Concerted Efforts at AmericanaFest

Rolling Stone Country includes Amythyst Kiah and Dom Flemons in their must-see Artists at AmerianaFest this year:

Amythyst Kiah (Friday, 8:00 p.m.; City Winery)
Johnson City, Tennessee, native Amythyst Kiah is one of roots music’s most exciting emerging talents, blending a deep knowledge of old time music with sensibilities spanning classic country to contemporary R&B. She’ll make a handful of appearances throughout the festival, including the Rolling Stone Country presented Queer Roots Part at the Crying Wolf on Thursday, September 13th. She’ll also appear on two panels: “Keeping It Real in the Hills: Representing Appalachia in Americana” (Thursday at 9:30 a.m.) and “Working Life of Musicians: A Primer for Fans” (Friday at 4:00 p.m.). She’ll also perform Friday at 8:00 p.m. at City Winery. B.M.

Dom Flemons (Thursday, 8:30 p.m.; Station Inn)
A co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Dom Flemons’ new LP Black Cowboys is an essential piece of both art and anthropological study, seeking to correct the narrative on how we represent — and who we leave out of — stories of the Old West. And though Black Cowboys was released on Smithsonian Folkways, under the African American Legacy Recordings Series, it finds an artist who can both preserve the rich legacy of roots music while also moving it forward. Flemons not only recorded songs by African-American artists who contributed to the vast catalog of music about the westward expansion and were then erased from its history, but he wrote originals, too. Flemons will participate in a panel on “The History of African Americans in Roots Music” on Thursday, and his showcase that evening will be just as joyous as it is enlightening. M.M.

Click for Rolling Stone’s full list of must-see Artsits

Other must-see CE Artists at this year’s AmericanaFest include:

Birds of Chicago
Thursday, September 13 @ 8:30pm
Third Man Records
Jeffrey Foucault
Thursday, September 13 @ 11:59pm
The Local