Martha Redbone: Blending Afro-Indigenous Identity and Appalachian Traditions Through Bold Creative Projects

Martha Redbone is acclaimed for her powerful performances as a singer, as well as her prize-winning song-writing, composition and arranging. For over 30 years she’s been in a successful collaboration with her partner Aaron Whitby and we talked about some of their new theatrical projects including Black Mountain Women, The Sex Variants of 1941, and Guardian Spirit: The Words of bell hooks. Throughout this episode you’ll be hearing clips from Martha’s powerful album The Garden of Love which sets the poetry of William Blake to the diverse music of Appalachia, written with Aaron and John McEuen of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Many people think of the music, culture and history of Appalachia in terms of the blend of white settlers in the area, but Martha’s family heritage from Harlan County Kentucky includes African American, British, Chickamauga-Cherokee and Mississippi Choctaw. She shared her experiences growing up with her grandparents as part of a coal-mining family, as well as the dramatic changes she has witnessed in Brooklyn over several decades.In this wide-ranging episode, you’ll also hear Martha’s great advice for self-care, maintaining boundaries and working collaboratively. We started this conversation with Martha’s collaborations with clarinettist Tasha Warren and cellist Dave Eggar and if you missed my interview with Tasha last year it’s linked to this one below.You can also watch this on my YouTube and I’ve also linked the transcript on my websiteMartha Redbone websiteThe Garden of Love albumBuy me a coffee?Podcast Merch Newsletter sign-upOther episodes you'll love:Tasha Warren Shakura S’Aida, Chuck Copenace, Jah’Mila, and Vahn Blackphoto: Christine Jean Chambers(00:00) Intro(02:56) Tasha Warren, Dave Eggar clip Black Mountain Calling(09:06) Black Mountain Women, clip of A Poison Tree(13:12) history Black people in Appalachia(16:06) mixed Black Indigineous family history(25:00) Carnegie project, The Garden of Love with clip of The Garden of Love(32:30) John McEuen, David Amram clip of Sleep, Sleep, Beauty Bright(37:47) telling broader story(42:47) learning Indigenous culture, Brooklyn(48:02) other episodes,(48:53) musical influences (music clip On Another Sorrow)(54:01) Brooklyn(58:15) bell hooks(01:02:59) The Sex Variants of 1941, Stephen Trask, Steve Cosson, LGBTQ+ history(01:07:53) Aaron Whitby