How Yola, Allison Russell and the Black Women of Nashville Are Changing the Face of Roots Music
variety.comChris Willman Music WriterWhen the Nashville chapter of the Recording Academy held its annual pre-Grammys celebration for Tennessee-based nominees in early March, one of those contenders, Yola, filed a report from the party on Instagram. “The vibes were strong,” she wrote, “and so was the melanin!”Looking at the nominations in the country, folk and American roots categories, it was clear what the people of color in the chapter had to celebrate — and the Black women most of all.
Two years ago, when Yola received her first four Grammy nominations (including best new artist), the Black singer-songwriter was something of an outlier; this year she’s part of a growing tide in the country, folk and American roots categories.
The 2022 noms include five Black women who live in Nashville or are loosely part of the community, with recognition coming as well for Rhiannon Giddens, Valerie June and Allison Russell on the Americana side and Mickey Guyton in mainstream country.
Yet those performers are really just the tip of the iceberg for a phenomenally talented group of women that includes rawer, roots-based newcomers like Joy Oladokun, Amythyst Kiah and Adia Victoria and mainstream-oriented talents with a more traditional Music Row bent like Rissi Palmer, Reyna Roberts and Brittney Spencer.
Read more on variety.com