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Louisiana Red Hot Records is proud to announce General Manager and A&R Head Lilli Lewis to be a virtual panelist for Black Equity in Americana: A Conversation, presented by the Americana Music Association<\/b><\/p>\n
Rolling Stone: \u2018Black Equity\u2019 Panel to Discuss Representation in Americana Music<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n A livestream discussion between Black musicians and industry veterans aims to accelerate racial equity in Americana music<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n August 12, 2020 \u2013 As a result of one of the most disturbing eras of blatant American racism in a generation, Black musicians and industry veterans are holding a conversation to accelerate racial equity in Americana, one of our nation\u2019s most essential musical genres. On Thursday, <\/span>August 20th<\/b>, at 1 PM PDT\/4 PM EST, <\/span>Black Equity in Americana: A Conversation<\/i><\/b> will occur. The live Zoom panel streaming on Facebook via the <\/span>Americana Music Association<\/b>\u2019s Facebook page will feature an honest, restorative dialogue featuring a group of Americana music\u2019s top Black artists and creative professionals.<\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanaMusicAssociation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Adia Victoria<\/b><\/a>\u00a0\u2013 Gothic Blues Artist The discussion will be moderated by seasoned freelance music journalist <\/span>Marcus K. Dowling<\/b>. In the past year, the Washington, DC native\u2019s words have been published by Bitter Southerner, The Boot, Vibe, Mixmag, Water and Music, the Washington City Paper, and countless others.<\/span><\/p>\n The August 20th livestreamed panel is aimed at advocating for a more significant presence for Black artists and industry leaders as stakeholders more broadly represented in Americana\u2019s present and future. For nearly three centuries, Americana music has celebrated the soulful, multi-ethnic, and communal essence of the American experience. However, throughout the country\u2019s — and by extension — the genre\u2019s history, minimal representation of Black artists has been a constant. Given that gospel, blues, and soul are intrinsic to Americana as a musical genre, this has too long been a problematic issue and must be remedied.<\/span><\/p>\n A dynamic group of well-respected, Black, and activist-minded Americana musicians and professionals will discuss methods for enacting systemic change bearing sustainable impact. The first of what will likely be numerous conversations, this impacting moment sets the table for an exciting future.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A follow-up panel on Black Equity in Americana has also been scheduled for the Americana Music Association\u2019s Thriving Roots Conference September 16-18, 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Marcus K. Dowling, Moderator<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Marcus K. Dowling is a journalist, broadcaster, and entrepreneur. In the past ten years, he has aided creative entrepreneurs in the arts and entertainment industries in earning over $25 million in gross revenue. As a writer he regularly contributes to the likes of <\/span>Bitter Southerner<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>VICE<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Pitchfork<\/span><\/i>,<\/span> Complex<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Bandcamp<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>Mixmag<\/span><\/i>, ESPN’s <\/span>Undefeated<\/span><\/i>, Medium’s<\/span> LEVEL<\/span><\/i>, and more.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Adia Victoria, Panelist<\/b><\/p>\n Adia (UH-DEE-YUH) Victoria is a poet, blues artist and southern folklorist from South Carolina. Her latest album <\/span>Silences<\/span><\/i> was produced by Aaron Dessner and is available on Atlantic Records. She mostly tries to mind her own business.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jason Galaz, Panelist<\/b><\/p>\n Jason Galaz, a California transplant living in Nashville, Tennessee. Host of boutique music festivals across the U.S. and Europe with focus on DIY ethos and independent music in between genres. Also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Realtors, an organization dedicated to sustainable advancement of Hispanic homeownership.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kamara Thomas, Panelist<\/b><\/p>\n Kamara Thomas is a singer, songspeller, mythology fanatic, and multi-disciplinary storyteller based in Durham, NC. She will release her new album <\/span>Tularosa: An American Dreamtime<\/span><\/i> in 2021. Kamara was named one of the \u201c14 Artists Proving Black Americana is Real\u201d by <\/span>Paste Magazine<\/span><\/i> and she is currently spearheading “Country Soul Songbook,” an artist-driven performance and documentary project spotlighting underrepresented voices in Country and Americana music.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lilli Lewis, Panelist<\/b><\/p>\n Known in New Orleans as the \u201cFolk Rock Diva,\u201d Lilli Lewis is the Chief Operating Officer for Marketing, Merchandising, Licensing and Distribution firm, SunRea Enterprises, LLC. Three time recipient of <\/span>OffBeat Magazine<\/span><\/i>\u2019s \u201cRecord Label of the Year\u201d while General Manager and A&R Head for New Orleans\u2019 long-standing Louisiana Red Hot Records, she is also Community Radio Show Co-host for \u201cThe Internal Weather Report\u201d on 102.3 FM, WHIV New Orleans and a guest writer for <\/span>OffBeat Magazine<\/span><\/i>. Trained as opera singer and classical pianist, Lilli has enjoyed life as a DIYer in the music industry as composer, producer and performing artist for over 20 years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rev. Sekou, Panelist<\/b><\/p>\n Raised in the rural Arkansas Delta, Rev. Sekou is the Interim Executive Director of Worker Interfaith Network in Memphis\u2014focusing on supporting low-wage workers. Rev. was a Visiting Scholar at Stanford University\u2019s Martin Luther King Education and Research Institute at the time of Michael Brown Jr.\u2019s killing, and traveled to Ferguson in mid-August 2014 on behalf of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (the country\u2019s oldest interfaith peace organization) to organize alongside local and national groups. Rev. Sekou has written two collections of essays\u2014 <\/span>Urbansouls: Meditations on Youth, Hip Hop, and Religion<\/span><\/i> and <\/span>Gods, Gays, and Guns: Essays on Religion and the Future of Democracy<\/span><\/i>. He has written widely on the 2011 killing of Mark Duggan by British police and the subsequent London riots, and is the author of the forthcoming <\/span>Riot Music: Race, Hip Hop and the Meaning of the London Riots<\/span><\/i> (Hamilton Books). With the Deep Abiding Love Project, he has helped train over ten thousand clergy and activists in militant nonviolent civil disobedience through the United States. He spent six weeks on the ground in Charlottesville, Virginia, training clergy in response to the Unite the Right rally. Rev. Sekou has released three albums\u2014<\/span>The Revolution Has Come<\/span><\/i> (2016),<\/span> In Times Likes Theses <\/span><\/i>(2017), and <\/span>When We Fight, We Win: Live in Memphis <\/span><\/i>(2019). He has toured the world and delivered \u201cone of the most rousing Tiny Desk concerts,\u201d according to Bob Boilen of NPR.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Louisiana Red Hot Records is proud to announce General Manager and A&R Head Lilli Lewis to be a virtual panelist for Black Equity in Americana: A Conversation, presented by the Americana Music Association Rolling Stone: \u2018Black Equity\u2019 Panel to Discuss Representation in Americana Music A livestream discussion between Black musicians and industry veterans aims […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-press-releases"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5O8RF-hY","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lrhr.dreamhosters.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lrhr.dreamhosters.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lrhr.dreamhosters.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lrhr.dreamhosters.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lrhr.dreamhosters.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1114"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lrhr.dreamhosters.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1128,"href":"https:\/\/lrhr.dreamhosters.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1114\/revisions\/1128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lrhr.dreamhosters.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lrhr.dreamhosters.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lrhr.dreamhosters.com\/wp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nThe panelists scheduled diversely represent Black experiences and future expectations across Black culture in Americana music:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span>Ja<\/b>son Galaz <\/b>\u2013\u00a0<\/span>Muddy Roots Music Festival<\/a> Organizer
\n<\/span>Kamara Thomas<\/b><\/a> \u2013 <\/span>Acclaimed Singer\/Songwriter\/Storyteller
\n<\/span>Lilli Lewis<\/b><\/a> \u2013 <\/span>Artist, <\/span>Louisiana Red Hot Records General Manager and Head of A&R
\n<\/span>Rev. Sek<\/b>ou <\/b><\/a>\u2013<\/span> M<\/span>usician, Theologian, and Activist<\/span><\/p>\n