Photo courtesy of Colin McAuliffe

Cedric Burnside (left), Lightnin' Malcolm

There are days when Cedric Burnside gets a break from the road and visits the Mississippi grave site of his grandfather, blues legend R.L. Burnside.

The younger Burnside grew up with the man, learned from him, toured with him, played drums for him.

Not long after his grandfather died in 2005, Burnside learned to play a guitar that North Mississippi Allstars' Luther Dickinson had given him. And that guitar is the best way left for the grandson to connect with his hero.

"I always wanted to play the guitar for my granddad before he passed, but I never got a chance to do that," Cedric Burnside said. "I just go to my granddad's grave every now and then, and I just sit down and grab me a beer -- you know, I don't do much drinking -- but I grab me a beer, and I go out there to his grave and just sit down and play the guitar for him for 30 or 40 minutes."

Burnside is carrying on the family legacy with help from another onetime Burnside sideman, Lightnin' Malcolm. The juke-joint duo has been playing together in one act or another for about five years. But as Cedric Burnside and Lightnin' Malcolm, they're beginning to make a real mark on the blues world.

Both men are strong, authentic blues singers. Both play guitar. Both play drums. They switch instruments during their show. Audiences have been electrified. And they have not missed the similarities between grandfather and grandson.

"Most people, they always tell me that I sound like my granddad when I'm on the mike singing, when I'm on the mike talking," he said. "I spent all my life, just about, with my granddaddy. I grew up with him, so everything that he showed me is instilled in me. ... When I watched him play the guitar, I didn't know how to play then, but it was in me, you know. So when I play the guitar, people tell me that I have my own style, but my vocals, they always tell me that I sound like my granddaddy.

"I'm not trying to fill his shoes, because I don't think nobody could do that. That's impossible. But I do want the people to know that I'm going to play this music for the rest of my life, and I'm going to keep it going, you know.

"That's what my granddad would want me to do. I'm sure of it."