Mississippi bluesmen Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, Cedric Burnside get big wins at Grammys

Mississippi blues musicians enjoyed a triumphant Sunday at the Grammys, as young Clarksdale guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram and Hill Country scion Cedric Burnside took home prizes at the 64th annual Grammy Awards.

The ceremonies — originally scheduled for late January and postponed due to the COVID-19 omicron surge — featured a number of Memphis and Mid-South artists among those vying for trophies.

In the Contemporary Blues Album category, 22-year-old guitar phenom Ingram earned the win for his album “662.”

Ingram beat out Nashville-based duo The Black Keys’ “Delta Kream” — whose nomination also included their collaborators, Mississippi Hill Country blues artists Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton — and Stax Records architect and guitar icon Steve Cropper, who was nominated for his album “Fire It Up.”

In his acceptance speech, Ingram gave thanks "to God, my family, my manager and Alligator Records."

One of the blues world's brightest young lights, Ingram added that, "For years I had to watch the myth that young Black kids are not into blues,” he said. "So I just hope I can show the world different. Thank you, guys — peace."

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In the Best Traditional Blues Album category, 43-year-old Memphis-born, Holly Springs-bred Cedric Burnside — the grandson of Hill Country blues legend R.L. Burnside — got his first win after three nominations for the LP, “I Be Trying.”

Burnside was present to accept the honor, along with the album's producer, Lawrence "Boo" Mitchell of South Memphis' Royal Studios.

"Wow — thank y'all so much. I'd like to thank the academy and Jesus Christ for letting the universe work with me," said Burnside, addressing the crowd and putting in a plug for his soon-to-open venue in the Magnolia State.

"I'm a little Mississippi boy 'bout to open up a juke joint for the first time," he added to cheers. "If you ever in the 'Sip come by and juke a little bit. Thank you all so much."

In addition to producing Burnside's album, Mitchell worked as an engineer on Ingram's Grammy-winning LP. Also, the throwback R&B collaboration between Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, Silk Sonic, won the Best R&B Song Grammy and shared the award for Best R&B Performance (along with Jazmine Sullivan) for their track "Leave the Door Open."

Several songs on Silk Sonic’s album, “An Evening with Silk Sonic,” were recorded by Mitchell at Royal and feature contributions from local players, trombonist Kameron Whalum, Marc Franklin on trumpet, Kirk Smothers on baritone saxophone and Lannie McMillan on tenor sax.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Grammys 2022: Christone 'Kingfish' Ingram, Cedric Burnside among winners