Basic Folk: neath the banner of the Black eclectic

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This special episode of Basic Folk features Allison Russell, Jake Blount, Kaïa Kater, and guest host Lizzie No in a roundtable conversation about Black artists in folk music. Black musicians are more visible than ever in the roots music space, but they continue to face unique challenges from tokenizing placements on festival lineups to outright racism in the press. During this hour of Basic Folk we tackled questions like “under what circumstances is it useful for Black artists to self-categorize based on identity?,” “how can we respond to bigotry without wasting our time justifying our worthiness in the roots space?,” “what advice would we offer to up-and-coming Black folk musicians?,” and “how can we bring a holistic understanding of consent to our relationships in the music industry?” Musicians talked about in this episode: Our Native Daughters Amythyst Kiah Adia Victoria Yola Mali Obomsawin Valerie June Crys Matthews The Sojourners The Carolina Chocolate Drops Rhiannon Giddens Hubby Jenkins Po’Girl Ndidi Onukwulu Kyshona Non-musicians talked about: Adrienne Maree Brown, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds Caroline Randall Williams Andrea Williams Resources: The Black Opry Country Queer Country Soul Songbook