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Roots Culture Redefined

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Black Voices
Celebrating Black History Month: Big Al Downing, Yola, Elizabeth Cotten, and MoreTo celebrate Black History Month – and the vital contributions of Black, Afro-, and African American artists and musicians to American roots music – BGS, Good Country, and our friends at Real Roots Radio in southwestern Ohio have partnered once again. This time, we'll be bringing you weekly collections of a…
Black VoicesDec 18, 2024

“I like to say my music is mixed, like me,” laughs Julie Williams, a queer, biracial Nashville-based songwriter who happens to be one of the strongest new voices to emerge in country music this decade. “I grew up loving ‘90s country, but before I moved to Nashville I didn’t necessarily think I could make that…

Black VoicesNov 15, 2024

The music, sparse and spooky, sounds at the same time strangely universal and possibly from the last century, but as Jerron Paxton notes in his album title, Things Done Changed. The major difference on Paxton’s fifth album (including his 2021 duet set with Dennis Lichtman) is a big one. He wrote the songs. “It wasn't…

Black VoicesOct 17, 2024

For years, Jett Holden dreamt and dreamt about making a living through music, but everywhere he turned he was met with doubt, subtle prejudice, and closeted racism that left him running on empty and searching for something new. Following a journey to rock bottom, Holden is back stronger than ever on The Phoenix, a 10-song…

Black VoicesOct 9, 2024

Oscar Wilde said, “If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing well. If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for. If it is worth attaining, it is worth fighting for. If it is worth experiencing, it is worth putting aside time for.” Composer and guitarist Yasmin Williams can certainly relate to…

Black VoicesOct 4, 2024

Much like the songs on his latest album Pathways, the sounds swirling around Canadian singer-songwriter Julian Taylor on our recent phone call for BGS were also filled with curiosity, emotion, and the subtle, intrinsic tones of a modern world unfolding. Walking the streets of his native Toronto, the introspective depths of Taylor’s voice and pure…