Best of This Is Nashville: Looking at the changing face of country music and the Black Opry

The This Is Nashville team is closing out 2022 by revisiting our best episodes. We'll be back on the air with a new episode on January 4. Until then, happy listening and happy holidays! This episode originally aired on April 18.   In a time of racial reckoning, the Black Opry has resurfaced and re-centered a longstanding conversation about diversity — or lack thereof — in country music. It has also grown to include The Black Opry Revue, a touring musical showcase. Black Opry founder Holly G. joins the show to discuss the organization as it celebrates its first anniversary. Also in conversation with Holly G. is singer-songwriter Frankie Staton, who led one of the Black Opry’s forebears – the Black Country Music Association – in the 1990s. Also in this episode, you’ll hear from artists of color about how they navigate the changes within in the country music industry. Guests: Holly G, founder of the Black Opry Derek Campbell, The Kentucky Gentlemen Frankie Staton, singer, songwriter and former director of the Black Country Music Association Amanda Marie Martinez, country music historian Benn Park, founder of Shoes Off Booking Agency