Guitarist, singer and songwriter Duwayne Burnside is one of 14 children born to legendary North Mississippi Hill Country musician R.L. Burnside and his wife Alice. He learned the first few guitar licks and chords from his father, soon after he started playing with the owner of a local jook-joint, another prominent exponent of hill country blues, Junior Kimbrough, and the Soul Blues Boys group. From his hometown of Holly Springs, it's just a short drive to Memphis, where he soon had the opportunity to play with Little Jimmy King, Albert King, B.B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland and others. Later, Duwayne started playing in his dad's band, Sound Machine Groove, where he continued to improve as a guitarist. He recorded with his father's band for Hightone and Fat Possum Records before moving to Memphis, where he opened his own club, Burnside Kitchen and Grill, near Highway 61. At the club, he booked bands, cooked food, sold beer, and performed weekly with his own band.
In 1998, Duwayne went to Los Angeles, where he recorded his first album Live at the Mint under the name Duwayne Burnside & the Mississippi Mafia. He also worked closely with the Dickinson brothers, either as a guest or for several years a regular member of their famous band the North Mississippi All Stars. He recorded with them on their third album Polaris, appears on two of the band's EPs, and still tours with them today. In 2004, he returned to his native Holly Springs, right in the center of the area, where the blues still lives in its original, essentially folkloric way of life. He opened another version of the Burnside Blues Cafe and formed a new band that combined soul blues with hill country blues. Under his own name, he released the albums Live at the Mint (1998) and Under Pressure (2005), both for B.C. Records.
Duwayne Burnside helps keep the North Hill Country blues flourishing in
Mississippi. He was nominated for a Blues Music Award in 2022 for the album Acoustic Burnside.
“…carrying on his father's legacy…he's an amazing electric guitarist who has been able to blend the Hill Country tradition with other influences such as the electric guitar styles of Albert King, B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan.” – John Shaw, The Delta Review
