“Back to Our Roots: An Exploration of Roots Music”, Oklahoma History Center

The Oklahoma History Center and the American Banjo Museum have partnered to present “Back to Our Roots: An Exploration of Roots Music” on Wednesday, November 1, at the Oklahoma History Center. Doors open at 6:30 pm. This program will be a historical discussion on the intersections of jazz, blues, and roots music as well as the influence of race, emancipation, and desegregation on the evolution of this music both in America and Oklahoma. Woven throughout the discussions will be live musical examples of roots music.

The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. You can make reservations at www.americanbanjomuseum.com/upcoming-events or by calling 405-604-2793. This event has been made possible through a generous grant from Oklahoma Humanities.

Johnny Baier, the executive director of the American Banjo Museum, will moderate the music performance and discussion with Dom Flemons and Dr. Harold Aldridge. GRAMMY Award-winning artist Dom Flemons strives to mix traditional music forms with a contemporary approach to create new sounds that will appeal to wider audiences. Flemons performed at Carnegie Hall for a tribute to Leadbelly and at the 2016 opening ceremonies for the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. Dr. Harold Aldridge hails from the All-Black town of Taft, Oklahoma, and learned traditional blues from the older residents of the town. A retired professor from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Aldridge performs and discusses the history of blues from field hollers to electrification. Since he began his career in 1971, Johnny Baier has been developing an admirable reputation as one of the world’s most ardent performers on, and promoters of America’s only native musical instrument—the banjo. In 1983 he won the North American banjo championship. He recently released a new CD entitled Pick Yourself Up.