In March 2021, Jada Watson, a musicologist at the University of Ottawa, published a study on racial disparities in country music. The study found that of 400 artists signed to the top three Nashville label groups over a two decade period, 2000-2020, only 1% were Black and 3.2% BIPOC.
That same year, Holly G founded Black Opry as a fan blog where she could advocate for Black country music singers.
That online community eventually became a real performance collective. It happened organically, she said, once she started meeting in person with musicians she aimed to support. Since then, the group has performed more than 100 shows and given a platform to more than 90 artists.
Ahead of their recent performance at Newport Folk Festival, GBH News caught up with Black Opry to talk about their music and the safe space they have built for Black artists.
“Anything that's thrown at us — as long as it's not going to negatively affect my mental health — I say yes,” Holly G said. “And so we do as much as we can, and we're really grateful for places like Newport that agree to have us back a second time. That’s how we know we’re doing it right.”
Holly G said the mainstream country music industry has traditionally shut out Black artists. And right now the industry is in the news because of Jason Aldean’s chart-topping song “Try that in a Small Town,” which has become a cultural flashpoint for having lyrics that critics say encourage racism. With Black Opry, Holly G said she's building her own pathway.
“To try to undo 100 years of discrimination in a short amount of time is unrealistic,” she said. “I think that the answer to that is for us to build our own. And so because we started with no roadmap of what we were doing, we're really able to create something that caters to our community and breaks down a lot of the bulls*** that you deal with in the mainstream. “
The requirements for being a performer in Black Opry? Being a good musician.
“We require you to show up, be good, and love the people around you, and be respectful,” Holly G said. “Those are our only requirements, if those things are filled then you belong with us.”
And a sense of belonging is central to Back Opry.
Tanner Davenport, co-director of the organization, said Black Opry performing at places like Newport Folk Festival gives the artists a sense of validation in an industry that often cuts them out.
“The fact that we've been able to foster them in a way in which we can put them on a platform like this, I think once people see our set, they'll be really, really interested to see how they can see Black Opry again,” he said.
At the Newport Folk Festival, eight artists performed as part of the musical collective. The lineup changes at every Black Opry show, and each artist gets to perform a song, with the other members contributing backup for them.
“It's been really cool and honestly an honor to be able to bring so many different artists here each year,” Davenport said. “So that way the masses can, you know, discover new country music that's out there in the world.”
Roberta Lea, who performed as part of the eight artists from Black Opry on stage at Newport Folk, decided to pivot from her career as a school teacher to being a full-time musician in 2021.
“When you start to look at your options when it comes to pursuing music, it seemed like there was no middle ground to be a successful artist, ” she said. “You have to sell your soul to the devil to blow up and be this astronomical superstar, or you're a starving artist and you're begging for scraps.”
With the support of Holly G and the Black Opry community, Lea said she wasn’t alone in what can be an isolating experience for struggling musicians. That gave her the confidence to pursue a career in country music.
Performer Whitney Mongé said Black Opry feels like a family. Having a 15-year-long career in music, she often felt like there weren’t many people that looked and sounded like her in Americana, country and folk spaces. Black Opry provided that for her — and a platform for her own career.
“We're getting in festivals where we're getting the notoriety and the attention that we deserve from all the years of playing music," she said. "For me, it's just been really amazing to receive the legitimacy and find this community of people that look and sound like me playing.”
Lea echoes those sentiments, finding a special community in Black Opry. After constantly feeling she had to prove she was enough for the country genre, she found a space where she could feel at home.
“It is something very special that I haven't been able to find anywhere else, just the automatic acceptance,” she said. “I don't have to prove myself to anyone. We believe in our gifts, we believe in our music.”
Holly G said her favorite part of a Black Opry performance is getting to watch the crowd’s reaction.
“We have a collective of people that have been told by the music industry that they don't belong in that space,” she said. “It feels like vindication every time they get on stage, that proves that they absolutely deserve and belong in the space.”
