Call & Response

In the final episode of this season, Adia is joined by “Queen of Bounce” Big Freedia. From Beyoncé to Kesha, Freedia’s collaborations proudly reflect her upbringing in New Orleans, and the spirit of the church that resides in her. Adia and Freedia talk about what it means to be insistent on pursuing liberation, the relationship between good food and good music, and the power of community. Thank you for joining us in another season of leaning into the blues. For the playlist of songs curated for this week’s episode visit: https://bit.ly/cr-freedia

/ Music In This Week's Episode /

Roy Ayers Ubiquity, “Everybody Loves The Sunshine”

Beyoncé, “Get Me Bodied”

The Jacksons, “Blame It On The Boogie”

Big Freedia (feat. Jake Shears and Anjelika “Jelly” Joseph), “Not Today”

Tank and the Bangas (feat. Big Freedia), “Big”

Missy Elliott, “Bomb Intro/Pass That Dutch”

Robert Johnson, “Sweet Home Chicago”

The music of the South is always drawing upon the church, either relishing in it, or rebelling from it. When Memphis-born artist Julien Baker started reckoning with her faith, “the entire paradigm of my life evaporated.” Since then, Julien has channeled this reckoning into her music, lacing her lyrics with radical honesty and self-reflection. In this episode, Julien and Adia share about how their relationship to God and religion has influenced their music. For the playlist of songs curated for this week’s episode visit: https://bit.ly/cr-julien

/ Music In This Week's Episode /

Robyn, “Between The Lines”

Björk, “Big Time Sensuality”

St. Vincent, “I Prefer Your Love”

Patti Smith Group, “Because The Night”

Hank Williams, “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”

John Coltrane, “A Love Supreme, Pt. 1 - Acknowledgment”

Little Bandit, “Nashville”

From Bessie Smith to Megan Thee Stallion, Southern Black women have built on a long legacy of giving their bodies a voice through the blues. On this week’s Call & Response, hip-hop scholar Dr. Regina N. Bradley makes it clear that Southern Black music is not frozen in time, but embracing and challenging the issues connecting younger generations. For the playlist of songs curated for this week’s episode visit: https://bit.ly/cr-regina

/ Music In This Week's Episode /

Rapsody, “Nina”

Victoria Monét, “Ass Like That”

Janet Jackson, “The Pleasure Principle”

Angel Olsen, “Lark Song”

The Chicks, “Gaslighter”

Tweet feat. Missy Elliott, “Oops (Oh My)”

Megan Thee Stallion, “Body”

Nina Simone, “Feeling Good”

Tressie McMillan Cottom says the blues go beyond the beat and key. It’s a feeling born and inherited from the experience of Southern Black women. As Call & Response dives deeper into the blues, the sociologist and 2020 MacArthur fellow says she can hear the historical echoes of pain and urgency throughout Southern music -- and wants listeners to understand why they do too. For the playlist of songs curated for this week’s episode visit: https://bit.ly/cr-tressie

/ Music In This Week's Episode /

The Shirelles, “Mama Said”

Junior, “Mama Used To Say”

2Pac, “Dear Mama”

Gladys Knight and the Pips, “I’ve Got To Use My Imagination”

Dolly Parton, “Coat of Many Colors”

Odetta, “Mother’s Blues (Little Children Blues)”

Nina Simone, “Blues for Mama”

What happens when one artist’s work is read through the lens of another? Tré Burt’s rambling bluesman sound means his music is constantly compared to that of Bob Dylan, but as a Black man living in 2021, his writing draws from very different perspectives. In this interview, Tré and Adia distinguish what it means to write from experience versus observation, share how working blue-collar jobs has fed their artistic careers, and remember the late, great John Prine. Hear a playlist of songs curated for this week’s episode at https://bit.ly/cr-tre.

/ Music In This Week's Episode /

Tré Burt, “I Cannot Care”

Waxahatchee, “Light Of A Clear Blue Morning”

Lil Nas X, “Sun Goes Down”

Adia Victoria, “Carolina Bound”

Buster Benton, “Money Is The Name Of The Game”

Bill Withers, “Lonely Town, Lonely Street”

Born in Chattanooga, and based in Johnson City, Tennessee, Amythyst Kiah’s sound is a blend of old-time music and fingerpicking blues with a punk-indie sensibility. Like many of us who came up in the South, Amythyst had to find and define her voice, even as she was told she couldn’t be into Green Day or into skateboarding and also play the guitar. This week’s episode of Call & Response is for the people who are facing the brave work of reclaiming themselves, for the people who have found solace in the company of a guitar, and it’s a hope for you – to keep pushing forward in your blues. For the playlist of songs curated for this week’s episode visit: https://bit.ly/amythyst.

/ Music In This Week's Episode /

Leyla McCalla, “Girl”

Precious Bryant, “Don’t Let The Devil Ride”

Sunny War, “Mama’s Milk”

Jessie Mae Hemphill, “My Daddy’s Blues”

Elizabeth Cotten, “Gaslight Blues”

Kyshona Armstrong, “Fear”

Yasmin Williams, “Through The Woods”

Just hours after a Confederate monument was removed in Richmond, VA, Jason Isbell made his take very clear: “Nostalgia requires a lack of examination.” Amid the backdrop of a region reckoning with its past, this week’s Call & Response features Adia Victoria speaking with Jason, the Grammy award-winning songwriter from Green Hill, Alabama. Jason reflects on his identity as a white Southern man, why he seeks communion in his work, and the pitfalls of unquestioned nostalgia in country music. Also, hear a new single featuring Jason Isbell from Adia Victoria’s upcoming album, “A Southern Gothic,” in this week’s playlist: https://bit.ly/cr-jason.

/ Music In This Week's Episode /

Brittney Spencer, “Sober and Skinny”

Mickey Guyton, “Remember Her Name”

Amythyst Kiah, “Fancy Drones (Fracture Me)”

Shemekia Copeland, “Give God The Blues”

Allison Russell, “All of the Women”

Joy Oladokun, “Bad Blood”

Adia Victoria feat. Kyshona, Margo Price and Jason Isbell, “You Was Born To Die"

Welcome back to Call & Response. To open season two of our show, Adia is joined by fellow Southerner and singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus, whose latest album, “Home Video” is drawn largely from her childhood journals. In their conversation, Adia and Lucy talk about growing up in the church, learning to trust your own voice, and questioning what it means to be a reliable narrator for your own life. We’re so excited to have you here with us for another season of leaning into the blues to make sense of this world. For the playlist of songs curated for this episode head over to https://bit.ly/cr-lucy.

/Music In This Week's Episode/

Lucy Dacus, “VBS”

The Roots feat. Monsters of Folk, “Dear God 2.0”

Curtis Mayfield, “(Don’t Worry) If There’s A Hell Below We’re All Going To Go”

The Louvin Brothers, “Sinner, You’d Better Get Ready”

Kings of Leon, “The Runner”

serpentwithfeet, “Fellowship”

“What could be possible in the future when it comes to our artists? What is possible when it comes to us looking at each other? What can be possible when we shun a scarcity mindset? When we say this table is big enough for all of us? No, fuck that. Let's build a new table where everyone has a full plate, because we understand that when we create, we are able to feed.” In this final episode of our mid-season special at Newport festival, Adia leaves us with a poem. Keep your heart and your ears wide open for Season 2 of Call & Response, coming September 9th.

On Saturday at Newport, Allison Russell convened a super group of BIPOC performers to take the stage lead by the legendary Chaka Khan. The very next morning, we recorded this conversation. “It's not going to take anything away from you to let us in,” says Allison. “I wanted everyone to be able to see and hear and feel this majesty, this diversity, these expansive, intensely individual artists.” In this equally expansive conversation, Adia and Allison explore what it means to create collectively, for artists to lift each other up, and what it could look like if the music industry did the same.