• NEWS
  • REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • EVENTS
  • VIDEOS

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from Blues Scene about music & art.

The Burney Sisters: Americana Trio from Columbia, Missouri Ready to Set Sail on Cayamo Cruise

January 27, 2023

Dani Wilde Premieres Video for Nostalgic New Single ‘I Miss The World’

January 27, 2023

10 Things You Didn’t Know About J.J. Cale

January 26, 2023

Listen: Colemine Records to Posthumously Release Fred Davis LP, ‘Cleveland Blues’

January 26, 2023
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Facebook Twitter Instagram Vimeo
American Blues SceneAmerican Blues Scene
  • NEWS
  • REVIEWS
  • INTERVIEWS
  • EVENTS
  • VIDEOS
American Blues SceneAmerican Blues Scene
Home»Events»Woody Guthrie Center Exhibit Showcasing American Protest Songs Opening May 21st
Events

Woody Guthrie Center Exhibit Showcasing American Protest Songs Opening May 21st

American Blues Scene StaffBy American Blues Scene StaffApril 5, 2021Updated:April 5, 2021No Comments3 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email VKontakte WhatsApp
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

Songs of Conscience, Sounds of Freedom the newest exhibit set to open at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, examines the role of music in informing and inspiring social consciousness throughout American history, featuring an array of musicians across decades and genres, all using their art to push toward a more equitable world. The exhibit is set to open May 21, 2021, and it will include Chicago guitarist Dave Specter’s “The Ballad of George Floyd,” featuring harp legend Billy Branch. Written and released on Delmark Records during the aftermath of his tragic death, it features Specter’s searing guitars and the melancholic harp of Branch.

Specter recalls, “I wrote the song a few days after George Floyd was murdered and the lyrics pretty much wrote themselves. Injustice’s toll from an endless cycle of racist violence and police brutality. And it just happened again with Jacob Blake. I was reminded of a tweet from Congress member Karen Bass, that when mass murderer Dylan Roof killed 9 people in church, the police bought him Burger King. Dylan Roof is white. But George Floyd didn’t die in vain. He helped spark a worldwide movement for justice and change. I am proud to collaborate with the great Chicago bluesman, Billy Branch on this tune. We share the same vision and are inspired by the words of John Lewis: ‘If it hadn’t been for music, the civil rights movement would’ve been like a bird without wings’.”

The exhibit explores music’s role in major social movements as well as the smaller steps in between. Charting a path from spirituals that were sung by enslaved people in America, to the labor movement struggles that Guthrie wrote about in songs like “1913 Massacre,” to the mass movement of music and art that helped to stir action during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s to the continued fight for racial justice in America today, the exhibit spans time and genre to tell the stories of music’s role as an inspiration and an educator.

“It tells the story of how music of all kinds has played a role in America’s political arena, particularly as a form of protest and as an agent for political, social, racial, and economic change,” said Bob Santelli, GRAMMY Museum founding executive director and exhibit curator. “Though it offers a sweeping view of the history of protest music, the exhibit pays special attention to the music inspired by Black Lives Matter and other contemporary struggles for justice and equality in America.”

Guests can expect to see: handwritten lyrics from Woody Guthrie, Bruce Springsteen, Shemekia Copeland, H.E.R., and others; instruments from Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Josh White, John Mellencamp, and more; “Song Spotlights” that tell the stories of such landmark protest songs as “Strange Fruit,” “A Change Is Gonna Come,” and others; rare performance footage and interviews with prominent topical songwriters and an interactive history of protest music in America.

Woody Guthrie Center

Billy Branch Dave Specter Delmark Records GRAMMY Museum The Ballad of George Floyd Woody Guthrie Center
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email WhatsApp
Previous ArticleExclusive Video Premiere: Singer-Songwriter/Blues Guitarist Conor Gains ‘Light Shine In’
Next Article John Fusco Announces Creation of Rocket 88 Records
American Blues Scene Staff

Related Posts

Listen: Colemine Records to Posthumously Release Fred Davis LP, ‘Cleveland Blues’

January 26, 2023

Voices of Mississippi Returns With Five Upcoming Performances

January 24, 2023

Savoy Brown to Release ‘Blues All Around’ After the Passing of Legendary Founder

January 24, 2023

The Nighthawks Share First Single ‘Don’t Know Where She Went’ From New EP

January 20, 2023

Comments are closed.

Advertisment
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
  • Home
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Events
  • Videos
  • About

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.