The Broadside

Who gets to play the banjo in America?


Listen Later

This past spring, Durham, North Carolina hosted a sprawling roots music festival called Biscuits and Banjos. For the thousands of attendees, it had some similarities to a lot of folk music events around the country. But one major thing set it apart. Nearly every featured performer was Black.

The event is just one part of a Black folk music revival sweeping the country that's rescuing lost traditions and challenging stereotypes that for generations have influenced things like who gets to play the banjo in America.

This episode is part of a collaboration between WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and WPLN-Nashville Public Radio.

Featuring:

  • Jewly Hight, senior music writer at Nashville Public Radio - WPLN
  • Rhiannon Giddens, musician and member of Carolina Chocolate Drops
  • Dom Flemons, musician and member of Carolina Chocolate Drops
  • Brandi Waller-Pace, musician and scholar
  • Kaia Kater, musician and member of New Dangerfield


Links:

  • You can find a transcript of the episode here.


The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The BroadsideBy WUNC

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

57 ratings


More shows like The Broadside

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

91,069 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,506 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,689 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,681 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,211 Listeners

Outside/In by NHPR

Outside/In

1,479 Listeners

The Kitchen Sisters Present by The Kitchen Sisters & Radiotopia

The Kitchen Sisters Present

1,289 Listeners

Sidedoor by Smithsonian Institution

Sidedoor

2,186 Listeners

Twenty Thousand Hertz by Dallas Taylor

Twenty Thousand Hertz

4,082 Listeners

WUNC Politics by WUNC

WUNC Politics

75 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,539 Listeners

Decoder Ring by Slate Podcasts

Decoder Ring

2,115 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,204 Listeners

Embodied by WUNC

Embodied

234 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

16,043 Listeners

Unexplainable by Vox

Unexplainable

2,299 Listeners

The Atlas Obscura Podcast by SiriusXM and Atlas Obscura

The Atlas Obscura Podcast

1,712 Listeners

Due South by Jeff Tiberii, Leoneda Inge

Due South

31 Listeners