NASHVILLE, TN - (February 20, 2024) - The Change Agent·cy, Oh Boy Records, and Wrangler present The Black Opry Three Year Anniversary Celebration Honoring Alice Randall on Thursday, April 25, 2024. Tickets go on sale Friday, February 23 at 12 p.m. CT and can be purchased at citywinery.com/nashville; performers and special guests to be announced.
As part of its mission to uplift the Black country music community, the Black Opry is proud to honor author and songwriter Alice Randall and the release of her upcoming book “My Black Country” (April 9 by Simon & Schuster) and the accompanying album My Black Country The Songs of Alice Randall (April 12 through Oh Boy Records). The City Winery Nashville show will include performances of unreleased tracks from Randall’s catalog, as well as original music from Black Opry Revue performers to celebrate the past, present, and future of Black country music.
Black Opry Co-Founder Holly G reflects: “Over the past few years, we have been excited to discover so many Black artists who are making country music, but they’re not the only ones who need our recognition and support - it’s Black executives, fans, team members, and at the heart of it all, Black songwriters who are worth celebrating.”
Holly continues: “And what better way to commemorate the Black Opry’s third anniversary than to salute the one-and-only Alice Randall - a key figure in Black country music history and a woman who deserves to be honored and heard. We look forward to welcoming many of our Black Opry Revue touring members to the stage, along with special guests, in what promises to be a night of celebration and love.”
The Black Opry is a fast growing organization that seeks to create equity and opportunities for Black artists working in the country, Americana, folk, and roots music industries. Although this music has been made by, and loved by, Black people since its inception, they have been overlooked and excluded from participating in it. The Black Opry wants to change that by advocating for the evolution of country music, as well as other genres, to create a safe, welcoming space for Black artists, fans, and executives within the industry.
The organization's signature program, The Black Opry Revue, is an ongoing tour of the U.S. that features an ever-changing lineup of unique Black artists. After the success of three stand-alone shows in late 2021, the tour launched in earnest in January of 2022. The Black Opry Revue predominantly features acoustic performances “in the round,” a Nashville tradition where artists are able to share their music and stories with the audience in an intimate but powerful way, which is made even more impactful with the inclusion of Black voices. The Revue has provided more than 150 artists an opportunity to play paid dates at over 120 venues and festivals including notable venues Dollywood, CMA Fest, Newport Folk Fest, Americana Fest, Willie Nelson's Luck Ranch, and The Troubadour.
"Black Opry has grown beyond its blog origins to be a force of change and a leader in the movement to bring racial equity to country music." - Rolling Stone
"The Black Opry has rapidly become a vital voice." - Billboard
"The country music establishment has a long history of ignoring the other instead of bracing those who might offer different perspectives and experiences. Thanks to Holly G, and the Black Opry Revue, these stories will not be ignored any longer." - Country Standard Time
ABOUT BLACK OPRY:
Black Opry, founded by Holly G, is a home for Black artists and Black fans of country, blues, folk, and Americana music. The Black Opry Revue showcases the diversity in sound and stories that Black artists offer to these genres. Black Opry Revue is currently touring nationwide featuring different artists. A full list of tour dates can be found at BlackOpryRevue.com.
The Black Opry Three-Year Anniversary Celebration Honoring Alice Randall is sponsored by The Change Agent·cy, Oh Boy Records, and Wrangler. For more information on The Black Opry, visit BlackOpry.com.
ABOUT ALICE RANDALL:
Alice Randall is a New York Times best-selling novelist, award-winning songwriter, educator, and food activist. A graduate of Harvard University, she holds an honorary doctorate from Fisk University, is on the faculty at Vanderbilt University, and credits Detroit’s Ziggy Johnson School of the Theater with being the most influential educational institution in her life. She is widely recognized as being one of the most significant voices in 21st century African-American fiction.
Randall has presented across the nation: In auditoriums, libraries, museums, and ballrooms; in fields, in graveyards, and harborside. She once did a talk for a group of students as they marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. In all those spaces she weaves history, literature, practical wisdom, and political passion into powerful exchanges with large and small audiences. She covers expected territory in unexpected ways and makes unexpected territory accessible.
Her most frequent topics include fiction, fiction writing, and literary theory; soul food cookbooks, Black foodways, and Black Cocktail culture; Black presence and influence in country music, country lyrics in American culture, and country music through a feminist lens. She is known for integrating cooking demonstrations, food tastings, and even pop-up hula-hooping sessions into her talks. Randall’s fiction has been or is currently being taught at a wide range of universities, including Fisk, Harvard, Iowa State, Penn State, Philander Smith, Princeton, Tuskegee, The University of Texas Austin, The University of Virginia, and Wesleyan.
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