“I am not a musicologist, but I feel that blues has contributed similar aspects to Americana as folk and country music, but from its own unique perspective - lyrics emoting relatable daily life, as well as chord progressions and rhythms unique to the style. If Americana is the cook pot, then blues, folk, and country are the holy trinity of the gumbo.”

Kody Shade Harrell:

Modern Mississippi Music

Kody Shade Harrell is a rising force in modern blues and Americana. Hailing from Mississippi, he grew up on southern rock sounds like The Allman Brothers, inspiring him to explore his roots and delve into North Mississippi Hill Country Blues. His sound is an authentic blend of rural country blues, psychedelic guitar improvisation, and relatable songwriting, influenced by legends like R.L. Burnside as well as contemporary acts like The Black Keys. To achieve this distinct tone, he plays custom handcrafted cigar box and license plate guitars by Junkpile Guitars. His journey began in 2015 when Duwayne and Garry Burnside trusted him as a slide guitarist in their bands, leading to close collaborations with Luther Dickinson of the North Mississippi Allstars. His dedication to the genre was recognized by the Mississippi Arts Commission, through which he officially apprenticed under Grammy nominee R.L. Boyce and Hill Country guru Eric Deaton.

(Photo: Kody Shade Harrell)

Today, Kody carries this legacy forward with his new single, "Blues Luxury"—a nod to his musical heroes and the "blues luxury" of life on the road. Bringing deep North Mississippi grooves to audiences worldwide, the track aims to help people forget their troubles, no matter the challenges of touring.

Interview by Michael Limnios              Special Thanks: Betsie Brown (Blind Raccoon)

What keeps a musician passionate over the years in roots and blues music? How did the blues shape Americana? 

Personally, I stay passionate by continually seeking and discovering new-to-me roots and blues music. Be it versions of North Mississippi Hill Country Blues songs that I have never heard before, similar stylings or lyrics shared across different regions that I was previously unaware of, or artists I have not heard before. The appreciation I have in these moments of “discovery” keeps me driven and invested in the music.

I am not a musicologist, but I feel that blues has contributed similar aspects to Americana as folk and country music, but from its own unique perspective - lyrics emoting relatable daily life, as well as chord progressions and rhythms unique to the style. If Americana is the cook pot, then blues, folk, and country are the holy trinity of the gumbo. Each style has its own flavor that complements the others and is so important to creating the gumbo of American music.

How do you describe your sound, music philosophy and songbook? Where does your creative drive come from?

Multifaceted may be the best term. I strive to incorporate all of my influences into my music. Not in every song, but across my “songbook.” I grew up with Classic Rock-loving parents, so I pull from the 60’s and 70’s electric guitarwork and psychedelia that I grew up hearing on the radio. I am also heavily influenced by North Mississippi Hill Country Blues, its infectious rhythms, and its slide guitar riffs. Country blues in general led me to make fingerpicked music, which often comes out leaning more toward folk music that sounds “pretty” rather than “bluesy.” 

As far as philosophy and creative drive goes, like a song of mine says “I wanna write something that matters.” When I make music, it has some intent that matters to me personally, just as the songs that have made me love music throughout my life have something in them that matters to me, that pulled me into them. I may not fully pull that off with every song I write, but the intent is there, and knowing how music makes me feel drives me to create something to pass that feeling on to the listener. It’s a bit of leaving a legacy, and a bit of serving a purpose for others as my musical influences have served for me.

“My mentality is that I try not to “force” songs to be something, I let their feel determine what I incorporate into them. This goes both for covers as well as my originals. Not every hill country song demands psychedelic stylings. As you mentioned, some stick to a tight groove and I feel that they are best presented in that way. I’ll try to answer with an example: RL Burnside’s ‘Long-Haired Doney’ vs ‘Mellow Peaches.’” (Kody Shade Harrell / Photo by Jean Frank)

Why do you think that Mississippi Roots/Blues scene continues to generate such a devoted following? 

Mississippi is known as “The Birthplace of America’s Music,” and I feel that it has long been a cradle for Americana. Mississippi’s raw, from-the-earth musical stylings can be found underlying most American music, so to me it’s no wonder that arts & music appreciators hold Mississippi music in such high regard, and that modern artists are pulling from the state’s historic songbook. It’s the deep musical lineage, the important continuation of culture, and having a pipeline of new artists connecting with and being inspired by Mississippi’s rich musical legacy that surely fosters the devotion to the scene that we see around the world. It’s incredible and such a shining star for the state!

You refer to your signature sound as "Modern Mississippi Music." How do you define this concept, and how do you manage to keep the raw juke joint soul intact while pushing it into the future?

This is a term coined by my friend and mentor Luther Dickinson (of North Mississippi Allstars). The best way I can define Modern Mississippi Music is just that; it’s the creation of music in Mississippi, that sounds like Mississippi, and builds upon or is inspired by works from the state’s songbook. It’s the continuation of the state’s musical lineage with our current-day influences mixed in.

Hill Country Blues is a great foundation for making Modern Mississippi Music and keeping the juke joint feel intact. This style is a bit like “backwoods jam band music” in a way, in that it maintains a 1-chord hypnotic groove centered around the rhythm, and is so inviting to throw parts and pieces into the mix because, like a jam band, no matter where you take the song it can always come back to that rooted, rhythmic groove. That’s the key to keeping the raw juke joint soul intact: maintain the groove, do not let what you add to the music interrupt the groove. 

A note from my personal perspective: I do play blues music in my set, but not every song of mine is blues. I am not a “bluesman,” but I am a Mississippian, and as mentioned earlier I do incorporate many of my influences into my music - most found here in the state.                                                  (Photo: Kody Shade Harrell & Bryan Shaw)

“Mississippi is known as “The Birthplace of America’s Music,” and I feel that it has long been a cradle for Americana. Mississippi’s raw, from-the-earth musical stylings can be found underlying most American music, so to me it’s no wonder that arts & music appreciators hold Mississippi music in such high regard, and that modern artists are pulling from the state’s historic songbook.”

Your music builds a bridge between legendary bluesmen like R.L. Burnside and Mississippi Fred McDowell, and contemporary acts like The Black Keys and North Mississippi Allstars. How do you balance these old-school rural traditions with modern rock sensibilities?

Full transparency, these contemporary acts were my gateway to those forefathers. I first saw North Mississippi Allstars at 9 years old, and listened to The Black Keys in high school. The music these bands were making was unlike anything I had grown up hearing on the classic rock and alternative radio stations, and though I could not pinpoint why at the time, it grabbed me. When I moved to Oxford, MS after high school, I realized “this is where the roots of their music are” and began deep diving into the North MS scene and studying their music to understand why it grabbed me, what they were carrying on from the “old guard,” and what outside influences they were adding to it. 

I glean a lot from recordings and live video of RL Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Fred McDowell, etc. - specifically their electric guitar work. Being that blues is the base for rock ‘n’ roll and I was raised on the classic rock radio, the bridge between the two is pretty natural for me from a playing and feel standpoint. Also, if you listen to Burnside on Burnside or watch old tapes from Junior Kimbrough’s juke joint, you hear how raucous and rocking the music was. Dirty guitar and overdriven bass, powerful drums, feel-based rather than structured and orchestrated, but always hypnotic. It wasn’t the “sad and blue” material that people usually associate with blues. It already lends itself to rocking, so as long as my songs stay rooted in the groove and maintain traditional techniques like fingerpicking and slide playing, I feel that I can add other musical stylings without diluting the old-school tradition. 

Psychedelic guitar improvisation plays a major role in your sonic identity. How do you decide when to stick to a tight, hypnotic Hill Country groove and when to let the song break out into a more ethereal, trippy jam?

That’s a great question! My mentality is that I try not to “force” songs to be something, I let their feel determine what I incorporate into them. This goes both for covers as well as my originals. Not every hill country song demands psychedelic stylings. As you mentioned, some stick to a tight groove and I feel that they are best presented in that way. I’ll try to answer with an example: RL Burnside’s “Long-Haired Doney” vs “Mellow Peaches.” 

Doney is a tight, technical piece with some unorthodox characteristics that I feel carry the soul of the song, so it is important that it’s performed with those intact. The song does not quite lend itself to extended jamming like others in the repertoire, though you certainly can do that, so I choose to keep it pretty traditional. Mellow Peaches, on the other hand, has a feel that works well at slower tempos and is more inviting for jams and “stretching out” musically. I like to use delay and phaser effects throughout Mellow Peaches to really drive home the psychedelic, hypnotic mood as I blend in and out of the main riff and improvised guitar licks, and I feel that adding psych stylings often works so well due to moonshine’s influence on the music. Again, all based on the feel of the song without forcing anything.

“A note from my personal perspective: I do play blues music in my set, but not every song of mine is blues. I am not a “bluesman,” but I am a Mississippian, and as mentioned earlier I do incorporate many of my influences into my music - most found here in the state.” (Photo: Kody Shade Harrell)

Your writing heavily reflects honest and relatable observations on the southern experience. What specific elements or stories of modern life in the South do you feel are most important to capture in your lyrics right now?

Regular, everyday life is what I gravitate toward. In the South, like all regions, people have shared struggles and heartfelt experiences, so there is a lot of relatable, ever-relevant material to write about. Whether it’s the classic blues motif of hoping for a payoff for hard work, navigating loss of family or way of life, or reminiscing fondly about my childhood of romping through the Pascagoula River swamp vs. the challenges of the modern “plugged in” connectedness of society, these themes are timeless and relatable here in the South, so I lean into them. 

Also in this digital age that is seemingly relying more on technology and less on humanity, I find it important to continue these “everyday” topics that keep culture and a way of life alive. This is where the terms “Folk Arts” and “Americana” come to mind for me, as I am not trying to be a revolutionary artist or even a “bluesman,” but rather a Mississippian creating musical representations of my state, my region, my experiences, and continuing the musical traditions that have grown from and are still alive here.

Besides fronting your own music, you have a busy career as a touring bassist for Cedric Burnside and a studio engineer/assistant at Zebra Ranch Studio and Kenny Brown's home studio. How do these different behind-the-scenes roles shape your perspective when you switch back to being a frontman?

Having the experience both in touring with Cedric and in studio work have provided me a front-end and back-end understanding of being an artist and bandleader. Two sides of the same coin, but vastly different ways of work and hard to understand without first-hand experience in both.

Cedric is a life-long hill country bluesman and road warrior. Playing his music around the world has helped me understand how authenticity connects with people, which parts of the music are most important (don’t interrupt the groove, for example), and how to live on the road. It has been one of the most important experiences for my live music career, and has been so invaluable in teaching me the ropes of leading a touring outfit and commanding a stage. 

As production assistant at Zebra Ranch and recording engineer at Kenny Brown’s, I get to witness the realities of the studio environment as compared to the live stage. The way a session is produced, how artists conduct themselves in-studio, what matters to get the best recording, all of these are so different from a live show and are so individual to each artist. Having this behind-the-scenes look at how different folks operate as “artists” in the studio rather than “performers” has given me a solid foundation for how I should view my own work, the minutia that matters when recording a piece that will persist into the future, and how to be most effective and intentional in a session.

Kody Shade Harrell - Home

(Kody Shade Harrell / Photo by Ellen C. Miller)