2024 Performing Musicians
2024 Performing Musicians
Born in 1958, the son of famed blues harmonica player Carey Bell, Lurrie Bell picked up his father’s guitar at age of five and taught himself to play. He was clearly gifted. In addition, he grew up with many of the Chicago blues legends around him. Eddie Taylor, Big Walter Horton, Eddie C. Campbell, Eddie Clearwater, Lovie Lee, Sunnyland Slim, Jimmy Dawkins and many more were frequent visitors to his house. They all helped to shape and school him in the blues, but none as much as his father’s long-time employer Muddy Waters.
Libby Rae Watson grew up in Pascagoula, Mississippi a few blocks from the Gulf of Mexico. She became captivated by Blues music when in her teens after stumbling across a songbook in a local music store. It was full of songs and photos of Blues greats! Son House, Mississippi John Hurt, Elizabeth Cotten…. legends of the early Blues. It was the beginning of a life long infatuation of the music, the people who made it, and the culture of her own State. She later searched for and became friends with several Blues musicians. She was mentored by the great Sam Chatmon who was the last surviving member of the Mississippi Sheiks. “I didn’t plan to go ‘find’ the Blues. The Blues found me. I’ve been consumed by it for over 40 years! Like Sam Chatmon said, “ The Blues is my daily occupation!”
Anthony “Big A” Sherrod is a current bluesman that regularly in town. His natural showmanship that moves and plays with tremendous fun and passion personifies that one can hear authentic music in Clarksdale today… that is as good as it ever was historically. At present Anthony has a weekly residence at Red’s Lounge, the famous authentic juke joint in Clarksdale’s historic downtown Arts & Culture District.
Ra’Shad The Blues Kid, born Larry Ra’Shad Lavar McGill, hails from Laurel, Mississippi, and is deeply rooted in the blues tradition. Influenced by the musical greats of the Mississippi PineBelt, Ra’Shad’s music, including hits like “Ain’t No Sunshine” and “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin”, reflects his love for the blues. Starting in church and later forming The Groove Band, Ra’Shad collaborated with various artists, shaping his unique style. He gained international recognition, performing at the Delemont Blues Festival in Switzerland. In 2023, he received accolades from the International Blues Hall of Fame and Jus Blues Music Awards, showcasing his commitment to preserving the blues. His recent achievements include induction into the Alabama Blues Hall of Fame and receiving the “Tribute to B.B. King Blues Award.” In 2024, he was honored with an Honorary Membership Ring to the GroundZero Blues Club.
Randy Ferguson is a versatile lead singer songwriter with well over 30 years of multi genre expertise. Randy has shared billing with dozens of music legends and has recently been playing duet gigs with Grammy nominated Hill Country Blues legend, Trenton Ayers. Randy moved from Jackson, TN, to the Mississippi Delta in 1996, to immerse himself in the Blues. Now residing in the Nesbit, MS area, Randy regularly offers Music Therapy to North Mississippi Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Centers, bringing the joy of music to area seniors. As a recurring artist and host of the Oxford Blues Festival www.oxfordbluesfest.com, Randy has delighted audiences with his original songs and stories. His songs “Walking Into Clarksdale” and “I Love The Rain” exemplify the life of a Mississippi Bluesman. Randy is working on an album of original songs that he plans to release this year.
Hidden gem from Clarksdale, Mississippi, Cricket Edgeworth was born and raised in the cotton fields of the Delta. She began playing piano at the age of five. Cricket has recorded with the likes of Sam Carr, Robert “Bilbo” Walker, and Chicago bluesman, Dave Riley. She has performed in numerous clubs and venues including Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero, the infamous Pat O’Brien’s in New Orleans and Memphis, TN, and B. B. King’s historic Club Ebony located in Indianola, MS. Cricket’s soulful vocals and boogie blues piano leaves you wanting more.
He characterizes his style as ‘contemporary country-blues’…a modern culmination of the hodgepodge of musical influences absorbed from living in the Mid-Southern U.S. and continual touring. He has played festivals, clubs, and bars throughout the U.S. for over twenty years, and has been billed repeat- edly at world-renowned Mid-South regional events such as King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena, AR and Juke Joint Festival in the Mississippi Delta. Davis has also enjoyed a dozen blues circuit tours of Europe, sharing bills with R.L. Burnside, Koko Taylor, Big Jack Johnson, David “Honeyboy” Edwards & Bo Diddley. He’s also headlined on more diversified festival bills with Wynton Marsalis, Leon Russell, Bonnie Raitt, Tito Puente, Toots & the Maytals, Richie Havens, Mountain & Eric Burdon.
Guitarist, singer, and songwriter Duwayne Burnside is one of 14 children born to legendary North Mississippi musician R.L. Burnside and his wife, Alice. He has been a frequent performer with the North Mississippi Allstars since the early 1990s, when that group, fronted by Luther and Cody Dickinson, formed. 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. Growing up in Holly Springs, he was close to Memphis, and as soon as he was able to get to Memphis, he did, and soon had the chance to sit in with Little Jimmy King, Albert King, B.B. King, Bobby “Blue” Bland, and others. Duwayne also began playing in his Dad’s band, Sound Machine Groove, where he further honed his skills as a guitarist and showman. He recorded for Hightone and Fat Possum Records with his father’s group before moving to Memphis, where he opened his own club, Burnside Kitchen and Grill, near Highway 61. He booked the music, cooked the food, sold the beer, and had his own band perform there on a weekly basis.
