound from the Allstars.
