

Arts Nov 11

The blues is a quintessentially American art form, yet one whose early masters have mostly passed away. The genre relies on each succeeding generation to renew and reinvigorate it. In Clarksdale, Mississippi, 21-year-old guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is taking up…
By Tom Casciato
Arts Oct 21

Ajo, Arizona, was once a robust mining community. Now it is seeking to cast off the image of a ghost town -- and reinvent itself as an arts destination of the Southwest. Stephanie Sy reports for our American Creators series…
By Stephanie Sy, Casey Kuhn
Arts Oct 08

Seven months into the pandemic, theater companies are still struggling to raise the curtain on live performances. But one regional company in rural Virginia hopes it has found a way for the show to go on -- in a way…
By John Yang, Alison Thoet, Maea Lenei Buhre
Arts Sep 25

As the election approaches, the country feels culturally and politically divided. Some of the starkest differences are between rural and urban areas. Now, a singer-songwriter from Western Kentucky is hoping her music can help Americans to find some common ground.
By Jeffrey Brown, Gretchen Frazee

By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport
South Carolina band Ranky Tanky is on a mission to revive and celebrate Gullah music and culture, which originated among descendants of West African slaves in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. The group earned a Grammy Award this winter, and…

By Jeffrey Brown, Frank Carlson
Musician Pat “Mother Blues” Cohen has long met adversity with music. She lost her New Orleans home to Hurricane Katrina and relocated to North Carolina with assistance from the Music Maker Relief Foundation, a group that supports blues musicians. But…

By Jeffrey Brown, Anne Azzi Davenport
We look to the arts for entertainment, comfort and pleasure -- but they are also an economic engine. According to government analysis, art accounts for almost $900 billion of GDP and over five million jobs. Now, many of these people…

By Jeffrey Brown, Rhana Natour
Many a masterpiece has been recorded at Capricorn Sound Studios in Macon, Georgia. Otis Redding’s manager, Phil Walden, co-founded the label, and Capricorn went on to produce a decade of southern rock hits. But as the music industry changed, Capricorn…

By Jeffrey Brown, Mike Fritz
Wyoming is the least populous state in the U.S. but ranks near the top in per capita gun ownership. It’s also home to the nation's most comprehensive collection of historical firearms. Jeffrey Brown reports from Cody, where a renovated firearms…
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