Cedric Burnside at The Southern: How a Show on the Downtown Mall can Feel Homey

Tuesday, Sept. 17, the evening was rainy, but in no way lacked the presence of life in the Historic Downtown Mall. Yet The Southern, tucked out of sight a few streets over, would soon find itself filled with life and sound. Walking down to the venue’s entrance, the peaceful atmosphere that the location embodied was felt all too well.

Entering the venue, getting my under-21 wristband, and making my way to the music hall, it was quickly noticeable that although few had arrived for the main show yet, there was a noticeable quantity of gray hair. Only one other person who could have been in their teens was present, and maybe only a couple of people in their 20s. After a solid few minutes, Cedric Burnside’s opener, The Blue Sunburst Trio (a Charlottesville band) hit the stage. Their setlist was primarily blues covers from a period well before my time, though many of the bands they were pulling from were recognizable. Lacking a percussionist, there were noticeable moments of poor syncopation over time during the band’s performance. Bill Adams (the frontman) made quips here and there, though most of his jokes ended up falling flat.

He said, “I gotta tune again; I got temperamental strings. That’s what I call the string section in an orchestra. You’ll forget your schedule if it’s not right in front of you.”

As the opener left the stage, and while waiting in the bar area for the main show to begin, the music hall became more lively and less roomy. As Cedric Burnside took the stage, the energy in the room shifted to something warm and homey. It wasn’t a packed house, though it certainly didn’t leave much room left to maneuver within the space. 

Burnside started by coming out and gracefully soloing through his clean soulful blues repertoire. His experienced and smooth acoustic playing was only outclassed by his warm deep/bass vocals. After five or six songs, Burnside’s bassist and drummer joined him on stage, and he grabbed an electric guitar. During the transition from acoustic to electric, Burnside said, “I really try and do this as fast as possible.” 

The remaining setlist was clean, pretty, and just fun to sit listening to. Throughout the show, Burnside would throw out exclamations such as “Feel free to dance,” and “Y’all beautiful man.” The fliers and posters across the walls of The Southern, advertising upcoming events, showed that the music hall still had many more shows ahead of it. Music open mics and Comedy open mics are recurring at The Southern, while the venue has many acts coming to play there before the year’s end.