“Music has been a part of my life as far as I can remember, so I guess it has influenced every view I have. It has taken me around the world, meeting people from many different cultures, all connecting through the music. Blues has always been there, the whole time. I think blues is sometimes misunderstood as a sad music, when it actually helps get over sadness.”

Kenny Brown: Greetings from Mississippi 

Kenny Brown began hearing Otha Turner, Napolean Strickland and others who played at picnics across the road from his home at 7 years old. Brown apprenticed with Mississippi Joe Callicott, who moved in next door to his home in Nesbit, Mississippi, from age 12 to 15, when Callicott died. Around 1971 Brown began playing with two other musicians. Johnny Woods would make an occasional playing partner until his death in 1990.  More steady was Brown's learning with R. L. Burnside, who claimed Brown as his “adopted son,” In the early seventies they started to perform in their region, and would keep up as a duo for thirty years sometimes joined with Calvin Jackson on drums. On record, Brown recorded with R.L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Asie Payton, CeDell Davis, Paul "Wine" Jones, Frank Frost, T-Model Ford, Dale Hawkins, Mojo Bufford, Jessie Mae Hemphill, The North Mississippi Allstars, Jojo Herman as well as Cyndi Lauper.

Brown's own debut album was Goin' Back to Mississippi (1996), rereleased on Big Legal Mess produced by Dale Hawkins. He has recorded one album for Fat Possum Records, Stingray (2003). He released Cheap, Fast, and Dirty (2006) with Danish guitarist Troels Jensen, at Olufsen Records. Meet Ya In The Bottom (2008) is a CD Baby release, as well as his double album Can't Stay Long in 2011. Kenny, along with his wife Sara, are the key founders of blues festival, The North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic. Brown continues to perform locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally and currently lives in the North Mississippi Hill Country.

Interview by Michael Limnios                         Special Thanks: Sara & Kenny Brown

How has the music influenced your views of the world? What does the blues mean to you?

Music has been a part of my life as far as I can remember, so I guess it has influenced every view I have. It has taken me around the world, meeting people from many different cultures, all connecting through the music. Blues has always been there, the whole time. I think blues is sometimes misunderstood as a sad music, when it actually helps get over sadness.

How do you describe your sound, music philosophy, and songbook? What's the balance in music between technique and soul?

I’ve been influenced by so many different forms of music and artists, so I guess my sound is a combination of all that. My philosophy is to try to play the best I can and to help people have more happiness. I’m always learning, but I just play from the heart. Sometimes, I think I played better when I had less knowledge than I do now.

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

I think it’s because it comes from the heart and soul.

“I hope more young people will get into blues and real music, and step away from so much of the electronic, AI, and rap stuff. When I look at the age of the audience sometimes, it seems that there could be a danger of the crowds dying out.” (Kenny Brown with the late great bluesman R.L. Burnside, and Derek Trucks / Photo by Adam Smith / Photos: Kenny Brown, North Mississippi Hill Country musician with R.L. Burnside, Jessie Mae Hemphill, his wife Sara, Cedric Burnside, and Luther Dickinson)

Which meetings have been the most important experiences for you? What was the best advice anyone ever gave you?

Joe Callicutt moving in next door to me when I was 10, meeting him, and learning from him was a very special time. Then, meeting R.L. Burnside and Johnny Woods after Joe died, definitely put me on this road I’m traveling. There are so many other people that influenced me or gave me a chance; it’s a long, long list.

Are there any memories from gigs, jams, opening acts, and studio sessions which you’d like to share with us?

So many gigs or sessions! All of the Fat Possum guys... Dale Hawkins was a gas. The Robert Finley sessions were like magic; we went in with no idea what we were going to do and had 5 or 6 songs in a few hours. Same with the Black Keys. I knew Hank Williams was a great country artist, but until I met him and got to know him better, I had no idea he was such a great guy and was so into the blues.

What do you miss most nowadays from the blues of the past? What are your hopes and fears for the future?

A lot of juke joints have disappeared, which is kind of sad. In Mississippi, there used to be a lot of picnics; that’s why my wife (Sara) and I started the North Mississippi Hill Country Picnic, where we focus on artists and music from this area. I hope more young people will get into blues and real music, and step away from so much of the electronic, AI, and rap stuff. When I look at the age of the audience sometimes, it seems that there could be a danger of the crowds dying out.

What is the impact of the Blues on socio-cultural implications? How do you want the music to affect people?

The blues music is actually happy music. You very seldom see any violence or altercations at a blues show or festival, unlike other types of shows. Hopefully, the music can raise the vibratory rates of the human race.

”My philosophy is to try to play the best I can and to help people have more happiness. I’m always learning, but I just play from the heart. Sometimes, I think I played better when I had less knowledge than I do now.”

(Kenny Brown / Photo by Deke V Rivers)

How can a band/musician truly turn the blues into a commercial and popular genre of music for today's audience?

That's been done for as long as I know. Everyone, from Elvis Presley on, has done it – even earlier. Country music, or early country music, is blues, just with a different beat. Blues is definitely the basis of much modern music, or at least, those are my opinions.

Kenny Brown - Home