Conversation and Performance: The Black Country Music Association and the Black Opry

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Courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame

The Black Country Music Association — founded by performer Cleve Francis in 1995 and led by songwriter and performer Frankie Staton since 1996 — built community, hosted showcases in Nashville and educated fans about country music’s Black performers in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

The Black Country Music Association — founded by performer Cleve Francis in 1995 and led by songwriter and performer Frankie Staton since 1996 — built community, hosted showcases in Nashville and educated fans about country music’s Black performers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The Black Opry continues that work, spotlighting Black Americana, blues, country and folk artists and connecting Black fans. Founded in April 2021 by Holly G, a country music fan from Virginia, the organization has grown into a national performance series, the Black Opry Revue, and is now run by Holly and her co-director, Tanner Davenport. During this program, Davenport, Holly G and Staton will discuss their organizations’ histories, their impact within the music industry and their future goals. The program, hosted by museum writer-editor Angela Stefano Zimmer, will also feature performances from Denitia, Valierie Ellis Hawkins, Staton and Joe West. Offered in support of the museum's exhibition American Currents: State of the Music.