When award-winning vocalist and composer Martha Redbone set out to create Bone Hill: The Concert, she knew she had a unique story to tell — one that honored both her Native and African American roots. But what she didn’t anticipate was how easily audiences would relate to such a deeply personal tale.
“I remember standing in the lobby of The Public Theater after one of our first performances, and all these people came up to me to talk about their family experiences,” says Redbone, who grew up in the coal country of Eastern Kentucky, before moving to Brooklyn while still in middle school. “They talked about their grandparents coming to this country from Italy and India and other far-off lands. They talked about the pressure to assimilate and fit in, and yet still trying to hold onto traditions from home. It was amazing. I really didn’t expect that kind of response, so to me, that was the gift.”
Originally commissioned by Joe’s Pub and The Public Theater, Bone Hill is now a touring production, which comes to OZ Arts Friday and Saturday. It is presented as something of a theatrical concert, featuring a cast of eight actor-musicians and exploring “our nation’s history through the lives of four generations of women in a Cherokee family.” And while Redbone admits there are many painful chapters within that story, she approaches such moments with humor and dignity, highlighting her family’s unshakable connection to the land and celebrating the individual stories that make up this nation.
“I didn’t want it to feel like a history lesson,” she says. “Because it’s really more of a family story — a story of love. But when you’re born into a multiracial family, your identity is automatically political. So when you think about the erasure and marginalization of cultures — whether through slavery or the Indian Removal Act — I wanted to talk about what happens to a family that defies those odds and fights to hold on to their culture.”
Beyond the obvious historical elements, Redbone says it also was important to tap into a musical timeline, serving up everything from traditional Cherokee chants and lullabies to bluegrass, blues, gospel and R&B.
“Growing up in Harlan County, Ky., I listened to folk, country and traditional mountain music,” she says. “Then I moved to New York as a young teen, and let’s just say I was the only one in the neighborhood who knew Conway Twitty. But I loved the music there, too. Then you have my husband and collaborator, Aaron [Whitby], who is a Londoner. So there are many, many influences along the way. But I think what ties all those traditions together is strong melody and storytelling. That’s what really inspires me.”
That seems to be the case for audiences as well. And as much as Redbone enjoys being onstage, she says it’s often in those post-performance conversations that she recognizes the true impact of her music.
“This summer, we were at a festival up in Nova Scotia and this older white gentleman waited to talk with me after the show. He had tears in his eyes, and he said: ‘I want you to know that I really heard you today. I learned so much, and I just had to thank you.’
“It was such a special moment,” Redbone continues. “It made me proud to be an independent artist. But that’s the power of music. And if I can reach just one person — just reel them in one at a time — that’s golden.”
