How Black Opry provided a second opportunity to follow his music career dream.
Black Opry has been generating a lot of media interest lately as it attempts to build a network and community to support black artists playing American roots music, including country, americana, blues and folk. What started as a website and touring revue has just added a record label, Black Opry Records distributed by Thirty Tigers, to its portfolio. The first release on the label is “The Phoenix” by Jett Holden, and while it is his first album release it also marks his return to the music business. Americana UK’s Martin Johnson caught up with Jett Holden over Zoom to discuss his return to the music business and his thoughts on being the first artist to release an album on Black Opry Records. He explains that the songs are mainly about himself, and that ‘Taxidermy’ is the only really political song on the album. While he shares his wide range of musical influences growing up, Jett Holden explains that it is his love of storytelling that drew him to country music.
Jett Holden’s “The Phoenix” is out now on Black Opry Records/Thirty Tigers.
This is a powerful song, in every sense, musically solid with Jett Holden's deep and resonant vocal and the lyrics he communicates - there's a lot of pain in "sometimes it's better to be miserable than lonely." it comes from Holden's experiences growing up in a family that cleaved to…
First release on Black Opry Records resurrects Holden's 'Southern Gothic country' The title of Jett Holden’s debut album is ‘The Phoenix’, a strikingly appropriate metaphor for the place at which he currently finds himself in his music career and for the possibilities of his future. Three short years ago Holden…
Earlier this year I reviewed 'Western Edge', the first book published under a new partnership between the University of Illinois Press and The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum. A particularly exciting aspect of this partnership is the reissuing of significant out-of-print historical works, and that starts with this…
I've been a music obsessive for more years than I care to admit to. Part of my enjoyment from music comes from discovering new sounds and artists while continuing to explore the roots of American 20th century music that has impacted the whole of world culture.
and folk. What started as a website and touring revue has just added a record label, Black Opry Records distributed by Thirty Tigers, to its portfolio. The first release on the label is “The Phoenix” by Jett Holden, and while it is his first album release it also marks his return to the music business. Americana UK’s Martin Johnson caught up with Jett Holden over Zoom to discuss his return to the music business and his thoughts on being the first artist to release an album on Black Opry Records. He explains that the songs are mainly about himself, and that ‘Taxidermy’ is the only really political song on the album. While he shares his wide range of musical influences growing up, Jett Holden explains that it is his love of storytelling that drew him to country music.
