Cody Jinks: “F**k Nashville, We’ll Start Our Own Damn Club”
Warning: Language
Surging traditional country music artist Cody Jinks just released his latest record Lifers via Rounder Records, and is getting ready to launch his inaugural, personally-curated Loud & Heavy Fest in Ft. Worth come Saturday, August 18th. And if you wanted to know just how committed he is to doing things his own way, how inspired he is by the oldtimers and Outlaws that came before him and the camaraderie they showed towards each other, well he’s about to tell you.
As sort of a precursor to Loud and Heavy Fest, Cody Jinks, Whitey Morgan, Colter Wall, and Ward Davis, along with Dallas Moore and Craig Gerdes all participated in the Tailgate N’ Tallboys music series at the Peoria Riverfront in Peoria, Illinois on July 21st. Also on hand was Paul Cauthen, who commonly tours with Cody Jinks and others in the cadre. Cody Jinks is usually a man of few words while on stage. He let’s his music do the talking. But after Jinks, Whitey Morgan, Ward Davis, and Paul Cauthen sang together during Cody’s set, the usually non-talkive Cody Jinks burst out,
“Ain’t this shit fun? See this is shit you used to see back in the 70’s when all those motherfuckers were out there singing and playing together, playing and singing and recording each other’s songs. We’re bringing that back! We said ‘Fuck Nashville, we’ll start our own goddamn club.'”
And that’s exactly what Cody Jinks, Whitey Morgan, Sunny Sweeney, Nikki Lane, Colter Wall, Paul Cauthen, and the other participants in Loud and Heavy Fest are doing, with Cody Jinks acting as the spearhead. One thing Cody Jinks fans should be watching for is the debut sales figures for Lifers as the final numbers are tallied. Though Kenny Chesney is likely to beat out Cody, don’t be surprised to see an eye popping number of initial sales due to the grassroots support Cody Jinks enjoys.
And don’t get too torqued that Cody Jinks just took a flamethrower to an entire city. When he says “Nashville,” clearly Cody’s talking about the part that wants nothing to do with real country music. After all, his label Rounder Records is Nashville-based, as are many of the compadres he collaborates with. This is about the Music Row system that artists like Cody Jinks, Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Margo Price, and many others are rendering obsolete as they prove you can make music your own way, and still be successful.
Video by Joseph Smith.
August 2, 2018 @ 8:35 am
I was at this show. It wasn’t just Paul Cauthen on stage with Jinks. Whitey Morgan and Ward Davis were also on stage playing with him. It was amazing.
August 2, 2018 @ 9:24 am
Whoops I misread the article. You did say that all four sang. My bad (unless you edited your article, you sneaky minx).
August 2, 2018 @ 9:29 am
I did update the article. Thanks for the heads up.
August 2, 2018 @ 8:56 am
I say fuck you, Jobu. I do it myself.
August 2, 2018 @ 8:59 am
Well played.
August 2, 2018 @ 9:17 am
Amen Cody Jinks !!! That’s exactly what Jerry Jeff Walker and Waylon and Willie did it can and is happening again!!!
August 2, 2018 @ 9:25 am
Nashville needs a new Bakersfield.
August 2, 2018 @ 11:25 am
I dont think so man. I think if Nashville gets money involved in the real shit, itll bastardize it all over again. I think we let Music Row be Music Row and live in their own little Fireball shooting, skinny jean wearing, autotuned, publishing deal world. Besides…Im glad the people at festivals like Tumbleweed arent the same people that go to Country Stampede. If people want good music, theyll find it. Nashville doesnt need to do anything but keep shooting itself in the foot. Let it implode on itself so the real artists can keep being real. I would rather play a show to 10 people who care about my music than to a crowd of 10 thousand who came to use me as a soundtrack to their shitty decisions anyway.
August 2, 2018 @ 11:56 am
This may not be a popular comparison, but the WWE was always better when it had a NWA or WCW nipping at its heels. On one hand I agree with you about letting Nashville implode on its own, but there are still too many “real” artist living their childhood dream and have moved to Nashville where they will never really get their chance they deserve. There is and always been some bad country music. A new Bakersfield could make things a little bit better for those real artist in n Nashville.
August 2, 2018 @ 12:03 pm
The new Bakersfield is happening in DFW (and all over Texas honestly) right now. You got guys like Jinks and Cauthen and Ross Cooper and a number of other killer artists who call the place home and a slew of venue owners who are treating fans and artists great. Nashville was Nashville even when Bakersfield was in it’s hay day. Youre spot on about having the industry with something nipping at its heels. Only…it seems that the “nippers” are the ones Im more prone to love. The anti-establishment side of it is just producing better music, plain and simple. It’s not that they have a chip on their shoulder…its that they just dont need Music Row to become a movement…and THAT makes them hungry for it.
August 3, 2018 @ 4:19 am
Been saying this for years. 30 years ago, a young, aspiring artist might go to Nashville with dreams of playing the right club or opening for the right act and attract the attention of a label executive in hopes of getting a record deal.
in 2018, if you want to “make it” in country music, you don’t go to Nashville. You go to Texas.
August 2, 2018 @ 9:35 am
I’m just going to say because it’s true and I don’t care how unpopular that makes me.
Nashville is more interested in providing music content to attract a broad audience which in turn will generate more revenue. This is why pop, EDM, and rap are heavily present in today’s “country” radio. Traditional country music is viewed as white music or redneck music in a disparaging manner. The demographics are changing in this country. Doesn’t help that it’s popular to demonize the white population. What traditional country music represents to a lot of people is right-wing ideology and a dying culture that has no place in today’s modern progressive climate. People coming here are not first listening to George Strait but they are listening to pop, EDM, and rap. So obviously Nashville is going to incorporate these music genres to stay relevant at the cost of destroying country music. Yes, country artist in the past have occasionally experimented with other genres but now this is different. It’s standard.
If somehow you can convince the Nawal Al Zoghbi, Sebastián Hernández, Faye Wong, Hasmik Papian, and Aaron Kwok Fu-shing to listen to and enjoy traditional country music we would be in better shape today and country music would safe for the future. However, it’s not going to happen. They prefer pop, EDM, and rap. This is why country music is the way it is.
August 2, 2018 @ 9:51 am
Well, yeah, you’re right, and that’s the whole problem: Nashville catering to people who don’t give a shit about anything played on country radio before about 2010 at the very latest.
August 2, 2018 @ 9:56 am
The other day I was reading in the news how one of may favorite western apparel store that has been in business for about 50 years is closing it’s door. I went there to get my little one a western hat for her.
The reason why they were closing was according the people that worked there:
“Humans have become less interested in cowboy boots overall. They’ve decided they’re not going to share that legacy with their children, or they weren’t exposed to it, so they don’t have reason to find out about it”
“Not as many young folks are into western wear anymore”
Again, the demographics have changed.
August 2, 2018 @ 10:35 am
This is the result of the Law of Nature.
If you don’t nourish it, it will die. The rule applies for everything that is organic. If you don’t care about your roots, your origin and your heritage then it will all be gone. We see the consequences today.
August 2, 2018 @ 11:29 am
Yea it’s sad.
August 2, 2018 @ 10:02 am
“Traditional country music is viewed as white music or redneck music in a disparaging manner. The demographics are changing in this country. Doesn’t help that it’s popular to demonize the white population”
Good points and I agree. But, I think a lot of these newer traditional artists are the exact opposite of this mentality and much more inclusive to all races and sexes. To me, they are carrying on the genre without the old baggage it feels like. I have not way to prove this, but they seem to be liberal people playing maybe what is still considered conservative music.
Which is a shame.
So where is the next music city for these outlaws to call home given the changing times in Nashville and Austin? Is it Memphis? (What Town?, USA)
August 2, 2018 @ 2:09 pm
“They seem like liberal people”
I dont think so. Liberals/leftists have one goal and that is to rid america of everything it is, and that includes any true american culture (what you call white and redneck culture). I’m not saying that everyone of them are highkey conservatives but their not all liberals either and most certainly not in the sense of the current liberals. Just because a type culture is dominated by whites doesnt make it racist and doesnt add “baggage” to it unless your racist to whites, of course.
August 2, 2018 @ 9:53 pm
grow up eden
change is ok and good
I am a leftist/liberal and an american
why do you have problem with that?
and why should that even come up here anyway?
August 3, 2018 @ 6:08 am
Name one instance of a cultural change that has been good.
Country Music changed and now it sucks
Television changed and now there’s nothing decent to watch
Radio changed and… well… a lot of shitty music and no good radio shows
manufacturing changed, and when was the last time your tv lasted ten years? I remember mine, a 40 inch Toshiba cinema series, and I still have a 1989 zenith that works like a dream.
my plasma screen that I got in 2015? died in a power surge in 2016
I work in a bakery at a school sometimes. the equipment there is all the old stuff from the 30s, in the thirty years my boss has been there they replaced a belt on one of the dough rollers… that’s it.
when was the last time the equipment got replaced at your job?
nothing lasts anymore, and everything is terrible. people are hookup-centric self-centered entitled clowns acting like they’re better than working minium wage when they don’t even know that chocolate milk doesn’t actually come from brown cows.
August 5, 2018 @ 10:09 am
Hey, Fuzzy and the rest of you nice folks, what you’re angry about isn’t what lefty-libs do, what you’re angry about is the result of Capitalism.
Stuff that’s popular makes more money. Making more money is the most American thing there is, right?
Country music chases sales.
Television chases ratings
Radio – well, learn about Clear Channel and what Mitt Romney’s old company did.
Cultural change is caused by your kids not wanting to be you.
Cultural change happens because someone wants to make a buck off the fact that your kids don’t want to be you.
It’s actually a good thing for the country, because American is consumer driven, and if everything stopped in 1970/80/90/pick your era, there would be nothing new.
So no new sales, the economy atrophies.
What most folks are really saying when they talk about things being better back in the day is just A – missing the way they felt when they were young or B – unhappy with the way their lives turned out.
Blaming lefties and cultural change, my goodness.
August 6, 2018 @ 4:19 pm
I really don’t care whose party politics gets blamed for jack-squat.
I’m just sick and tired of people, plain and simple. I’m sick and tired of having to explain, defend, and justify myself, and I’m not going to take anymore B.S. from anybody.
That means when my coworkers turn on Puke Bryan I will turn it off.
The radio in my car will stay turned off until a CD goes in it.
And my car won’t get replaced with a newer model like an Equinox because I want a reliable vehicle not a rolling time bomb made out of fake parts and straw. I don’t care how many safety features an Equinox has, they’re unreliable and every one of them I’ve ever seen hads broken down before its time.
and I won’t buy a modern T.V. or let my dentist reschedule without my permission.
Because I’m sick and tired of replacing stuff that should have been built proper in the first place, and I’m fed up with being pushed around by people.
I want Country Music, I want stuff that doesn’t break, and I want to be left alone and anyone who has a problem with it can either keep it to themselves or try arguing with me and I argue a lot better than anyone else.
August 3, 2018 @ 4:28 am
“Traditional country music is viewed as white music or redneck music in a disparaging manner.”
This is true. Yet, ironically, rednecks today, by and large, are the biggest market for bro and pop country. Most folks I would consider or who self identify as “rednecks” prefer the garbage coming out of Nashville far more than what is country in any traditional sense. Its been my experience that they would much rather listen to FGL and Jason Aldean rather than Cody Jinks or Turnpike Troubadours…providing they even know who the former are.
August 3, 2018 @ 10:21 am
I disagree. Most people just don’t have the time or energy to go searching for under the radar music like we do.
If Cody Jinks, Whitey Morgan, Turnpike Troubadours, Sturgill Simpson etc.. were always on the radio then they would be the ones filling up the arenas and be the superstars.
If you’re not allowed on mainstream media (e.g. radio, tv, news)
Most people are not going to know about you.
Like when Sturgill Simpson was given a grammy but they didn’t air it. Guess what, most of America didn’t get to see him and as a result most country fans still don’t know about him. If I remember correctly, Simpson had smart ass remark about that.
Same shit happens in politics. Remember Ron Paul? The media ignored him even though he was the only Republican with common sense.
August 2, 2018 @ 1:57 pm
Amen! It’s not just the production of the music either, it’s the lyrics. Everything on the radio today is the product of years of leftist ideology. Full of one night stands, drugs, and not giving a damn about the consequences. The left took over our TVs so it’s no surprise they would end up coming for our music too. It’s not so much that the demographics are changing it’s that the demographics that aren’t popular to the left are being killed.
August 2, 2018 @ 2:28 pm
Gee, that’s not a gross generalization.
August 2, 2018 @ 3:51 pm
Good call Senor BB. I also feel that majority of these artists are liberal/inclusive minded people playing to conservative audiences and there within lies most of the problem. None of these artists are doing anything creatively progressive, musically or lyrically. Is that because of talent or choice. It’s the same song and dance from days gone by. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But it’s the clamoring of the conservative audience for yesteryear (Make America Great Again), that supports these artists and drives their bottom line. So what are they to do? Pander to the people that are paying their bills? Example: Sturgill Simpson held back his mind set at the beginning of his ‘Nashville’ career, and now it looks like he kind of doesn’t care for the majority of the mentality of his audience.
To all these smartphone outlaws – imitating Waylon, Willie, Kristofferson, & Cash can only get you so far. You’re supposed to take if further than where you found it. Unfortunately, with this style of music, and the audience that supports it, I’m not sure that’s possible.
August 2, 2018 @ 6:13 pm
I don’t give a damn how Trashville sees me or anyone else who likes traditional country music ( St. Hank, St. Lefty, Brother Waylon, Sister Tammy and Deacon George ) . All those corporate assholes look at is the bottom line, and they don’t care about the music, except how it can bring them more money. Give me some Dale Watson, and keep all that ‘ bro-county ‘ crap.
August 2, 2018 @ 9:28 pm
I think this is a good discussion.
First off, without a doubt, blues and black musicians most certainly played a part in the formation of country music, and that rarely if ever is given credit in the annals of country music.
That said, country music has always been a predominately white art from, and like others have said, that doesn’t make it inherently bad, or wrong, or racist. Unfortunately though, in this era of identity politics, anything that is majority white or male must be integrated, or destroyed. There is definitely a concerted effort out there by certain journalists and music fans who don’t even like country music to erode the traditions of country as a way to wage battle in the culture war. They’re doing this on multiple fronts, calling the music sexist and racist, embellishing the role African Americans played in its formation, saying it was black music to begin with, and/or stolen by white people. This is a very dangerous trend, and in my opinion, is becoming a bigger issue than the incursion of pop/hip-hop/EDM into the format. These people hate white people (even though many of them are white themselves), and anything they see as an element of white culture they’re going to attempt to eradicate, some by embedding themselves into the country music press corps.
Of course there is racist elements in country music. We see that in these very comment sections. But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Don’t impugn an entire genre and its fans because of pent up political anger. Trying to destroy the culture identity of individuals only makes them dig in deeper. It creates racism.
August 3, 2018 @ 7:24 am
There is surely some truth to this but let’s not overstate its significance in relation to other issues going on. Blaming the left for the lack of popularity of country music (maybe not your exact comment, but further above), though you might find SOME correlations, is not the whole picture. There are several other things going on here: 1) Technology. Do I need to say more? 2) Globalization 3) Consolidated and ever more powerful corporate greed. I could go on and on. 4) People evolve and change in general. Look at all the other genres that have come and gone.
Jazz, blues, funk, traditional reggae are not “white genres.” They eventually faded out of massive popularity. Are we going to blame the left and people who hate white culture for that? Were those genre’s conservative? Country as many like to describe it is also an evolution, as Trigger has pointed out many times. Do we seriously think we can freeze time at the exact evolution point that we liked? There is definitely a backlash against culture seen as non-inclusive. There are of course some problems that go along with that, like throwing out the baby with the bathwater. No doubt. For MANY reasons (including being a good human being), I personally am all for inclusion, and I know you are too Trigger. Fighting that, and being intolerant of artists who are left leaning, doesn’t help anyone.
To me, though I listen to some other genres sometimes, the appeal of country music is the story telling, the humility, and the human element. As technology keeps advancing and “human” things continue to be eroded, my love of country (mostly regardless of the artist’s politics either way), will only grow. There are many things wrong with society and I know we all want to figure out what it is, but let’s not blame every problem we come across on the other (either) side. Finally, its not really accurate to call the original outlaw movement conservative. There were some shared values, but many that were not!
August 2, 2018 @ 10:32 am
Cody, I love your music- let your actions speak for themselves- you don’t need Nashville and your fans prove it- but, don’t let it go to your head.
August 2, 2018 @ 10:44 am
Nice finally this generation has their true outlaws.
August 2, 2018 @ 11:03 am
Love the sentiment, but he’s going to have to start putting out better crafted, much more inspired country than what we got with Lifers if he’s going to be even in the top 10 of people leading the charge on this front. He does have the fan established fan base as of now, though, so glad he is speaking out.
August 2, 2018 @ 5:34 pm
I’m surprised you didn’t like it. I found it to be a very good album. He’s really competing with himself here, his previous albums, but overall I thought the music was very good, neo-traditional country. I think maybe once you hear the sings performed live, you may come around to the songs. ????
August 2, 2018 @ 11:15 am
“So where is the next music city for these outlaws to call home given the changing times in Nashville and Austin? Is it Memphis? (What Town?, USA)”
I wondered that at first and decided Anywhere USA is fine- preferably Texas but if not, oh well, it’s not.
August 2, 2018 @ 11:28 am
DFW is killing it right now. There is SO much good shit happening there. Lot of great West Coast stuff too. Hell..even Canada and the Midwest are crushing it….yea youre right. Good music doesnt need a town. It’s everywhere.
August 2, 2018 @ 1:29 pm
Fort Worth would be fine with me- it’s where I was born. It would also help re-establish it as the hell raiser it was when it was “cow town” 😉
August 2, 2018 @ 12:41 pm
DJ Good question!
August 2, 2018 @ 1:35 pm
Wasn’t my question- it came from BB Senor which is why I put the quote marks 😉 but he appreciates it I’m sure- LOL
August 2, 2018 @ 1:20 pm
Don’t sleep on Lubbock
August 2, 2018 @ 1:31 pm
Lubbock was the first town that came to my mind- Waylon made a name for himself there and we can’t leave out Buddy Holly who was a bit of an outlaw in his day- and there’s Joe Ely who made a bit of impression on music-
August 2, 2018 @ 7:28 pm
And Joe’s buddies Butch Hancock and Jimmie Dale Gilmo
August 3, 2018 @ 3:09 am
… and Terry Allen!
August 4, 2018 @ 6:19 am
I forgot about Mac Davis- he put Lubbock on the map LOL
August 2, 2018 @ 5:20 pm
With the internet, music doesn’t need a Music City anymore.
August 3, 2018 @ 4:57 am
“Little fart of a town down in south Texas…called Lonesome Dove.”
August 2, 2018 @ 11:31 am
I think most people on this site would like to see Nashville Metaphorically Burn
August 3, 2018 @ 4:42 am
I think Justin Wells would agree! I’m sure there are other examples but Fifth on the Flooor’s Burnin Nashville Down was the first to come to mind.
August 3, 2018 @ 5:04 am
There’s still a lot of soul left to save
But they’re diggin their own brave
It may just be a dream, all this ash in the stream
But Nashville’s burnin down
August 3, 2018 @ 5:06 am
Goddam typos!! Can’t even blame it on autocorrect this time
August 2, 2018 @ 11:49 am
I think it’s radio in general.I say that because Nashville has a lot of people who love real country music.
So,it’s more radio who won’t play what the country fans want to hear,and that’s going on all over different parts of America and no doubt Canda too.
August 2, 2018 @ 1:32 pm
Edgy.
August 2, 2018 @ 2:26 pm
Things change & there are still enough people all over the world who prefer the real deal. Real country music & not what Nashville, Trashville or Popville sells as country music. It might not be the #1 format but there will be a market.
August 2, 2018 @ 3:53 pm
“Blah blah blah blah wahhhhhh” They’re just all a bunch of bitter flops who’s mad that they don’t have much of a net worth. Nobody wants to hear your boring country shit
August 2, 2018 @ 9:39 pm
Don’t have much of a net worth? Yeah, I guess that’s why they don’t perform to sold out crowds everywhere they go. Why don’t you find something you actually know jack-shit about, and stick to that.
August 3, 2018 @ 4:20 am
Go bang some Luke Bryan or FGL and leave the good old country music to the big boys, Claire.
August 4, 2018 @ 11:49 am
Claire, you probably refer to Bebe Rexha as ‘Queen’ and use the word ‘stan’ like it can be found in the Oxford Dictionary. Bounce, troll.
August 4, 2018 @ 11:56 am
Claire, you probably refer to Bebe Rexha as ‘Queen’ and say ‘stan’ regularly like it can be found in the Oxford Dictionary. Bounce, troll.
August 4, 2018 @ 11:39 pm
I love how she calls Cody Jinks a flop when he’s been outselling alot of mainstream country’s radio darlings and steadily growing his fanbase, and for awhile he was doing it all without a record label. Imagine being that ignorant and short-sighted enough to call that a flop.
August 6, 2018 @ 12:10 pm
Shane McAnally, we know this is your burner account. You’re not fooling us!!!
August 2, 2018 @ 4:12 pm
Got to get this off my chest. A number of comments are trying to bring liberal/conservative, white/black talking points into the conversation. I would hope most music lovers know the history of the roots of country music and the cross pollination of white and black styles that influenced many if not most of the great grandfathers that were the originators of what we call Country Music.
August 2, 2018 @ 9:34 pm
Yes, black music and black musicians played a role in the formation of country music. But in the last few months we’ve seen significant efforts to paint country music as originally black music that was culturally appropriated and stolen by whites. Every form of popular music in Americana can be traced back to African Americans predominately and legitimately—blues, jazz, rock, hip-hop. But country has always been a predominately white art form, and there’s nothing wrong with that. That’s history. Doesn’t mean there weren’t blacks involved too. But it’s a white art form. That shouldn’t be an accusation. It’s simply just the way it is. It’s culture.
August 3, 2018 @ 5:54 am
I agree. I mean, without question, the blues is an integral part of country music. For example, if not for the blues, there would be no country shuffles. Bill Monroe never would have written Heavy Traffic Ahead. There’d be no Blue Yodeler. However, I think that if somehow, there was no cultural cross pollination between whites and black in the American South, the music that would have emerged from the white side still would have been a compelling art form, maybe closer to traditional British or Irish music.
August 3, 2018 @ 6:21 am
I read somewhere, quite some time ago that country music was just a white man singing the blues- Jimmie Rodgers, the blue yodeler, came to mind when I read that- but, I would say that calling it stolen might be a bit over the top- cultural appropriation? perhaps, but before it was a term- since it originated in the south where poverty was rampant I dare say the “culture” was *shared*, therefore “appropriate”. That’s not to say that black people had it easy or white people had it easier- it was what it was, it is what it is. I guess white people did get recognition sooner and that was probably due to many reasons, race being one of them, but, more likely, because of the times, and those seeing the dollar signs knew where the music would be accepted- I remember the scene from Great Balls of Fire where Jerry Lee Lewis and his cousin? were outside a black nigh club – but that was way past the time of ‘origin’- and Elvis was strongly influenced by black music- rock-n-roll’s origin was what? IMO, “cultural appropriation” personified. If you look at those words separately and look at the accepted definitions you’d see that idiots who use that term are just that, idiots.
You (and others) may think it’s a good conversation to have, and I’ll probably throw in my 2 cents on occasion and that’s not entirely a wrong attitude, but, it fuels the fire and gives the SJW idiots more fodder because no matter what you put up they will find “cause” to attack- it’s what they live for. They have to be a victim and have to create victims so they have group think mantra to martyr for screaming *look at me* I need some attention because I’m an attention whore= click bait.
But, you do a good job of expressing yourself so keep it up. If somebody doesn’t like it, tough shit.
August 3, 2018 @ 6:25 am
Just not true. Few places in the world have been as traditionally homogeneous as Ireland, which is one of the reasons so much great poetry, literature, music, etc. has come from there. Celtic peoples had almost zero contact with Africans. Among other influences, American country music has a direct line from traditional Celtic music. If not for Celtic music, there would be no American country music. People living along the Appalachian mountains had virtually no contact with black people, yet they developed and nurtured their own forms of country, folk, bluegrass, etc.
August 3, 2018 @ 5:13 pm
May have been more diverse.
Stereotypes Of Appalachia Obscure A Diverse Picture.
April 6, 20145:18 AM ET
SARAH BAIRD
Appalachia’s history as a mountainous melting pot dates to before the Revolutionary War, when the region’s misty crags were an almost impenetrab nations, including Cherokee and Shawnee, were the first to inhabit the area. A major wave of European settlers — primarily of Irish and Scottish descent — arrived via federal land grants in the early 18th century. African-Americans, both free and enslaved, arrived at this time as well. All these groups played key roles in shaping and molding the cultural traditions of the region.
African-Americans made up more than 10 percent of the region’s population by 1860, with Appalachia’s ethnic profile shifting dramatically as multiracial families boomed. (Later, those with blended Scots-Irish, Native American and African-American roots would come to be known as Melungeons.
In the years following the Civil War, former slaves migrated north to the region to escape the persecution of the Deep South. In Eastern Kentucky, Berea College opened its doors in 1867 to students of all races, with the first year’s class totaling 187 students: 96 African-American and 91 white.
The coal crescendo during the early part of the 20th century brought in even greater diversity, with tens of thousands of Hungarian, Italian and Eastern European immigrants flocking to the mountains to cash in on booming mining towns. After the Great Depression, many of these immigrants — along with African-American families — moved to urban centers such as Cincinnati and Detroit in pursuit of more stable and less backbreaking work. These pioneers were some of the first to create “urban Appalachian” enclaves, spreading the traditions of an isolated region to metropolitan areas across the Midwest.
This fusion is most obvious in Appalachia’s signature food and music. As Rachel Ellen Simon describes in an article for The Appalachian Voice, the African akonting was a precursor to the banjo — the instrument now synonymous with the region’s plucky, twangy bluegrass sound. Spoonbread, chowchow and succotash all point to both African and Native American influences and are celebrated as culinary specialties of the area.
August 3, 2018 @ 10:34 am
Like how Jazz was influenced by Classical Music which comes from Europe. Not too mention the instruments used in jazz come from Europe.
August 2, 2018 @ 6:48 pm
Burn it down!
August 3, 2018 @ 3:16 am
Nashville has some interesting sites too: http://wsmonline.com/archives/bobby-bare-and-friends-podcast/ I enjoyed this conversation. JJ was enjoying Cody & Co. @ Ryman!
August 3, 2018 @ 4:20 am
Y’all…. Just do you. Unless it’s trying to control something or somebody, you can take that tyranny back across the big pond.
Thanks for the article. I’m gonna look up every name I didn’t recognize. Lol
August 3, 2018 @ 9:37 am
Damn, the festival sounds like it’s going to awesome.
August 3, 2018 @ 5:22 pm
First time posting. I enjoy reading the site and discovering there is still real country out there. Reading this reminds me of what happened back in the 90’s (when you could still hear some country music on the radio). My local country station was doing requests. I called and asked them to play Merle Haggard. I can still remember the conversation I had with the guy on the phone. It went a little like this:
“Play some Merle Haggard.” I said.
“Sorry, we don’t play him.” the guy responded.
“Why not?”
“Because he hasn’t had any hits.”
“He’s had almost 40 of them.”
“Yeah, but not lately.”
“That’s because you don’t play him.”
The guy laughed and told me he understood what I was saying, he was just not allowed to play the Hag. I found another country station after that exchange and am unable to recall the last time I listened to country radio here. Been too busy checking out the artists on this site!
Looking forward to seeing Cody in Columbus, Ohio in September. Glad there is still country music around.
August 3, 2018 @ 6:11 pm
Thanks for reading Wayne.
August 3, 2018 @ 5:59 pm
Cody is a modern day James Hetfield. Fuck the establishment! He’ll do it his way and make it with or without anyone’s (but the real Country fans) help. And if you don’t think James had no influence on him you’d be sadly mistaken. Lifers is growing on me after a week………..I love it!
August 3, 2018 @ 8:12 pm
Amen. I found out about Cody because she f you fine people here, and the more I see, the more I like.
August 3, 2018 @ 8:14 pm
Of you fine people, I mean. Sorry, typing at Antone’s.
August 3, 2018 @ 10:43 pm
These traditionalists artist need to band together and create their own label group and push this music through all media types and airwaves.
August 4, 2018 @ 6:57 am
Ya know, I’ve given this some thought as I’m sure others of you have- and I’m kinda torn.
There is an opportunity happening here for something ‘big’ to take place. On one hand I’d love to see it happen because I’ve always pulled for the underdog to succeed- on the other hand I can see where it would lead right back to where we are now. I have to wonder what is on his mind- he said: “we’ll start our own goddamn club”- could be some interesting times ahead, or, he was just drunk. LOL. But, he ain’t a dummy so I’m sure he sees what’s happening and is at least formulating something- but, “something” ain’t always a good thing. Anything of this magnitude needs some really sharp people focusing and helping direct with plans and yes a strategy- if it’s his “idea” he’s talking about I sure hope he doesn’t get burned implementing (if that’s even what he has in mind). If he doesn’t have that in mind he best beware of the wolves at the door- silver tongued devils are rarely altruistic.
August 4, 2018 @ 7:00 am
Something else I thought about- “How do you like me now?” LOL. His Daddy being a Church of Christ preacher has to be pretty chagrined at his success at being the life of the party.
March 31, 2019 @ 10:18 pm
Nashville can go to hell worse place to be…a bum ask for a cigarette and guy say no, So the bum chopped his head off with a machete.