Artist:Sara Petite Hometown: San Diego, California Song: “Missing You Tonight” Album:Rare Bird Release Date: February 26, 2021 Label: JTM Music
In Their Words: “‘Missing You’ is a cool California country song about a broken heart. It takes place at sunset in Ocean Beach with a cotton candy pink sunset and the palm trees swaying… just like the hippies dancing on Newport Avenue to Michael Franti. Trying to enjoy yourself in the beauty while nursing a broken heart. Here’s the lyric: ‘We can’t be together, it’s hell being apart, it’s ripping through my soul and tearing up my heart. I try to move through the pain and wonder how you are? Do you think of me when I think of you or am I just scar? I’m missing you, missing you baby tonight.'” — Sara Petite
Six-String Soldiers, the United States Army Field Band from Washington, D.C., are joining The SteelDrivers in a new, collaborative video for “Long Way Down.” It’s an excerpt from a performance on the military group’s Facebook page.
Staff Sgts. Renée and Joey Bennett from Six-String Soldiers tell BGS, “”We’ve learned so much getting to play with these folks. When you get to play with musicians you look up to and respect so much it makes us up our game, which is a treat in itself. We love the energy, depth, and knowledge that The SteelDrivers bring to the table and their adaptability shines through every time we get to merge our two groups. They are each such stunning musicians and to be able to hear them play, let alone be a part of the action, is just breathtaking. They’re all so fun and we’ve had a great time every time we’ve gotten to play together, be that in person or through a virtual collaboration! Being able to make music while being apart has helped keep our morale up during this time. I already consider that to be part of our job, to keep everyone’s spirits up and to be that support for people after a good day or a bad one. During a tough time this becomes even more needed. We’ve been able to reach 40 million people through our livestreams and we were so honored that The SteelDrivers could collaborate with us and bring some smiles to everyone who has listened!”
The SteelDrivers’ Tammy Rogers remembers her first time working with the ensemble: “I first met the Six-String Soldiers a few years ago when I was booked to record with them down in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. We all hit it off immediately and had such a great time. Fast forward to The SteelDrivers playing at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia, when we asked them to sit in with us for a few songs! We all enjoyed the collaboration so much that this just seemed like a fun project to do together during quarantine! I think it worked!”
Artist: Melissa Carper Hometown: Bastrop, Texas (outside of Austin) Latest album:Daddy’s Country Gold (out March 19) Personal nicknames: Daddy
Which artist has influenced you the most … and how?
I’d have to say Jimmie Rodgers, the Father of Country Music, has influenced me the most. My dad gave me the full collection of Jimmie Rodgers on tape when I was about 20 years old. I had grown up listening to Hank Williams, but I’d never heard anything like Jimmie Rodgers. The quality of the recording was raw and initially harder to listen to, but I became addicted and listened over and over to these tapes. When I first started trying to write country songs I would copy the formula in Jimmie Rodgers songs, or rather they had become such a part of me that I couldn’t help but write something similar. Come to find out years later, a lady name Elsie McWilliams co-wrote on many of Jimmie’s songs, so I guess I have been copying her as well. Jimmie Rodgers combined blues and jazz into his country songs and even had horn sections and collaborated with Louis Armstrong on some recordings. Hank Williams and so many country artists coming after Jimmie Rodgers were influenced by his style.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
I have many great memories on stage. One of my favorites is playing a farm party and the stage was a trailer bed and one of their goats jumped up on the stage while we were playing. Also, a fun memory is performing at NYC’s Town Hall for Prairie Home Companion‘s Talent in Towns Under 2000 Contest. At the time I lived in a town that was just under a population of 2000 — Eureka Springs, Arkansas. This was in the year 2000, and back then my band, the Camptown Ladies, auditioned by leaving a song on their answering machine — this was one of the ways you could audition! We were one of six finalists chosen and they flew us to Manhattan for the contest. I think the contrast of living in a small town and then being brought to this grand theater in NYC is an amazing memory for me. We won the toolbox prize — which was the staff’s vote for their favorite band.
Which elements of nature do you spend the most time with and how do those impact your work?
I love to meditate sitting under trees and listening to the birds. I don’t know that this exactly impacts my work directly. I also just enjoy being in the country where there is space and plenty of nature around. I have noticed that if I spend time in nature I will write a different type of song. I moved from Austin, Texas, to the middle of nowhere in Arkansas in 2014 and rented a cabin in the woods. I felt like I was decompressing from being in a city and I had several old-time songs come out that were nature-oriented. I enjoy writing about birds, trees, flowers, seasons, moons, stars. If I spend a lot of time alone my creativity will open up. Also, I often write when I am driving on a road trip or going for a walk. I almost always write a melody and words first without an instrument, and then I’ll go back with a guitar and figure out what chords go with the melody.
What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?
When I have to try too hard to write something it usually doesn’t turn out to be as good of a song. There have been several times I’ve rehashed a song over and over and am still not satisfied with the outcome. Sometimes I’ll try a song out at a performance and if it feels good and resonates with people then I know I’ve got a good song. I love it when I’m writing and a song just flows right out almost seamlessly as if the universe is helping. Usually, I’ll know right away if I’ve got one of those magic songs happening. I don’t like to force myself to write but I have had long dry spells in which I have tried to do this and sometimes I have some success by just trying to be more aware of ideas and inspiration that is coming in.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
I had no choice. We had a family band growing up, and I was probably 5 when we started playing gospel music at churches and retirement homes. Then when I was 12 years old we started the family country band and we would play four-hour shows in the American Legions, Eagles, Elks and Moose clubs around our area. I did enjoy it and the siblings that didn’t enjoy it did get to drop out of the band. The four-hour-long shows were a bit long but my dad bought us as many Shirley Temples as we wanted and they paid us for the gigs as well. I was one of the few kids that had their own money at the age of 12 and I would take my friends out for pizza. My mom and dad wanted all their kids to be musicians and I am glad they encouraged and supported us in this.
I received a scholarship for studying music, upright bass, at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. I had been considering being an English major also, but I chose music. I dropped out of college after two and half years and didn’t play music for maybe a year or so, but I just kept coming back to music and eventually realized I could make a living playing all sorts of styles. I also realized that my choice of upright bass as my instrument was a smart choice as I was able to join bluegrass and old-time bands, country bands, blues and jazz, just about anything and everyone always needed a bass player.
Artist:Son of John Hometown: Castlegar, British Columbia, Canada Song: “Lonely Door” Release Date: January 29, 2021 Label: Kootenay River Music (Independent)
In Their Words: “‘Lonely Door’ is a song that has taken on a different meaning in our new world since it was written several years ago. The line ‘things don’t matter much anymore’ was spoken by my now 100-year-old grandfather after the loss of his wife (and my dad’s mom), and it served as inspiration for this song about love, loss and longing. We used the analogy of walking through a lonely door to capture that painful feeling of heartbreak after losing a loved one. Although the lyrics of the song depict the heartbreak as being one’s own fault because of mistakes that were made, we are all experiencing those feelings of loneliness and sadness in different ways as we endure the effects of these times. We just want everyone to know that they’re not alone; we’ll be able to walk back through that lonely door when this is all over and we can all be together.” — Javan Johnson, Son of John
Artist:Ross Cooper Hometown: Lubbock, Texas Song: “Named After a River (For Brazos)” Album:Chasing Old Highs Release Date: February 26, 2021 Label: Ross Cooper Music/Ingrooves
In Their Words: “I wrote this song for my nephew, Brazos (who was named after the Brazos river). I wanted it to be a constant reminder of how strong he can be especially when being tough isn’t easy. I can’t even imagine how hard it is being a kid today. I want him to remember that, like a river, he could shape mountains, instead of mountains shaping him. This song and that bigger message mean a lot to me. It would be really easy to let the last year define us; everything we did or didn’t do. But sometimes it’s a choice to carve through the mountain. For me, I can’t wait. This album has been a long time coming and I’m ready to get back on the road in whatever capacity. Lots of work went into getting this album ready and I’m ready to see America again from a van window.” — Ross Cooper
In the midst of a pretty tricky year, Willie Nelson has just the thing to correct our course in 2021. The Red-Headed Stranger has just released That’s Life, a new studio album (his 95th!) that celebrates the music of his longtime friend and colleague Frank Sinatra. The record’s title track encapsulates a resiliency that should inspire all of us after some trying times. The song’s doggedly stubborn optimism was popularized by Sinatra’s 1966 album of the same name, and in 2019, the obstinate cheeriness of the tune was used to contrast the dark thematic content of the feature film Joker.
Willie’s take is fresh, turning his phrase in similar ways that Sinatra might, but with Nelson’s own charm imbued into the lyrics. A lyric video accompanies the single’s release and depicts artist Paul Mann painting the album cover. Mann, a legend in the movie poster realm, pays tribute to classic Sinatra record covers by positioning Nelson and his companion Trigger in the faint glow of a streetlamp. Recorded mostly in Capitol Studios in Hollywood, the album features ten other Sinatra favorites, including “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” and “Luck Be a Lady.” Watch the lyric video for Willie Nelson’s rendition of “That’s Life.”
Valerie June is broadening her horizons with The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers, a new album arriving this month on Fantasy Records. Upon revealing the project, she stated, “For this album I wanted to see how we could bring some modern elements into that band-in-the-room approach I’ve taken with my records in the past.”
To achieve that concept, she worked with producer Jack Splash, who incorporated a spectrum of sonic textures into her familiar folk approach. They recorded in Los Angeles and Miami without losing sight of her West Tennessee roots. Indeed, Stax Records legend Carla Thomas makes a guest appearance on one of the album’s early singles, “Call Me a Fool.”
According to June, who’s now based in Brooklyn, The Moon and Stars: Prescriptions for Dreamers marks a moment of clarity: “With this record, it finally became clear why I have this dream of making music. It’s not for earthly reasons of wanting to be awarded or to win anybody’s love — it’s because dreaming keeps me inquisitive and keeps me on that path of learning what I have to share with the world. When we allow ourselves to dream like we did when we were kids, it ignites the light that we all have within us and helps us to have a sort of magic about the way we live.”
In the weeks ahead, we’ll have an exclusive interview with this remarkable singer-songwriter, who is also our BGS Artist of the Month for March. Until then, we’re prescribing this BGS Essentials playlist of Valerie June’s music just for you.
Canadian country singer Colter Wall has been slowly diffusing his rich, deep voice throughout the Americana world. In 2020, the singer from Saskatchewan announced his third album, Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs, with the release of a cover of the Stan Jones classic, “Cowpoke.” The album is a gold mine of soothing classic country sounds. Recorded in Texas, Wall performed the music with the band he travels with, fashioning a familiarity with outside material that dovetails nicely with the Western sound that’s heard in Wall’s songwriting, too.
For a long while, Wall only sang “Cowpoke” live, and to the praise of his fans, he has finally committed the cover to record. He possesses a keen sensibility for Western culture — the music he creates is fresh, but bears great resemblance to deeply ingrained musical traditions. Buy it, download it, stream it; do whatever you have to do to hear Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs. You can watch Colter Wall sing “Cowpoke” in Bar Nunn, Wyoming, for Western AF below.
Langhorne Slim didn’t intend to make his new record, Strawberry Mansion, but he found a musical path through a crooked piece of time. He isn’t escaping the chaos of the era. Instead, we find him traversing it, soaking it in, and sharing a real-time creative reaction.
In “Sing My Song” he writes, “I’ll sing my song when my song appears.” By facing his own addiction and the many hardships the world has been dealt this past year, he cleared the path for the 22-song record to appear. With the support and musical collaboration of friends like Paul DeFiglia and Mat Davidson — as well as his family, label, and management — Strawberry Mansion stands as a fruitful monument to Slim’s hard work as a person and as an artist.
BGS: Will you talk a little bit about what you were experiencing leading into making this record?
LS: Well, I wasn’t writing music to write a record. I had been working for a long time trying to finish another project (the unreleased Lost at Last Vol. 2). I quit drinking and drugs about seven and half years ago and I relapsed with prescription medication that was prescribed to me and one thing led fairly quickly to the other, where I became dependent on that medication. That led me to about a year out West and a decision to come back to Nashville where I’ve lived for almost a decade. It is where I got sober the first time.
So the conversation in my head was, I’m going to go back home and get healthy. Right now, I’m actually in the apartment of my friend who came and drove me from Los Angeles back to Nashville and it was a brutal trip. And he’s a brother to me. He didn’t know that I was in bad shape and weaning myself off of these prescription pills. Prescription medication is a motherf***er and I have all kinds of thoughts and feelings about that. He found me in a place that he had not ever seen me in. I could see through his eyes that he did not recognize me and I don’t mean that poetically or metaphorically. My boy was clearly disturbed, frightened, annoyed, sad, and confused. When I dropped him off, he looked at me and I looked at him and I knew it was bad. He was just a mirror and I could see where I was at.
I called around some places and people and found some help. Shortly after I got home, the tornado hit. And then of course the pandemic. So energetically and physically, it was such a crazy wild time for everybody. On a deeply personal level, I think in retrospect, the slowing down and forced confrontation of things that needed immediate dealing with, there’s just so much that has been revealed in this. For me, who am I when I’m not a touring musician? Who am I when I’m facing my anxiety, my fear, whatever it might be? Some might say life on life’s terms.
For this record, I read that you had a friend that suggested that you write every day, which you had not done prior to that. Is that right?
It is right that you read that but it’s not the entire story… One of my friends, who I’ve known for many, many years sort of jokingly said, “If you just write a song every day, come over and we’ll record it.” As soon as the quarantine started, some songs started to come and at that point, it almost seemed like they were quarantine jingles. They were kind of on the nose for the situation but it felt good to have these new little songs. I would finish a song. I would not overthink the song. I would take it to my friend’s house in its rawest form. We would record it and I would post it and then I wouldn’t think about the song again. It was a cathartic thing. Catch, release, and on to the next one. And that wound up going on for a couple of months.
Were you interacting with fans over social media about the songs? And if so, did it wind up affecting the output?
Let me put it this way, I think what it was allowing me to do was to scratch an itch. I don’t know what would have happened if I wasn’t having some interaction, some connection in that way without being on tour. In this raw and intimate way, I was writing the song that day, making a little video, and putting it out to people who care or like what I do. It means a lot to me that other people not only relate but are feeling uplifted if only for the two minutes that they are listening to it. I’m sure that was a fuel and energetic force that allowed me to continue to do it.
When did you know that Strawberry Mansion was a record?
I’m superstitious and one time I told my good friend Jonny Fritz that there had been a black cat that was stalking my lawn and he laughed and rolled his eyes and said, “You know what is bad luck? Being so superstitious.” He’s a smart boy. When these songs were flowing, I didn’t want to call my manager or the record label because I thought it was taking it out of the spirit world and putting it into the more tangible physical one. After about 20-25 songs I had the idea for it to be a record, but wanted to keep writing and they finally called me and said, “We think that you should just record a stripped-down record,” which is what I wanted. A stripped-down, raw, immediate, and true to how the songs came about kind of record.
One of my favorite lines from the record is from “Panic Attack,” when you say, “I’m feeling things exponentially.” And that line can be for the good and the bad. What are you feeling exponentially right now in this moment?
I’m excited about the record. I’m proud of the record. I am looking forward to continuing to write songs and getting busy with whatever comes next. The feeling feelings exponentially can be positive. It can be negative. That was in terms of, obviously, a panic attack. I have been a sensitive boy my whole life so what I’m trying to do is to not let every feeling take me over or guide my next step, because if I’m not looking out for it, a certain kind of thought can manifest into an intense feeling very quickly.
There is going to be a lot of talk on this record about sobriety. This isn’t the first time I’ve gotten sober and I’m not trying to market or promote my sobriety. I’m trying to take that very seriously. It is part of the real shit that is in my life and it had to stop before more songs came. It seems dishonest for me not to discuss it. I still feel feelings very exponentially and would be lying to say that by getting sober or by writing a record that that cures any of it. It is a daily practice.
What are you most looking forward to musically after the pandemic has passed, and what are some things that you might do differently from having had this quiet time?
I think I am going to realize how much I miss the live experience. I think because I have been so fortunate to be able to write a bunch of music during this time, it has really fed that need. If I hadn’t been able to do it, I think I’d probably be really missing touring and being on the road. It feels weird to say but I don’t have that craving to be back out on the road. I miss performing for people.
For me personally, I could absolutely see touring a lot less and continuing to practice some semblance of stillness, whatever that means for me. More home time, I think would be healthy for me. Perhaps because I haven’t been under the delusion that touring is coming back any time soon since the beginning of this, I haven’t been constantly disappointed. I’m just trying to keep my shit together and have a healthy attitude about it and not have any expectations for what might be waiting for me down the street.
At BGS, we firmly believe that Black history is American roots music history. Full stop.
Last year, following the extrajudicial murder of George Floyd and the civil unrest, protests, and rebellions against racial injustice and systemic inequality in this country, we realized that that belief wasn’t present enough in our daily content and editorial. We knew that it needed to be overt, expressed within every aspect of what we do.
Which is why this month, we’ve invited you to celebrate Black History Month as we always do, by denoting that celebrating Black contributions in bluegrass, country, and old-time — and roots music as a whole — requires centering Black creators, artists, musicians, and perspectives in our community daily, not just in February. (Though, for the entire month we’ve been sharing music, stories, and songs featuring Black artists every day, too!)
In the past year we’ve recommitted ourselves to fully incorporating Black Voices into everything we do and we hope that our readers and listeners, our followers and fans, and our family of artists constantly celebrate, acknowledge, and pay credit to Blackness and Black folks, who we have to thank for everything we love about American roots music. To bid adieu to Black History Month 2021, we’re spotlighting Black artists who have graced our pages in the last year in a two-part roundup.
Fresh off of an appearance at President Biden’s inauguration, Grammy nominees Black Pumas are our current Artist of the Month honorees, but they aren’t the only ones to hold down our most prestigious monthly series and editorial spotlight. Drawing on folk songwriting as much as soul groove, both men agree that the term “American Roots” fits their sound well. The Americana Music Association seconds that notion, as the duo picked up that organization’s Emerging Act of the Year award in late 2020.
Modern blues legend Shemekia Copeland was our Artist of the Month in November, when we celebrated her latest release, Uncivil War from Alligator Records. The song sequence offers quite a few topical numbers ranging from gun rights (“Apple Pie and a .45”) to LGBT affirmation (“She Don’t Wear Pink”). But a standout is certainly the title track, Copeland’s most bluegrassy foray yet, which features Sam Bush and Jerry Douglas
Song-interpreter extraordinaire Bettye LaVette held down the AOTM post in August, reminding us of the value of persistence, perseverance, and perspective – especially by Black women. Her interpretation of the ubiquitous “Blackbird” recalls the fact that Paul McCartney wrote the song about a Black woman (as British slang refers to a girl as a “bird”). In LaVette’s rendition, though, she is the one who’s been waiting… and waiting… and waiting for this moment to arrive. And, in a specific allusion to this moment in history, to be free.
On the Cover
Both country & western crooner Charley Crockett and old-time banjoist, fiddler, and ethnomusicologist Jake Blount graced our digital covers in the past year, demonstrating the width, depth, and breadth of Black contributions to American roots music across the country and drawing from various regions and traditions.
In our interview and on his most recent release, Crockett doesn’t just reckon with the current historical moment. With Welcome to Hard Times, which is comprised of 13 tracks of searing anguish set to slick, ’60s-style, country-western production, he’s also examining his own place in this moment, and how his music has a different impact with different audiences. Even as he — a man living somewhere between Black and white, privileged and not — feels that his message is obvious.
Queer old-time musician and scholar Jake Blount is intimately familiar with the history of Black artists in the twentieth century who spoke out against white supremacy and often paid for it with their lives. He sees his music — and his most recent album, Spider Tales — within that subversive, radical lineage, and rightly so. A critically acclaimed project that landed on seemingly dozens of year-end lists in 2020, Blount’s carefully curated tunes convey that racial inequality in this country is a long, self-feeding cycle and this current iteration of the civil rights movement was neither surprising nor unpredictable. In a year defined by music created in response to current events or simply passively shaped by them, Blount’s Spider Tales stands out, an example of action rather than reaction.
Last week, we celebrated the grand opening of the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville with a feature that explores the ways Music City has always been a major player in the African American music world — from the days of the Fisk Jubilee Singers to radio station WLAC breaking R&B, soul, and blues hits, and the Jefferson Street nightclub scene providing both valuable training for emerging artists and a vital showcase for established ones. The 56,000-square-foot museum, something of a musical equivalent to the the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. (definitely with the same level of visual splendor and attractiveness) is a testament to the Black, African American, and Afro contributions that have touched, impacted, and influenced every sphere of American pop culture and art.The striking marquee of the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, TN
The BGS Podcast Network
Over the course of the past year, the BGS Podcast Network has been proud to feature many Black artists over our shows about bluegrass, Americana, touring, wellness, and of course, music. On Harmonics season one, three Black women joined host Beth Behrs to talk about living through so much stress and tumult and how self-care, wellness, and music are all woven so tightly together.
Country singer and 2020 breakout star Mickey Guyton (who, for the record, has been a recording artist for more than a decade despite her recent meteoric rise) appeared on Episode 3, talking about writing “Black Like Me” — a song about her pain and struggles growing up as a Black woman in America — amidst the protests against police brutality across the nation. They also discuss country artists speaking out against racism and injustice, the power and importance of “three chords and the truth” in the midst of Music Row fluff, lifting other women up as a form of therapy, and, of course, Dolly Parton.
Two of Behrs’ closest friends, sisters Tichina & Zenay Arnold also appeared on the show. Tichina, Behr’s co-star on CBS’s The Neighborhood, and her sister are something like spiritual coaches for Beth. The three discuss the spirituality of music and the musicality of comedy, the timeliness of The Neighborhood as well as the pure spirit on the set, the absolutely necessity of open conversation in active anti-racism, balancing professional and familial relationships, and much more.
Finally, Birds of Chicago frontwoman and multi-instrumentalist Allison Russell decided to dig deep into her childhood traumas, the healing power of music and artistic community, the history of the banjo, and the intersectionality of the honest conversations in our culture on her episode of Harmonics. In addition to her career with Birds of Chicago, Russell is one quarter of the supergroup Our Native Daughters, with Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Leyla McCalla, and is preparing to release her first solo album.
On The Show On The Road, host Z. Lupetin curated a special episode last summer featuring clips and snippets from past editions of the show featuring Sunny War, Bobby Rush, Dom Flemons, and more. As he put it, “I’ve been lucky to talk with truly amazing Black artists, songwriters, and performers in the two years I’ve been creating The Show on the Road. I ask you to go back into our archives and listen to these voices.”
Later in the season, SOTR episodes featured Leyla McCalla — a talented, multilingual cellist, banjoist, and singer-songwriter and member of Our Native Daughters — and a special podcast swap with Under The Radar featuring truly fantastic Oakland-based artist, Fantastic Negrito. And just a couple of weeks ago, the show dropped an episode honoring Black History Month, featuring an interview with Jimmy Carter and Ricky McKinnie of the legendary Blind Boys of Alabama.
Plus, on the String, Craig Havighurst interviewed new lead singer for the Time Jumpers, Wendy Moten, and southern Gothic poet, songwriter, and Americana-blues wizard Adia Victoria.
And, not to be left out, the BGS Radio Hour always includes music, premieres, and features of Black artists every week, as we round-up the best stories from our pages to include on the airwaves. Like this week, Allison Russell’s Sade cover and Valerie June’s cosmic new single, “Call Me a Fool” — which features Stax soul legend Carla Thomas — both appear on the show. And, on Episode 194, Chris Pierce, our Whiskey Sour Happy Hour friend Ben Harper, and Charley Crockett all make the playlist as well.
Shout & Shine
Our annual IBMA showcase celebrating representation and diversity in 2020 focused entirely on Black performers, building upon our collaboration with PineCone, who co-presents the event each year. Brandi Pace of Decolonizing the Music Room curated the lineup, showing our audience how seamlessly our missions intersect and build off of each other. The showcase lineup included Rissi Palmer, Tray Wellington, Stephanie Anne Johnson, Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, and more, drawing a direct line between Black musicians and bluegrass while highlighting the important role Black folks played in the genre’s creation as well as influencing all of its contemporary forms.
To build on this intention, we retooled our monthly column version of Shout & Shine as well, turning the interview series into a regular livestream event. Sponsored by Preston Thompson Guitars, each episode includes thirty-plus minutes of exclusive performances by Lizzie No, Sunny War, Julian Taylor, and Jackie Venson with more to come. Each set of music — and each interview as well — reinforces just how vibrant and varied roots music created by Black musicians and songwriters can be and just how valuable the perspectives and lived experiences of all kinds of people are to our communities.
Photo credit (L to R): Shemekia Copeland by Mike White; Rissi Palmer courtesy of the artist; Bettye LaVette by Joseph A. Rosen; and Mickey Guyton by Chelsea Thompson.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.AcceptRejectRead More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
