Episode 30 – Jean Ritchie Part 2 of 2 – Dr. Jones talks with Appalachian musician Carla Gover about music, social justice, and her connection to Jean Ritchie

In our second Jean Ritchie podcast, Part 2 of 2, Dr. Jones talks with Appalachian musician Carla Gover about music, social justice, and her connection to Jean Ritchie.

In these last two episodes (ep 29 & 30) we explore the life of folk singer and social worker Jean Ritchie and her connection to the UK College of Social Work. Please visit https://socialwork.uky.edu/jeanritchie for a special dedication page to Jean, with pictures, links, and full Mp3 downloads of the songs you have heard.

Ep 30 Resources

Carla’s Website http://www.carlagover.com/home

Zoe Speaks Music https://zoespeaksmusic.com/

Cornbread and Tortillas https://cornbreadandtortillas.com/

Ep 30 Track List and Music Links

The Young Man that Wouldn’t Raise Corn – Carla Gover

Paper of Pins – Carla Gover

Sorrow in the Wind – Carla Gover

Cool of the Day – Jean Ritchie

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TRANSCRIPT

Transcripts are created using a combination of speech recognition software and human transcription and may contain errors. Please check the full audio podcast in context before quoting in print.

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Episode 30 – Jean Ritchie Part 2 of 2 – Dr. Jones talks with Appalachian musician Carla Gover about music, social justice, and her connection to Jean Ritchie

Blake [00:00:02] Hello and welcome to the social work Conversations podcast produced by the University of Kentucky College of Social Work. My name is Blake Jones. Here we explore the intersection of social work research practice and education. Our goal is to showcase the amazing people associated with our college and to give our listeners practical tools that they can use to change the world.

Blake [00:00:26] I’m joined today by Carla Gover my friend, banjo picker, dancer, Appalachian songstress, and many other things. Thanks for joining me today. Carla.

Carla [00:00:37] I’m happy to be here.

Blake [00:00:39] We’re here to talk about Jean Ritchie and your relationship with her. And kind of how that started. But I want to start with you because you are a very accomplished musician just a creative force in Kentucky and wonder if you could tell us a little bit about what you’re into these days what’s on what’s on your plate musically creatively that’s happening with you.

Carla [00:01:06] Well right now I have a few things going on and I’m really excited about. My band is called Zoe Speaks and it has and we have a new album that’s original folk music but highly influenced by Appalachian music that I grew up with and that my songwriting partner grew up with. So that’s been in the works. That’s really exciting. I’m involved in a project called cornbread and tortillas which is a. Was a collective of Appalachian and Latino artists dedicated to building cultural bridges and showing the connections between various Latino and Appalachian cultures. And we also have a stage show a theatre show that has dancing, music, and personal life stories kind of woven into these dramatic vignettes. So that’s a whole theatrical production. And we have a smaller school show that we do for young people called from Appalachia to the Andes. So that’s a four person show. And it’s kind of a miniature version of the same. So that’s exciting and then I just found out last week that. I get to do a fellowship where I work with an apprentice to teach her a traditional percussive dance styles of the mountain so flat footed and clogging and that’s through the Kentucky Folklife Program and the Kentucky Arts Council

Blake [00:02:27] Yeah. You know I follow you of course on social media and we’ve known each other a long time and I love the pictures of you with children and I know that you go into a lot of schools and do work with children around just music and you know Appalachian culture and all that sort of thing and wonder if you could talk about what what that’s like for you. What is it like to connect with children and really teach them