Points South

In this episode of Points South Live, blues guitarist, songwriter, and singer Buffalo Nichols plays live from 21c Bentonville Museum and Hotel. Multimedia visual artist Oluwatobi Adewumi joins Nichols and University of Arkansas Black Student Caucus spokesperson Tyrah Jackson to chat about the blues, negotiating arts industries, and the Black diaspora. Points South Live is a series of live events featuring music and conversation, produced in collaboration with 21c Museum Hotels, that brings together musicians and visual artists to find resonances in their craft, experiences, and communities. This Points South Live event was produced with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and 21c Bentonville Museum and Hotel. The episode was produced by Sara A. Lewis and Christian Brown. You can help keep events like these free by making a contribution at OxfordAmerican.org/donate.

THE PROLOGUEThe 1898 Wilmington Massacre was a violent attack on the city's thriving African American community, one of a series of coups that took place after the Civil War. Through interviews with local historians, OA contributor KaToya Ellis Fleming investigates the backlash to Wilmington's Black leadership and the legacy of the Wilmington Massacre.IN SESSIONA performance by American folk duo Birds of Chicago from the 30A Songwriters Festival.

THE PROLOGUEOA contributor Tess Taylor examines the world of Virginian poet Anne Spencer, contextualizing her activism and artistic output within her rich domestic life. Plus: A special broadcast from the Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum, Inc. Archives.  IN SESSIONA performance by Richmond native and singer-songwriter Lucy Dacus from the 30A Songwriters Festival. Dacus's latest album, Home Video, is available now. 

THE PROLOGUEOA contributor Michelle García investigates the history of the U.S.–Mexico border and the violent response to Black Lives Matter protests in the Rio Grande Valley.IN SESSIONA performance by Nashville-based singer-songwriter Adia Victoria from the 30A Songwriters Festival. Victoria's latest album, A Southern Gothic, is available now.

The 22nd anniversary Oxford American music issue, guest edited by Brittany Howard, is shipping to OA subscribers now and is available at OxfordAmericanGoods.org. It hits newsstands nationwide December 1. Brittany Howard’s latest album Jaime and single Jaime (The Remixes) are available now.

In this episode of Points South Live, Milwaukee-based folk band Dead Horses plays from BlakeSt in Bentonville, Arkansas, and chats with Bryan and Bernice Hembree (Smokey and the Mirror), co-founders of the Fayetteville Roots Festival.Points South Live is a collaboration between Oxford American and Fayetteville Roots that features live music recorded pre-COVID. We’ll be releasing several of these performances and conversations as bonus episodes of Points South, to bring the live music to you.Dead Horses is Sarah Vos (vocals, guitar), Daniel Wolff (upright bass, vocals), and James Gallagher (percussion). Their latest EP, Birds, is available now.

In our first episode of Points South Live, pop string band Front Country plays live from BlakeSt in Bentonville, Arkansas, and chats with Bryan Hembree (Smokey and the Mirror), co-founder of the Fayetteville Roots Festival. Points South Live is a collaboration between Oxford American and Fayetteville Roots that features live music recorded pre-COVID. We’ll be releasing several of these performances and conversations as bonus episodes of Points South, to bring the live music to you.Front Country is Melody Walker (vocals, guitar, percussion), Jacob Groopman (guitar, resophonic guitar, mandolin, vocals), Adam Roszkiewicz (mandolin, banjo, vocals), and P.J. George (bass). Their latest single, “The Reckoning,” is available now.

IN CONVERSATIONOA contributor Emily Gogolak investigates Dilley, Texas, a small town at the intersection of the oil, smuggling, and confinement industries. Dilley is home to the South Texas Family Residential Center, the largest immigration detention center in the country. This segment features interviews recorded for Gogolak’s essay “An Intersection at the End of America” from our Spring 2020 issue, available now. Emily Gogolak’s reporting was supported by the Pulitzer Center. IN ADAPTATIONLavinia Jones Wright reads from “Skyline Drive,” a memoir of driving the scenic byway her grandfather helped build in the 1930s.IN SESSIONFolk rocker Parker Millsap joins us live in the OA office for stripped-down renditions of “Your Water” and “Other Arrangements,” the title track from his newest album, available now from Okrahoma Records/Thirty Tigers. www.oxfordamerican.org@oxfordamerican

THE PROLOGUEThe story of Clyde Kennard, the first person to attempt desegregation at the University of Southern Mississippi.IN CONVERSATIONSarah M. Broom, National Book Award-winning author of The Yellow HouseIN SESSIONA performance from the No Tears Suite, an original jazz composition commissioned by the OA to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the desegregation crisis at Little Rock’s Central High School.Featuring Kelley Hurt, Chris Parker, Brian Blade, Bill Huntington, Bobby LaVell, Marc Franklin, and Chad Fowler.

EDITORS’ ROUNDTABLEOA Editors discuss the upcoming South Carolina Music Issue and share their favorite stories and behind-the-scenes moments. Plus: A preview of the issue’s tracklist.Featuring Eliza Borné, Maxwell George, Jay Jennings, and Hannah Saulters.IN CONVERSATIONDeputy Editor Maxwell George with OA contributor David Ramsey.TOP 5Maxwell George shares his favorite Southern Music Issue moments.

THE PROLOGUEKnown as Arkansas’s “cemetery angel,” Ruth Coker Burks provided end-of-life care for patients with AIDS in Hot Springs during the height of the AIDS crisis and buried their remains in her family’s cemetery.IN ADAPTATION“Three Encounters” by John Jeremiah Sullivan.Performed by MC Taylor of Hiss Golden Messenger.Produced by Spacebomb and Maxwell GeorgeIN SESSIONA Fayetteville Roots Festival performance by Los Texmaniacs.

SACRED PLACEJulian Rankin, director of the Walter Anderson Museum, investigates Anderson’s deep connection to Horn Island, a source of inspiration for the artist’s work located about ten miles off the Mississippi coast.IN CONVERSATIONMary Miller, author of the novel Biloxi.IN SESSIONJohn Paul White performs from The Hurting Kind live from the Oxford American stage.Web: oxfordamerican.org/pointssouthTwitter: @oxfordamericanFacebook: @oxfordamericanInstagram: @oxfordamerican

The premiere episode of Points South, an Oxford American podcast.Featuring:THE PROLOGUEKen Burns and Rhiannon Giddens discuss the legibility of African and African-American contributions to country music—from the Carter Family to Lil Nas X—and how that influence has been erased in the American consciousness.IN CONVERSATIONDocumentarians Julie Dunfey and Ken Burns on the soundscape of Country Music.IN SESSIONDom Flemons performs from Black Cowboys live from the Oxford American stage.Web: oxfordamerican.org/pointssouthTwitter: @oxfordamericanFacebook: @oxfordamericanInstagram: @oxfordamerican

Points South premieres September 18th! Subscribe now and never miss an episode. Coming this season: Ken Burns, Rhiannon Giddens, Dom Flemons, Mary Miller, John Paul White, Los Texmaniacs, John Jeremiah Sullivan + more. For more information visit oxfordamerican.org/pointssouth.