Cedric Burnside Delivers “An Urgent Statement on Salvation and Spirituality" (Rolling Stone) with New Album I Be Trying, Out Today on Single Lock Records

Release Follows Announcement of National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship for Burnside

Listen to I Be Trying HERE

Today, Cedric Burnside “expands the sonic landscape in a way not too many other artists can do” (Ebony) with the release of his brand new album I Be Trying (Single Lock Records). A masterclass in the Mississippi Hill Country Blues from its greatest living practitioner and two-time Grammy nominee, I Be Trying’s thirteen tracks chart a course through life’s most emotional moments of connection, hurt and redemption as Burnside’s blistering guitar riffs become one with his honest, expressive vocal melodies, sometimes conjuring what words can not. With its release on the artist-run Southern independent label Single Lock Records, I Be Trying unmistakably marks a brand new chapter for the Mississippi blues of a modern South.

Listen to I Be Trying, “an urgent statement on salvation and spirituality” (Rolling Stone) that draws from folk, roots rock, and of course, the hill-country blues of his grandfather, the legendary RL Burnside, who helped pioneer the subgenre’s minimalist approach and unconventional sense of rhythm, here: https://link.singlelock.com/cedric

I Be Trying arrives after a year when plenty discovered what "the blues" really means, but Burnside’s storytelling lyrics and extended, exclamatory guitar riffs offer a guidebook for life’s dark times, set to mostly minor chord progressions and pulsing bass and percussion rhythms that immediately set in the soul like the gospel. I Be Trying opens with an acoustic lament, “The World Can Be So Cold,” that encapsulates the tenderness of pure pain before Burnside rallies with the Lord for help on the rousing “Step In.” The title track, on which Burnside is accompanied on background vocals by his youngest daughter Portrika, is a plea for grace and forgiveness from a man “still learning and trying to be the best me.” Throughout I Be Trying,Burnside also recognizes his past mistakes with women and promises to be a better spouse on “Pretty Flowers.” Another common theme across the album is the realization that the world needs more love, specifically on the groovy anthem “Love Is The Key” and the smooth, emotional, falsetto album-closer “Love You Forever.”

Burnside’s signature approach and contribution to the Hill Country genre—electricity, intention, and timeless timbre—is seamlessly complemented here by Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell, North Mississippi Allstars guitarist Luther Dickinson, and principal collaborator Reed Watson on drums. Together at Memphis' hallowed Royal Studios - home to historic sessions by everyone from Al Green to Mark Ronson - they created a bold, contemporary sound that expands the sonic landscape of the blues while respecting and honoring its roots.

Last week, Burnside was officially announced as a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts' 2021 Heritage Fellowship alongside Los Lobos, becoming one of the youngest musicians to ever be honored with the prize for "representing the richness and breadth of America's folk and traditional arts." Read more about the special Heritage Fellowship announcement, whose previous winners include Mavis Staples and B.B. King, via NPR here: https://www.npr.org/2021/06/15/1006679096/nea-announces-2021-national-heritage-fellowship-winners

I BE TRYING TRACKLIST

The World Can Be So Cold

Step In

I Be Trying

You Really Love Me

Love Is The Key

Keep On Pushing

Gotta Look Out

Pretty Flowers

What Makes Me Think

Bird Without A Feather

Hands Off That Girl

Get Down

Love You Forever

"Cedric expands the sonic landscape in a way not too many other artists can do...while ushering the genre into a beautifully Black future." 

- Ebony 

"Bare-bones, hypnotic hill country...with live-wire playing." 

- Rolling Stone Country

“[Cedric Burnside’s] music has always found a way of honoring the past while looking to the future… creating a sound that’s both timely and timeless.” 

- Afropunk

"Cedric proudly carries the mantle of Mississippi hill country blues into the 21st century" 

- Afropop Worldwide

“Burnside’s finest set to push [the blues] a little closer to widespread acceptance while maintaining the tough, raw foundation… and you can dance to it.” 

- American Songwriter

“[Burnside] cultivates his own niche between modernity and tradition.” 

- DownBeat

“A melodic, uplifting tour through Hill Country seen through Burnside’s eyes, a rendering of a landscape prettier than seen by most observers, and more soulful.”

- No Depression

"Cedric Burnside's most personal album yet...soul-stirring...I Be Trying makes way for the next generation." 

- Garden & Gun