Jack Dappa Blues Podcast

In this episode, we explore the rich cultural legacy of Black American music, focusing on the evolution from slave seculars—non-religious songs of survival, work, and resistance—to the development of the blues. Through stories, historical insights, and music, we uncover how enslaved African Americans used music to communicate, preserve their identity, and confront hardship. They also used their traditional expression to resist and revolt against ideologies and beliefs not part of their traditions. We also highlight the contributions of early folklorists, musicians, and modern artists who continue to keep these traditions alive. Join us as we celebrate the resilience and creativity that shaped American music and culture.

January 31 marks a pivotal moment in American history—the passing of the 13th Amendment in 1865, which abolished slavery. But freedom was more than a legal decree; it became a living story told through the rhythms of the blues, the wisdom of Black folklore, and the resilience of Afro-Indigenous traditions. On this episode, we explore how the fight for liberation shaped cultural expressions that endure today. Discover the powerful connections between Black American folklore, the birth of the blues, and the often-overlooked histories of Afro-Indigenous communities. From the trickster tales of Br’er Rabbit to the haunting melodies of the Delta blues, this is a story of survival, resistance, and the unbreakable spirit of a people who turned struggle into song. Join us as we honor the roots, the rhythms, and the resistance woven into the fabric of Black history.

African American Folklorist of the Month - Larry Handy Larry  Handy discusses with me the concept of Ethnopoetic theory (a method for analyzing and recording oral poetry and performances to capture the poetic elements of the original performance) and his love for archiving and being a librarian. Handy is a “Folklife Poet” and shares with us the meaning; he also dives deep into activism and protests. Larry lives in California, and we recorded this interview at the height of the California wildfires when he was a few miles away. In sharing his Journey to Folklore, he discusses Folk Consciousness and his "Tour of Duty," an LA Protest Memoir. BIO: Larry Handy is a folklife poet who leads the award-winning poetry band Totem Maples.  His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry appear in such journals as The Coachella Review, Cog, Mosaic: Art and Literary Journal, Proximity, Quiddity, Rivet, Roi Fainéant, Storylandia, Straight Forward Poetry, and elsewhere.  He holds an MFA in creative writing and writing for th

Misty Blues and lead singer Gina Coleman celebrate 25 years of composing and performing original blues. They will be celebrating this feat on a Blues Cruise this coming Friday. With that, after an encounter with Legendary singer and activist Odetta, Coleman and crew have been working towards a project that has now manifested as – I’m Too Old For Games: A Live Tribute To Odetta. In this episode, I will speak with Gina Coleman about the inspiration, thoughts, and efforts behind this significant folk-blues album! For donations so we can continue producing content please click here: DONATIONS

THE BLUES SOCIETY is a re-evaluation of the 1960s seen through the lens of the Memphis Country Blues Festival (1966-1969). It’s the story of Blues masters like Furry Lewis and Robert Wilkins, who had attained fame in the 1920s but were living in obscurity by the 1960s. It’s also the story of a group of white artists from the North and the South who created a celebration of African American music in a highly segregated city. THE BLUES SOCIETY follows the festival from its start in 1966 as an impromptu happening, through a period of cross-pollinization with New York’s East Village scene, and up to the 1969 Festival, which mushroomed into a 3-day event and garnered substantial print and television coverage including an appearance on Steve Allen’s national PBS show, Sounds of Summer. Festival co-founder and legendary music Executive Nancy Jeffries says, “Everyone remembers the 60s as a party, but there was a seriousness of purpose to what we were doing.” Furry Lewis worked for decades sweeping the city streets,

In February of 2024, the Mississippi John Hurt Museum burned. The fire, believed to have been set intentionally, happened immediately after the Legendary Mississippi Blues Pioneer's cabin received landmark status. That was not the first or last attack on the Hurt Family museum, land, or legacy. A week later, the sheriff's office began investigating a break-in at the historic store located on County Road 41 in the Teoc community, where the Mississippi John Hurt marker was stolen. The executor of the estate and granddaughter of Hurt, Mary Francis Wright, has been fighting for a long time the many racialized attacks on her family's land and legacy. Mary and Shannon Evans have been working to keep the integrity and safety of the location and family. In this episode, I will speak with Mary and Shannon about the fire and many other assaults they have endured.

As we celebrate JUNETEENTH, we must understand how Folklore and the Blues Narrative relate to this celebration. In this episode, I will discuss the celebration, what the celebration is actually about, and its connection to and significance of African American Folklore and traditional Black Music. Juneteenth should always be mentioned with “African American Traditional Music and Folklore!” Juneteenth is the celebration of the releasing of the last remaining slaves after the emancipation proclamation and civil war. In 1865, June 19 Union soldiers led by Major General Gordon Granger shared the news that the war is over and the slaves were now free, in Galveston, Texas. Ironically, this freedom came after the actual date of 1863, when Lincoln made his declaration. Though, the first documented celebration of emancipation dates back to March 2, 1807, when Congress passed a bill to halt the importation of “slaves” into the United States, effective January 1, 1808, which prompted Absalom Jones, a pastor at St. Th

Black Spirituals, Field Hollers, and Slave Seculars celebrate Black American Traditional Music and Experience. This show is dedicated to sharing and raising awareness of folklife, songs, dance, scripture, lyrics, and everything related to black Spirituals, Field Hollers, and Slave secular expressions, as well as the coded songs of Black Spirituals that were maps and landmarks for escaping bondage. June 5th, I will be speaking with Eric Crawford, Associate Professor of Musicology, and Peter K. Siegal, Producer and American roots music archivist, about the June 14, 2024, Smithsonian Folkways release “The Complete Friends of Old-Time Music Concert” by Bessie Jones, John Davis & The Georgia Sea Island Singers with Mississippi Fred McDowell and Ed Young. The album is a live recording of a 1965 concert that captured the intersection of Black folk traditions and civil rights activism, produced and hosted by Folklorist Alan Lomax and recorded by Peter K. Siegal. The Liner notes, and essay are written by Eric

On this episode of Jack Dappa Blues, enjoy the collaboration of Jack Dappa Blues Radio and Southern Ohio Folklife for a conversation w/ Lady D (West Virginia’s First Lady of Soul) to talk about her recent performance of The Lady and the Empress, a one-woman show about the life and music of Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues. Learn about Bessie Smith, her role in Blues music, her lasting impact, and why Lady D was drawn to her life story.   On the day of the interview, Lady D later performed at the Southern Ohio Museum of The Lady and the Empress!   This project is made possible by Mid Atlantic Arts’ Central Appalachia Living Traditions program. Project collaborators include the 14th Street Community Center, Time Out for Me Inc., Portsmouth Unity Project, Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center, The African American Folklorist, and Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Foundation.   #wethebluespeople #appalachia #centralappalachia #ohio #appalachianohio #westvirginia #bessiesmith #blues #folklore #fol

For some reason, when it comes to Country Music, most people do not associate it with black folk or folk musical expression. The thing is, country music, in its many forms, comes directly from black expression. i.e., the blues, country blues, and more. To give the context to the roots of commodified music presented and thought of as white music… We can use Leslie Riddle as an example… he was the teacher to the Carters for the music they would be credited for. Maybelle Carter always let that be known. In this episode, I discuss Why it is Always about Race regarding Country music, Country Blues, and Blackness. Coffle Gang and Domestic Slavery African American Tribal Music DONATION --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/africanamericanfolklorist/message

Today, I speak with Candice Ivory about her new project, When The Levee Breaks. As said on her website After releasing three acclaimed albums of jazz-driven original songs, vocalist Candice Ivory reveals a whole new sound on When the Levee Breaks: The Music of Memphis Minnie. Raised in Memphis and based in St. Louis, Ivory hails from an illustrious musical family that shaped Memphis’s secular and sacred sounds. Her great-uncle was the singer and guitarist Will Roy Sanders of the Fieldstones, one of the premier Memphis blues bands from the 1970s to the 1990s. Ivory grew up in the church, and by the age of eleven, she was singing in a choir that featured the soon-to-be-famous R&B artist D’Angelo. When the Levee Breaks brings together all of her formative musical experiences in a tribute to Memphis Minnie (1897-1973), whose powerhouse vocals and compositional creativity served as inspiration for Ivory’s own innovations as the Queen of Avant Soul. Produced by singular guitarist-bassist Charlie Hunter, a one

Many Black Academic Scholars are also active practitioners in our respective cultures and traditions. That doesn't negate their ability to teach, mentor, or share skills and tricks of the trade with the folk. It actually makes them even more qualified. Some feel Black Scholars who are educated or formally trained cannot teach or pass on the folk tradition. I see it differently, and here's why. Charlotte Forten Grimke NAMA HARLEM (New Amsterdam Musical Association) Colored Musicians Club John Wesley Work III DONATE Join Patreon --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/africanamericanfolklorist/message

On this episode, I'm encouraging all folks invested in the story of Black American tradition, folklore, folklife, material art, street art, religious belief, spiritual belief, Advocacy, Organization work, Public Programming, and everything that has to do with the "so-called" African American Narrative to submit work to the African American Folklorist Magazine and website. We no longer need to rely on any other platform to share, publish, or even interrogate our narratives. After a long-time supporter contacted me and shared how we are significant in disseminating and distributing the Blues People story, I felt it necessary to put the call out! Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Foundation is a focal point for researching, archiving, and raising awareness of African American Traditional Music, folklore, folklife, public programs, and the Black Experience!! The African American Folklorist Magazine gives a voice to those writing and working in and on Black American Folklore through the lens o

On this episode, I speak with Shirley Moody-Turner, an associate professor of English and African American Studies and founding co-director with Gabrielle Foreman of the Center for Black Digital Research/#DigBlk. She is an Author and award-winning educator that says, “As a young girl growing up in Buffalo, NY, I felt a deep longing to learn more about my family history. Shirley has worked to unearth those stories and many others.  She has authored, edited, and written many books, essays, and journals depicting the African American story through a folkloric and ethnographic lens. She is highlighting and honoring the Black men and women scholars like her who have significantly contributed to the Blues and Black narrative of the Americas.  Her website also states, “Honoring the legacy of the intellectuals and activists I study, I also work in partnerships to carry these histories out into communities beyond the university. Through the Center for Black Digital Research/#DigBlk and the Black Women’s Organizing

On this episode, I speak with singer, songwriter, and music educator Hannah Mayree about her journey in music, culture, tradition, and the Black Banjo Reclamation Project. Hannah Mayree (she/her/they/them) is a creative facilitator and musician whose work and art lend itself as a tool for redesigning and reconnecting to our roots as humans on this planet. A banjoist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and vocalist, Hannah shares original and traditional banjo compositions and harmonies through acoustic live vocal looping. She reminds us of the power found in our relationship to the earth, music, and community. They co-founded and creatively direct the Black Banjo Reclamation Project, which is currently creating musical, cultural, and land-based opportunities for Black, Afro-Diasporic communities around the world to work with the banjo as a tool for reclaiming ancestral wisdom & creating Afro-futures.  http://hannahmayree.com http://blackbanjoreclamationproject.org https://www.patreon.com/Hannahmayree?utm_

In this episode, I will speak with Kristina R. Gaddy about her journey and New York Times best-selling book, Well of Souls - Uncovering The Banjo's Hidden History. Kristina R. Gaddy is an award-winning writer who believes in the power of narrative nonfiction to bring stories from the past to life in order to inform the world we live in today. Her debut nonfiction book Flowers in the Gutter (Dutton 2020), tells the true story of the teenage Edelweiss Pirates who fought the Nazis. Through narratives based on memoirs, oral history interviews, and Nazi documents, she immerses the reader in the world of these teenagers as they resist the Third Reich. Her book Wells of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History (W.W. Norton 2022) is an extraordinary story unfolding across two hundred years, where she uncovers the banjo’s key role in Black spirituality, ritual, and rebellion. For More: https://www.kristinagaddy.com/about.html --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show

In this episode, Todd Lawrence, Maria Lewis, and Lamont Pearley will host a live stream event offered by the AFS African American Folklore Section, the African American Folklorist and Jack Dappa Blues featuring Notable Folklorists of Color creators and curators, Phyllis May-Machunda, Sojin Kim, and Olivia Cadaval. The conversation will detail the inspiration, vision, purpose, and work of creating such a monumental installment. We will also discuss the follow-up project called, "Notable Folklorists of Color: Expanding the Frames ." Notable Folklorists of Color is a website that features profiles of BIPOC ancestor scholars of color and their contributions to folklore studies. The 2019 exhibition, Notable Folklorists of Color: Remembering Our Ancestral Legacies, marked the 25th anniversary of AFS’s Cultural Diversity Committee by honoring 25 BIPOC ancestors, and the 2022 Notable Folklorists of Color: Expanding the Frames exhibition highlights the scholarship of approximately another 135 African Americ

On this episode, I speak with Brei Carter, Country Singer-Songwriter, about her journey in Music and her signing with Brown Lee Entertainment For Exclusive Global Music Distribution & Digital Marketing. Emerging crossover country and southern pop recording artist Brei Carter proves that faith, patience, and time sometimes pay off. Growing up in Monroe, Louisiana, with a solid, southern upbringing, Brei’s family raised her on several authentic southern staples: the Bible, Lone Star Missionary Baptist Church’s choir, Charley Pride, Loretta Lynn, Aretha Franklin, and no shortage of familial love and devotion. However, before she became the dynamic and vivacious country singer she is today, Brei was busy earning a Bachelor's in Business from the University of Louisiana in Monroe, a Master's in International Relations from Webster University, and a Doctorate in Theology from New Foundation Theological Seminary. She is also a proud Veteran of the U.S. Army, where she served as an enlisted soldier and officer.

There is excellent Black Folklife, Indian Folklore, Black Music, AND educational oral history in Kentucky and nationally that Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Foundation archives and builds a repository for. In this episode, I discuss Storyville, Oklahoma, Freedmen, Blues, and the People of the Blues To Raise Cultural and Ethnic awareness of Black American Traditional Music, Traditional Art, Folklore, Oral Histories, and the Black Experience in America. I'm asking for donations to Jack Dappa Blues Heritage Preservation Foundation because their mission means a lot to me, and I hope you'll consider celebrating with me. Your contribution will make an impact. Every little bit helps. Thank you for your support. https://www.facebook.com/donate/6035802536450984/ paypal.me/LamontJack --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/africanamericanfolklorist/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/africanamericanfolklorist/support

On this episode, I speak with Dr. Diana Baird N'Diaye, The African American Folklorist of the Month! Dr. Diane Baird N’Diaye is an interdisciplinary Visual artist/maker and cultural scholar. N’Diaye developed and headed the African American Crafts Initiative, is the principal investigator and Curator of the Will to Adorn: African American Dress and the Aesthetics of Identity, was awarded the Smithsonian Secretary's Research Prize for Curatorial Conversations: Cultural Representation at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival; and currently holds the position as Senior Folklife Curator, Cultural Specialist, Directs African American Craft Initiative at the Smithsonian Center for Folklife & Cultural Heritage.  She’s written many pieces and engages directly with traditional arts. Dr. N’Diaye fancies herself a maker, creating everything from quilts to necklaces, clothing, bags, and everything in between. As a maker, her focus is to provoke conversations and contemplations around identity, heritage, healing, and