The story of Black American Music is more deeply woven into bluegrass and string band music than many people appreciate, but it’s something we’ve been catching up on in a big way in the last few years. So we wanted to mark Black History Month with an hour of blues, old-time, Creole, and contemporary folk from a range of artists old and new. More than usual, we proceed chronologically from the foundational jug band music of the Mississippi Sheiks and the legendary “Last Kind Word Blues” by Geeshie Wiley through more modern expressions of traditional music. The show landed in tandem with Mardis Gras, so we hear some zydeco from Boozoo Chavis. And in Dom Flemons, Amythyst Kiah, Tui, and Tray Wellington, we hear the best from today’s African American trad music world.
Dom Flemons - Marching Up To Prospect Hill
Mississippi Sheiks - The World Is Gone Wrong
Peg Leg Howell - Turkey Buzzard Blues
Noah Lewis - Devil In The Woodpile
Geeshie Wiley - Last Kind Word Blues
Piedmont Bluz - Needed Time
Earl White - Chips and Sauce
Cedric Watson - La Vieille Chanson De Mardis Gras
Boozoo Chavis - Uncle Bud
Joe Thompson - Old Corn Liquor
Carolina Chocolate Drops - Trouble In Your Mind
Dom Flemons - Polly Put The Kettle On
The Ebony Hillbillies - Hog Eyed Man
Amythyst Kiah - Pretty Polly
Kaia Kater - Money Is King
Tui - Old Buck
Tray Wellington - Crooked Mind
