(Editor's Note: Cellist, composer, and creator Leyla McCalla brings us a conversation as guest contributor with singer and community activist Barbara Dane – in celebration of her 96th birthday on May 12.) I felt an immediate connection to Barbara Dane when I heard her voice. I first learned of Dane while developing music for a…

(Editor's Note: To kick off our Artist of the Month coverage for June, we asked legendary musician, songwriter, and co-founder of the Black Country Music Association, Frankie Staton, to discuss and explore the vital work of the Black Opry. Scroll to find our Essential Black Opry Playlist below.) Holly G wanted a safe place to not…

[Editor’s note: To mark the conclusion of Black History Month, we’ve invited BGS collaborator and contributor Brandi Waller-Pace to share her thoughts on how to take the ethos, mission, and action of BHM with us throughout the year.] “Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Black American writer and historian, is known as the Father of Black History…

It's hard to pick my favorite protest songs. The Woody, the Dylan, the '60s counterculture pop hits, the singularly chilling “Strange Fruit” -- I love them all. The original “This Land Is Your Land” is an anarchist hymn, Dylan’s “Masters of War” is as scathing and righteous today as it was then, “Ohio” by CSNY…

Many of the facets of the music industry are the way they are simply because they are the way they are, but there is one pillar of melodic and lyrical art-making that remains extraordinarily arbitrary. Time. Records are released on Fridays now. Except when they aren’t. Some release days are packed with albums and others…