The Change Force Americana

Crys Matthews isn’t just a singer-songwriter; she’s a force for change.

She shares her journey of blending music with activism, drawing from her upbringing in the AME Church and the rich experiences that have shaped her identity and artistry.

From confronting a heckler mid-performance to crafting her upcoming album Reclamation...

...she reveals how her art amplifies unheard voices and fosters unity.

But what drives her to keep fighting for justice in a divided world?

Just wait until you hear her story.

Discover the powerful stories and lessons behind her music and how they can inspire hope, love, and change in all of us.

Bullets:

The story behind her album Reclamation.

Confronting adversity with music.

How to use hope and love as tools for change..

Why she is amplifying voices through Americana.

The South’s untold positive potential.

Learn more about Crys' music: https://www.crysmatthews.com/

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So tell me what's your excuse?

It's right or wrong not left or right and it sure ain't red or.

Blue no there ain't no I was playing at a festival and I was singing this song called Change Makers.

There's a quiet part in that song where I ask if folks will sing with me.

And this man, he screamed at me from the field, no, you're wrong.

I obviously just proceeded to sing him right out of that field like any good Southern black woman would.

And it was that man who ended up leaving and everybody else just stood up and cheered.

It's the loudest voice in the room is sometimes only just that.

It's not the majority.

A bully is only a bully because they are anticipating somebody being intimidated by their power.

Americana music transforms the world and unfortunately too many are unaware of its profound impact.

Americana musicians are the unsung heroes and here you'll join us in exploring these passionate artists and how they offer inspiration and hope for the future.

This show makes it happen in a fun and entertaining way.

You'll discover new music that you'll love, hard earned Lessons from the Road, the story behind favorite songs, a big dose of inspiration for you and your friends, and a good laugh along the way.

I'm Ben Fanning and my co host is Zach Schultz.

It's time to get Americana Curious.

Hey everybody, a real treat coming for you today.

Welcome back to Americana Curious because we have Chris Matthews, who is a dynamic and thought provoking singer songwriter whose music blends Americana, folk, jazz, blues, bluegrass and funk into a bold, complex performance steeped in traditional melodies and punctuated by honest original lyrics.

Few artists begin their careers with a mission statement, y'all, but few artists are as self aware of their intent and responsibility as Nashville's Chris.

You're going to hear from today, whose NPR's and Powers calls a rising folk star.

Chris has been quoted saying statement of purpose.

Her statement of purpose is to amplify the voices of the unheard, to shed light on the unseen and to be a steadfast reminder that hope and love are the truth's paths to equity and justice.

Already being hailed as the next Woody Guthrie, Chris is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music makers.

Following the political and musical traditions of Tracy Chapman and Guthrie.

Specifically, specificity and emotional depth marks her as a memorable, powerful voice of the next generation that you're not going to forget.

Chris states that her forthcoming 6 album is called Reclamation is both sonically and ideologically.

Wow, that's a tough one for A boy from Alabama to say, but it's pretty awesome.

And Chris says it's the fullest representation of who she is as an artist and as a human being.

Holy smokes.

Let's get Americana curious with Chris Matthews.

All right.

All right.

Thanks for coming.

Well, I just want to tell a quick story because.

And I.

I know I told Ben this, and I.

I did tell you, Chris, in our emails, but me and my wife got the privilege to go down to John Prine's you've got gold celebration that they do every year.

And we had never gone, but it was kind of a bucket list for us.

And the second night is at the Basement east, and you don't really.

The folks that are coming as patriots, we don't know who's coming out.

I was there because a former guest of our show is a friend of mine, and he was playing that night, Jordan Foley.

But we're sitting there waiting for the show to start, and out comes the second song, I believe you.

Singing Flag Decal and Blue.

I mean, there you could hear a pin drop in that Basement east, and that's one of the loudest venues I've ever been in.

People were mesmerized.

How does something like that come together?

Where the Prine family invites Chris Matthews to celebrate this great life of John Prine.

Yeah.

That night was such an absolute honor.

So Fiona actually reached out herself to say, hey, would you be.

Would you be interested?

And I, like, tried to not pass out.

As I was reading the email out loud, it was just like, oh, my God.

Yeah.

She has been such a wonderful friend to another organization that I'm a part of called Black Opry.

And she has been just an absolute friend to Black Opry.

And so she reached out and wanted to make sure that there was a full representation of Nashville at that night.

And I was just so honored to be able to answer the call.

John's music is just so profound and enduring, which is why songs like that still matter so much, even today.

And so it just was an absolute honor to get to be a part of that night.

It was such an absolute thrill.

So you mentioned Black Opry.

Were you at Newport two years ago?

No, I was already booked.

I was so bummed.

Newport is such a high bucket list thing for me, and I was already booked that time, so I couldn't do it.

I was like, that was one of the highlights of the.

Of the festival for me that year, which.

But there's so many people coming in, you can't keep track of it, so.

Exactly.

Yeah, Chris, just riffing on that.

So for our listeners, what is the Black Opry, and why is it so important?

Absolutely.

So the Black Opry was started by a music fan named Holly G, who is a black woman who at that time was living in Richmond, Virginia, and who had been just a huge fan of country music as a genre, but never really felt like she was seeing herself represented much in the genre, in the music.

And so kind of just went on a personal quest to find out, like, are there black people making country music?

Like, what.

What is this about?

And basically, just a labor of love on her part.

Found all these different artists who are in the roots music tradition, whether it be country, Americana, folk, blues, anything in that roots music tradition, and just kind of spearheaded this mission to kind of make a collective of us.

And so the Black Opry does these reviews all around the country and the world.

There are so many of us.

There are literally hundreds of us.

And so you just never know who's going to show up at a Black Opry review show.

But you can rest assured it's going be a really good time with some pretty awesome music.

So I've met some pretty amazing friends in.

In the genre because of Black Opry, so really, really grateful to.

To Holly for making that happen.

Yeah.

Oh, so cool.

Yeah, we.

We saw the Newport with.

We also saw the Black Opry here in Charleston at High Water.

Very nice.

Yeah, really a cool, cool performance and a great group, and highly recommended for people to check it out.

Now, Chris, we gotta dive in your background a little bit, because.

Okay, let's do it.

I'll tell you what I was having fun with is a really incredible story here.

So your mother, you call the Rev.

That's it.

Right.

And your upbringing is in the AME Church community and which we have in Charleston.

And you've got a family connection, right, because your grandfather built the church that you grew up at, correct?

Yeah.

So that.

That church, Harrison Chapel AME Church, that has been in my family for generations and generations.

So it was actually my great grandfather who actually helped build that church, who also was a minister.

The.

The preaching roots run real deep in our family.

So Mom's a preacher.

Her brother's a preacher.

Grandpa was a deacon.

My great grandpa was a preacher.

And that's just our branch, and we've got about 14 branches on that tree, so, yeah, it runs real deep.

Well, let's talk about then.

So how are the seeds planted early on for you from then growing up there and what you're doing now?

The tradition of the black church in the south is one that is deeply, deeply rooted in justice.

You look back to some of the more poignant changes that have happened in the South.

Movements for social change, not just the civil rights movement.

Even before that, so many of those movements were rooted in the black church.

And so because of that, I think because of how I was raised and how I grew up, it's kind of no surprise that I sing the kind of music that I sing, because that's kind of all I've known is just trying to make this world a little bit of a better place.

So, yeah, I think.

I don't.

I don't think anybody that has known me since I was a kid was too surprised that I was singing social justice music.

There's a whole lot in our culture I'd cancel if I could.

Instead of banning books, I'd ban Germandarine for good.

The rich would feed the poor like the good Lord said they should.

And every child, without exception, would feel loved and understood.

No more whitewashing our history when the truth will set us free.

No more watching corporate profits soar while people sink into poverty.

No more telling kids their flaw because you think that you're God would.

There's a whole lot in our culture I'd cancel if I could.

There's a whole lot in our culture we should cancel right away.

Instead of banning saying gay, we should ban racist holidays.

Yeah, I want to get into the.

A little bit more into it with this mission statement.

Yeah, I.

I love this about you.

You're.

It's kind of to amplify the voices of the unheard.

So how was there a specific moment growing up where this is what I want to do?

I don't.

I don't.

I'm not a musician to make a billion dollars.

I want to make a change.

Yeah.

So it really was such an interesting transition for me.

I started writing songs when I was in college, but it wasn't really until Trayvon Martin was killed that I kind of very much got re.

Centered in the focus of what I wanted to do with this platform that I had.

And there was something about seeing somebody who looked so much like my.

I'm the oldest of my grandparents grandchildren.

I'm the oldest of nine grandkids, and my boys are eight years younger than me.

They're like my kid brothers.

And looking into his sweet little face just broke something in me.

You know, he just looked so much like my boys.

And just the fact that something like that could happen to him, to them, and has happened to so many people in this country, it was just like, I just need to say something about that.

And so that was the first song that kind of with intention I wrote.

It was a song called Don't Forget My Name that was about Trayvon Martin.

And kind of from there on out, that's just really all I want to do is just try to do some good in this world, help people have some of those conversations that they aren't necessarily able to have all by themselves.

They don't necessarily have the language or the tools to know how to talk to people about these things that matter so much.

And music is such a wonderful kind of a stealth agent in that way.

It kind of gets into places that regular conversation just doesn't seem to.

People's ears turn off so fast.

They get so defensive.

We go into our separate corners and that's it.

But music, it just.

There's something about a song that will just get right in there in a way that regular conversation doesn't.

So it's been an honor to get to kind of wield that tool in that way in this time, especially where we do have so many bridges that need to be rebuilt.

Are you getting any negative feedback towards some of these songs or no?

Not for me.

I mean, you know, trolls are.

Trolls are going to be out there, but, like, I just ignore them.

Like, I'm a Southern black woman who is also a butch lesbian.

There's not a whole lot they're going to be able to say to me that somebody hasn't already said a long time ago.

So I just kind of keep it moving.

Like their, Their.

Their words don't really do a whole lot for me.

And so, yeah, I have been so fortunate in the way that I have been able to share my music and share these stories and share these songs.

I don't get a lot of.

A lot of negative feedback in that way because, again, I think it's just because it's music.

It's like if the music's real good, they may not like what you're saying, but you look at them real close, they're still sitting there kind of bopping their head just a little bit along to it.

It's so good.

So let's dive into that.

What is a response on stage that you're getting from people?

I mean, like, when you bust out.

Cancel culture, man.

Just like screams and hoots and hollers and cheering and standing ovations and people singing, lifting their voices in solidarity.

It has been just a wonderful thing to be able to See the music help people feel hopeful and help people feel encouraged.

We just need so much of that.

That's not to say that sometimes some folks don't get their feathers just a little bit ruffled.

I was playing at a festival up in Saratoga Spring in New York, and I was singing this song called Change Makers.

And there's a quiet part in that song where I ask if folks will sing with me and this man.

We were in an outdoor field.

He screamed at me from the field, no, you're wrong.

That's crap.

And I think because I was doing.

I was sitting far away from him when they were doing the intro.

I think he missed the part where I was explaining.

They were explaining to him that I'm a Southern black woman.

You know, I'm so butch sometimes if you're far away, it can be hard to tell.

And so I obviously just proceeded to sing him right out of that field like any good Southern black woman would, and kept it moving.

And it was such a beautiful moment because everybody who was in that field, who in their own, might have been a little bit shaken by seeing somebody yell at somebody else like that might have been anticipating me kind of cowering or shrinking myself or being intimidated by him, got to see the exact opposite of that.

And it was that man who ended up leaving.

He just fled, fled the scene with his tail between his legs.

And everybody else just stood up and cheered.

So even those moments like that, I think there is teaching to be done, even in those moments for other people to see that the loudest voice in the room is sometimes only just that.

Just the loudest.

Not the majority, maybe.

Share it.

Share with those of.

Those of our listeners that are not from the south to sing someone out, walk us through, like what that is.

And how effective a bully is.

Only a bully because they are anticipating somebody being intimidated by their power.

And in the south, those of us who check the boxes that I check, especially, I'm black.

I'm a woman.

I'm a lesbian.

Like I said, there's not a whole lot that's going to intimidate me.

Somebody's mad.

I walk into a room for any number of reasons, anytime I walk in that room.

And so to see somebody like that who thinks they're going to be able to just kind of bully me into submission or bully me into quiet, you know, you just keep on singing.

You just keep on singing, singing, singing.

Let them know you're not afraid of them, they're not going to intimidate you.

And they just, without fail, seem to just magically disappear without too much effort on your part.

Is it.

Is there one song in your catalog that's just, like, perfect for that singing?

Oh, my gosh, there's so many.

There's so many.

I mean, Cancel Culture.

Cancel Culture is a great one.

Change Makers, the first song on Reclamation, actually, that I wrote with Melody Walker and Chris Housman.

The difference between that song is a clap back to a certain other song.

A whole bunch of hate and visery.

Also.

No, there's not anyone.

There are a whole bunch of them.

Can you see us?

We are dreamers can you feel us?

We are believers we are more than keyboard warriors we are the change makers yes, we are yes, we are oh, and if there's anyone out there who questions what America at its very best will feel like now, remember, 66 million united in love Steadfastly indivisible Across countless cities and towns oh, the bluest wave Crashing from shore to shore and all those hate has no home here Signs on all those doors we know who we are and like we know how to breathe Won't you sing it with me?

Sing it with me, please has there.

Been a maybe a specific lyric or one that you.

Something you wanted to say but you held back, maybe, or were.

I don't know how to do that.

Good.

That was the answer I was looking for.

Chris.

I believe her.

So that one incredible experience of the singing.

And I love the idea of just as a singer, like, what.

What is your tool to fight with, to stand up to bullies with?

And it's your music, it's your powerful lyrics, and it's your voice and bringing it to the moment.

Yeah, I like that.

Such a great example.

Yeah.

You know, so many of these songs, it would be really, really easy to write these songs from a really angry place.

There's so much to be outraged about.

There's so much to be angry about.

But the thing that moves us forward, the things that keep us going, is hope.

And so being able to kind of have those really honest, really hard conversations and still have people come away feeling hopeful about whatever that thing is.

That's kind of, I think, the secret weapon that a lot of us who do this work try to use in abundance is trying to make sure that we are still putting all of that hope and all of that love into those songs, Especially when we're having those really difficult conversations.

Yeah.

And you and bobbing your head Peter, you cannot listen to this record.

Not bob your head.

It feels so good and you're just rocking out.

And then you start listening to lyrics, and you're like, wow, there is a lot going on in these songs.

Yeah.

And it's.

Thank you for that, you know?

Thank you.

It could be a Rage against the Machine situation.

Yeah.

And it just come.

It just grabs you.

Yeah.

We're so strong.

I'm excited for people to hear this album.

But we're not done with the address.

I just was saying that.

So do you have a.

Was there.

What's one of the more difficult stories that you have shared through your music?

I think one of the hardest songs.

Well, there are two songs that were kind of harder to write.

One was a song called One in the Same, which is a song about the Confederate flag.

And, you know, as a Southerner, if you have spent any time at all in the south, you have had a conversation with somebody about that flag.

And so being able to kind of have a conversation from a perspective that maybe allows somebody who feels very strongly about that flag for the exact opposite reason that I feel very strongly about that flag, to be able to have that conversation in a way that doesn't necessarily alienate them and actually would give them the chance to actually hear.

Hear a perspective different than their own.

That song was a hard one to write just because it mattered to me to be able to have a really specific conversation about that flag.

As a.

As a black Southerner, it would have been really easy to write that song in one particular way.

But as somebody who knows so many people personally who say and truly believe and mean with such sincerity, it's just.

It's heritage.

It's not hate.

It's not.

And say that so flippantly is heritage, not hate, but then don't actually know anything about their heritage.

And so to be able to have that very specific conversation, not criticizing somebody for what they do or don't know, but literally just talking to them, meeting them where they think they are in that understanding of what that flag means.

That.

That took a lot of work, but I'm very proud of how that song came out.

And the young man who inspired that song, it did some good.

It kind of changed his heart a little bit.

And I think that's.

That's what music does when it does its job best.

We don't.

We don't change minds.

No matter how hard we wish we could.

We don't change minds.

We change hearts.

And so when music does that, we've got a little bit of a better chance of having that change actually stay.

So that one was hard to write.

And then I Have another song called Suit and Tie, which is on Reclamation.

I was texting Zach about that.

I was like, he was texting me on Saturday about how powerful it was, but.

Sorry, continue.

Yeah, no, not at all.

That.

That song.

Took me about seven drafts to get that one right.

My partner, Heather May, she's also a social justice singer, songwriter.

And it's.

It's a blessing and a curse having an artist as a.

As a partner.

And she's very good at her job, so she holds me to a very high bar.

And so the first couple of times I was trying to write that song, she was just really honest with me, and she was just like, it's close, it's close, but you're not there.

There's something else there.

Like, keep digging at it.

Keep digging at it.

And it was because it was one of the few songs that I had to write that was from a perspective that wasn't just my own.

It wasn't just my own story.

And anytime you're trying to write from a perspective that is not your own, it requires such a diligent commitment to the truth, to being kind of a faithful steward of the truth when you're trying to tell that story.

And because that song is about a non binary person, a trans person, my own story is woven in there and then other people.

It really took a lot to make sure that I was being very, very faithful to the truth in that song and saying what it was I actually meant to say.

And so I don't like to tell her often that she's right, but she was very right about that.

So I'm glad she kept my feet to the fire on that one.

As far back as my memory recalls this world is a mess and it's getting worse as days go by Uncivil unres About who's a girl and who's a guy but this heart beating in my chest Knows the truth I can't deny I might look good in a dress But I feel better in her.

Suit and tie with this in mind, my understanding is you moved to Nashville.

Yeah, right.

And I live in South Carolina, and you're.

You're.

Our states are not as friendly to these songs probably as we wish.

And in other parts.

Why are you choosing to be in Nashville?

Yeah, I mean, that's where they need them.

That's where they need them.

I'm a daughter of the South.

I was born and raised in southeastern North Carolina, and I lived in D.C.

for a little while.

But the south is my home.

The south has always been My home, the roots of my family go back as far as people were even taking account of black people in North Carolina.

Like we are from this area, we built this area.

And so being back in the South, I know that the people in the south rarely, rarely match the politics of the South.

So many of these folks would give you the shirt off their back, sit you down at their table, talk to you, get to know you.

But it's so easy when they don't have a chance to get to know somebody, to just live in the fear when it's being spoon fed to them to look and think like a certain thing.

It's really easy to just keep digging on into that fear.

But this is.

I think the work that is ahead of us right now is not giving up on the south and trying to reach those folks who just don't know what they don't know yet.

There are not a lot of people who are going to come sing at your church who look like me and who are going to sing the kinds of songs that I sing.

And so that's why I need to come to your church and sing these songs for you.

I think that's some of the important part of the work.

And so I hope even though it is absolutely exhausting, I know how important important it is because I know and truly believe in what the south could be because of the people who live here.

And so it matters a lot to me to not give up on the South.

It matters an awful lot to me to not give up on the South.

Thank you for that.

Believe in a better South.

Yeah.

Yes.

I I have a couple of.

I like to thought a few phrases.

Yeah.

And see and get your response.

Yeah.

First place at App State.

First place in App State talent show.

Which is your.

That's We.

That was your big.

That was it.

That was it.

That was the night that changed a whole lot.

You.

You.

It accelerated your.

Your whole musical career.

I was not.

You went full time musician.

Yeah.

Well, more or less so.

So my friend who I was my roommate at the time was also in the school of music.

I didn't know I was a singer songwriter.

I thought I was going to be a high school band director and so we were at the school of music.

She was in a band.

Their band needed to have a filling keyboard player one night and because I'm a preacher's kid, my chops are decent on the keys.

Somebody's got to fill in for the church lady when she calls in sick.

So that was my job and so I told her I would help her get through the gig.

Had the time of my life that night.

Singing with them and playing with them.

Went home, wrote my first song, and entered it into the campus talent show at App.

Won first place.

And I was like, oh, my gosh, maybe I should write songs.

It's amazing.

Next.

Next.

Next.

Next words.

Big phone bill.

Ooh.

Well, big phone bill is kind of how the reverend found out that her baby was a lesbian.

It was a different time for the millennials.

Like, y'all don't know anything about that life.

Before you had unlimited calls and text with Verizon, there was a time when the long distance calls would cost you an arm and a leg.

Oh, yeah.

And I.

This was when we were first just talking to people online.

This was on, like, AOL chat.

I had my first little Internet girlfriend because there were no gay people in Richlands, North Carolina, that I knew of, except for the PE Teacher and the English teacher.

So I met my.

Met my first little online girlfriend.

We were talking every day, Every day.

Every day the reverend gets that phone bill and is like, what is happening?

And that was it.

That is, as Reba McIntyre would say, the night that the lights went out in Georgia.

That's so funny.

All right, next one.

The family reunion.

Ooh, the family reunion.

Well, that could be a number of things.

I will say, my family reunion is a pretty epic one.

I mean, we literally have a parade through our town, complete with the police.

Police escort.

It is enormous.

And we are, I think, on year number 53 this year, so it could be that.

Yeah, great.

Yeah.

Great, y'all.

Yeah.

You are a celebrity everywhere, but in your hometown.

Yeah.

Holy smokes.

Yeah.

In my hometown, not as much.

Our family is very cool.

So we've got, like, two NFL players in our family, one of whom is a Hall of Famer.

We got a bunch of lawyers in there.

So I'm like.

The folk singer is just like.

She's.

All right.

Wow.

Who are your.

Who are your.

NFL.

So J.B.

brown, who used to play for the Miami Dolphins, and Charlie Sanders, who played for the Detroit Lions, who's.

He's our hall of Famer.

We're so proud of Charlie.

That's amazing.

Yeah.

Wow.

Oh, my God.

Well, sorry, I was.

I got to get away from that one.

Completely off.

I got too many questions.

You're in the world warp.

Is this an interview?

I was laughing so hard there.

Sorry.

Yeah.

It's a short drive from Goose Creek.

You just have to come up for their family reunion in August.

Yeah.

Ben, you're playing.

I'm coming.

Yeah.

So let me.

Let me bring this back.

I was laughing so hard there.

Sorry.

So I'm guessing along the way, you've heard a lot of no's from certain folks.

So tell me an instance of a no you heard where you overcame it.

Hmm.

Gosh.

I mean, that feels like everyone is one that has been overcome.

Probably one of the ones that really.

I'll say one of the most recent no's.

So earlier last year, I lost the very first manager that I ever had.

She was very, very good at her job.

She was a manager of another artist who I respect and admired so, so deeply.

And we worked together for about a year.

And then very kind of unceremoniously, she let me know that we were no longer going to be working together.

And at that time, it was fairly devastating to me because as an independent artist, you work so hard to be able to get to a point where you can afford to have a team doing some of that work for you, kind of taking some of that off your shoulders so that you're not wearing 35 hats.

Maybe you're only just wearing 10 for a change, which is so nice.

And so I had worked so hard to get to that point, and so to be able to have a manager and then lose that manager, it was a kind of a tough pill to swallow.

But then as the year that followed kind of revealed itself, it ended up being a good reminder that, as the reverend always says, all things work together for good.

I learned a lot from her.

I'm grateful for what I learned for that year, but it definitely is serving me well to not to not have one right now, because I'm getting to do whatever I want.

Like drop a surprise single on Inauguration Day without anybody.

Somebody telling me no.

Oh, hey there.

That's a little teaser.

So.

And people that come to your shows, what's something that you wish they would start doing?

Bring in a pack of Kleenex.

Just bring your own Kleenex every time.

Don't ask me for any.

Just bring your own.

Yeah, it's such a beautiful thing.

You know, somebody said I should make T shirts that say I cried a Chris Matthews Show.

But that is, like, one of the biggest compliments I think I ever get is.

I would totally buy that, by the way.

It's just like the songs.

When you're cracking people open, you're making them think you're helping them feel and get in touch with some things that maybe they haven't really allowed themselves to do.

It is.

It is the biggest compliment I think I ever get is seeing somebody just tears streaming down their face, just trying to say thank you or hello at a merch table.

So that must be so powerful.

Yeah, bring.

Bring your own Kleenex, y'all.

Yeah, that must be so powerful that you're so wrote connect with somebody like that.

It really is.

And it is a reminder every time at how much we have in common, how much that shared humanity is just so universal.

So many of those stories, they're my very specific story or perspective, but people whose lives and lived experiences look very different from mine and still see themselves in those stories, they still feel that.

And that is a beautiful thing to witness day in and day out.

Absolutely.

What do you hope, Chris, that the Chris Matthews legacy down the road?

Oh, man.

I gave a keynote for the.

For the Northeast Regional Folk alliance last year, and I said, and music doesn't change the world, but it sure does inspire the people who do.

And so I think one thing I hope for my legacy is that one of my songs will inspire somebody who does a whole lot of good in this world and.

Or that it just keeps somebody hoping a little bit harder in a time where they felt like they were on the cusp of being hopeless.

Any of that.

Anything on that spectrum, I will say that that was a life well lived and that I did something really good with my art, and I will be very, very happy.

Chill.

That's a legacy, y'all.

Yeah.

So starting to.

Starting to put a little.

Let me ask one question.

Yeah, you go.

That I've got.

I'm just wondering, are there any artists?

Tell.

I'm always.

Me and Ben both are always trying to find an artist.

I mean, I'm a very different person than you are, but I connect with your music.

So beautiful.

When I heard you play down there, I said, I need to get this gal on the show.

I mean, I started looking at all your stuff.

So who are some artists that are inspiring you right now?

Yeah, so my friend Kashana, I mean, that is my first stop anytime I need to get my well filled back up.

Kashana is usually my first stop.

She's K Y S H O N a her new album, which is actually called Legacy, it just came out this past year.

She's actually up for an Americana UK award.

My partner, Heather May, of course, she is also just a change maker in and of herself.

You know, an amazing singer, songwriter in her own right.

Gosh, so many.

I heard a story about your partner that she lost her voice for some, like 10 months or something.

Yeah, it was crazy.

Yeah.

And she.

She.

That was kind of her reckoning.

She kind of made a bargain with the universe, you know, like, if you give me my voice back, I promise I will do some good with it.

And she has been doing nothing, but.

So, yeah, she.

She's amazing.

Amazing woman, Amazing artist.

Yeah.

Kashon Heather.

I still am listening to Adia Victoria's Southern Gothic, still listening to her album.

Gosh.

My friend Grace put out a great album this year.

Grace Pettus.

Oh, man.

So many.

Like, that's the fun thing about Nashville.

It's just like, you guys are all over the place.

I've been texting this week.

I know.

You guys are just everywhere.

Everybody's everywhere.

Everybody's so talented and just so amazing.

Yeah, I'm very lucky.

I've got a.

There's just so many incredible artists on the scene right now who are doing so much good work.

Yeah, it's amazing.

It's a great time to be an artist, especially in this town and especially in Americana.

I was talking to someone the other day about that, about Americana as a genre.

Kind of having this reckoning with itself of trying to differentiate.

Differentiate itself between country music, which is a little bit more of a teeny, tiny table, and Americana is definitely actively trying to expand that table, expand that tent.

So it's a pretty exciting time, actually, to be in Nashville, even though it's awfully challenging to be in an interracial lesbian relationship in Tennessee.

But it's a really good time to be in Nashville.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So, Chris, winding this up here.

Yeah.

Reclamation is coming out soon, right?

Oh, yeah.

When can people.

January 17th.

January 17th.

So, yeah.

Yeah.

Zach and I have really given it a good listen and recommendation is to go listen to it when it is out, because in this and the singles.

That are already out, Cancel Culture is already out.

Waking up the Dead.

Also, there's a video for Waking up the Dead that's out.

And then also the difference between.

So we've got three singles off of the album out already, but the full thing drops January 17th, and I cannot wait.

And I would implore people to go back to the Change Maker album because that is what hooked me before I even knew you had a new album coming out.

That's awesome.

So good.

Thank you.

Thanks.

Thanks for coming on.

Americana Curious, Chris.

Absolutely.

Thank you all so much for having me, and thanks for the work you're doing.

I appreciate you.

There's a nameless stone, A gravestone it's as old as the shade tree High above those bones 400 years in Pennsylvania Trembling at the word of God not the men who'd rather change on the night Time settled scores but not the cold gold brown I can feel his shift beneath my feet as I'm walking around and I'm finding my style Eyes are wide Wondering who they were when they were alive Dirt on my souls from a graveyard stroll Picking up pieces of the past and the ghosts don't scare me in this cemetery.

Thanks for joining Zach and I for this episode of Americana Curious.

Subscribe where you listen to your podcast so you are notified when a new episode is released.

I'm Ben Fanning and it's been great sharing these artists and music with you.

Until next time, stay Americana Curious.