During much of its tenure, the Americana musical community has faced questions regarding idiomatic diversity and artistic inclusion. For a genre whose purpose from its inception has been highlighting sounds and styles deemed at best noncommercial and at worst unwelcome in the mainstream music world, it would seem there would be no question that blues, soul, gospel and traditional R&B artists would be welcome alongside folkies, bluegrassers and trad-country types. Whether that’s the reality hasn’t always been completely clear. One can certainly cite the honors and recognition given to such luminaries as Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal, Rhiannon Giddens, William Bell and the Fisk Jubilee Singers as ample evidence of the Americana Music Association’s sincerity and desire to truly be a big tent for everyone in the vicinity of roots music.
But the current anti-diversity rhetoric coming out of Washington (and various statehouses, including our own) has raised fears that Americana might join others in the academic and business worlds in retreating from its efforts to broaden participation and membership. The lineup for this year’s AmericanaFest certainly has ample artistic and idiomatic variety. The Scene reached out to artists Buddy Red, Kyshona and Buffalo Nichols, as well as artist manager Becky Parsons, for their perspective. Red and Kyshona are more upbeat in their views on the benefits of Americana than Nichols, but they are unanimous in being grateful for the opportunity to perform during the festival. Meanwhile, Parsons has organized a panel to put this discussion front and center.
Buddy Red is performing Sept. 11 during Cellotree Arts’ Cellovision, the third annual iteration of an unofficial showcase series during AmericanaFest held at an East Nashville home. The Atlanta musician cites Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd and Muddy Waters as prime influences, and feels his mix of rock and blues fits more easily into the Americana universe.
“I’m not doing a pure blues thing,” Red says, “so I think being seen as an Americana artist will help greatly in terms of growing an audience.” A singer, songwriter and guitarist, Red recently released a grooving single called “Sold His Soul,” which previews a forthcoming EP.
Kyshona
“I embrace any community that welcomes me and my music, and I’ve found Americana to be that place,” says Nashvillian Kyshona, who’s set to perform during the festival at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at Analog at Hutton Hotel. “In terms of the ‘diversity within the movement’ question, I feel one of the greatest things about AmericanaFest is it’s a place where those issues are regularly discussed and addressed. I’ve participated in the past on panels where we wrestled with these questions, and at times the dialogue got intense and heated. But I certainly feel that the issue is one of concern within the Americana community, and I also do think there are those within it who are doing their best to be voices for change and for inclusion.”
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She also credits the participation of major names like Keb’ Mo,’ Ruthie Foster, Odessa Settles and others on her 2024 LP Legacy with providing her a big push. “It’s part of the reason why we’re going to put out a live album version of a lot of those songs,” she says, “because there was such a great reception to it.”
However, Buffalo Nichols, a student of old-school blues who lives in Austin, Texas, sees a slowing of efforts to attract more diverse artists to the genre. “For a while yes, I saw a greater push, especially around the time of the George Floyd incident,” Nichols tells the Scene. “But now, I think there’s much less of an effort in that direction. I do think there are good-intentioned people in the Americana camp, but from my end I don’t see the progress that I thought was happening a couple of years ago.”
Buffalo Nichols
Nichols, who’ll be playing The Basement during the festival at 9 p.m. on Sept. 11, released his most recent full-length The Fatalist in 2023. This year, he’s released a string of dynamic, rousing singles featuring themes of dissent, starting with June’s folk-schooled “Belly of the Beast” and including July’s brooding, electronically enhanced “Moses.”
One person determined to see that things keep moving forward is Becky Parsons, an artist manager, publicist and founder of Found Sound Media. Her company is geared particularly to support artists of color, women and LGBTQ performers. Parsons has organized and is moderating a panel discussion called The Business of Belonging: Breaking Barriers in Americana. Panelists include journalist Jewly Hight, musician Ruby Amanfu, Black Opry co-director Tanner Davenport and Rounder Records project manager Ashley Moyer. The event is part of the conference portion of the festival, open to anyone who has a Silver or Gold Circle Pass, and is happening in Embassy Suites Riverbed C&D at 1 p.m. on Sept. 10.
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“One thing that I see now is a lot of folks are discouraged, but this effort is something that we can’t stop now,” says Parsons. “If any music should be open and welcoming to those artists whose voices often aren’t heard or taken seriously, it’s Americana. I do think that we’ve made progress, but we’ve still got a long way to go in this regard. This is a time when we as a community must get recharged.”
Still, the overall positive impact of Americana music and AmericanaFest specifically is one Kyshona thinks cannot be overstated — especially in terms of building community.
“For me the greatest thing about AmericanaFest is the chance for artists to get together,” Kyshona says. “Especially for people of color doing the music that we do, there aren’t that many places and spaces for us. The chance to come together, to get off the road and meet other artists, have interactions and exchanges — it’s such a blessing. And the chance to have your music heard and appreciated by audiences who really like and respect it.”
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