We are excited to announce that Grammy-nominated blues singer Cedric Burnside will play the lead role in our film Texas Red. The titular character was an African-American man who ran a juke joint in Mississippi during the late 1930s and was hunted by a posse of hundreds of white men after a raid on his cabin.

Cedric Burnside is a native Mississippian, the grandson of legendary blues singer R.L. Burnside. Two of Cedric’s albums have been nominated for Grammys: Descendants of Hill Country in 2016 and Benton County Relic in 2019. He appeared in the film Black Snake Moan starring Samuel L. Jackson.

Our film Texas Red tells a true story of a manhunt which took place in the winter of 1940 in the Southwest region of Mississippi.  Texas Red was a successful juke joint owner in a racially integrated community called Freewoods, a rare thing during this time period in the South.  A group of white men led a raid on Texas Red’s cabin one night, leading to the killing of a young deputy named Hilliard Hall. Red and his partner the Oklahoma Kid, fled and were chased through the wilderness for a month by hundreds of men, including the FBI and National Guard. Red and the Kid were reported to have robbed establishments in the area before this raid but that has never been confirmed. The film follows the incredible chase, a powerful struggle for survival and justice.

Texas Red is one of our 12 Westerns in 12 Months. Click here to visit our IMDb page. Production begins in late January in Mississippi. We will be back with more casting announcements for Texas Red in the near future. To follow details about the project, please join our Facebook group Texas Red and follow the 12 Westerns in 12 Months.

-Travis Mills