Where does country music get its trademark twang? Queen Esther makes the case that American roots music -- bluegrass, country and Americana specifically -- originates from blues music and West African music traditions.
Jake Blount has an astonishing imagination. While a concert of folk tunes could simply be a singer and perhaps a fiddle or banjo, the young proponent of traditional music brought eight bandmates and told the NPR crowd that they were here to play “Black folk music from the future.” Most of the songs are from Jake Blount’s late-2022 release, The New Faith, on Smithsonian Folkways. It’s a dystopian Afrofuturistic concept album that reinterprets traditional Black spirituals.
First day in the studio with Richard Alderson producing the Ebony Hillbillies 4/26/10
Norris Bennet: Banjo, William "Salty Bill" Salter: Bass, Washboard: Newman Taylor Baker, Rique Prince: Fiddle, Warren Smith: Drums, Gloria Gassaway on bones and vocals
Furry Lewis was known for his blues guitar work, but I find his songs lend themselves to banjo really well. It probably helps that he was a banjo player and/or his father was.
I'm playing this in open g which on this banjo is gGBD.
Award-winning Musician, Singer-songwriter, Playwright, and Historian Rhiannon Giddens, with Award-winning Singer, Songwriter, and Activist Allison Russell, discusses the history of the banjo and banjo music in America, including a musical demonstration.
Rhiannon Giddens appeared at The Connecticut Forum in conversation with Allison Russell on October 14, 2022.
This short little two part riff of an unnamed song is one of the earliest examples of black banjo music on the American continent. It was transcribed by Frank Converse in the 1850s from an unnamed black man he learned it from. In his transcription he quotes the man saying" Let me throw the banjo out for tune." The song itself is played in Double C which in the 1850s was out of tune from the standard tuning of the time (gCGBD).
Black musicians have deeply shaped country music, from the banjo’s African roots to modern hits by artists like Beyoncé, Lil Nas X, and Shaboozey. Despite its diverse origins, country music has often overlooked these influences, but that’s changing as more voices are recognized.
Linda Diaz interviews musicians and experts, including Blanco Brown and Alice Randall, to discuss the genre’s diverse history and how Black artists have helped shape its evolution.
Open your eyes and ears to the rich—and surprising—cross-cultural history of the banjo with GRAMMY®-Award winning artist, Rhiannon Giddens. Stream "The Banjo: Music, History, and Heritage" on Wondrium now!
https://www.wondrium.com/the-banjo-mu...
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Allison Russell, Amythyst Kiah, Rhiannon Giddens and Leyla McCalla perform as Our Native Daughters. ACL Presents: Americana 18th Annual Honors airs on November 23, 2019 on PBS.
Enjoy musical highlights from the eighteenth annual Americana Honors, showcasing the best and brightest in Americana, including Brandi Carlile, Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens, Mumford & Sons, Our Native Daughters, and more.
You’re Not Alone, by Our Native Daughters at Newport Folk Festival 2019