[piano intro] - [Announcer] Funding for "Sonark Sessions: Live from the Barn" series is proudly provided by the Orange County and Chapel Hill Visitors Bureau.

- [Narrator] If you are adventurous, inquisitive, hungry, thirsty, courageous, bored, spontaneous, and longing for a rewarding getaway minus the planning, let curiosity leads you here.

[upbeat dance music] [audience cheering] [upbeat rock music] ♪ Oh, oh yeah ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, yeah ♪ ♪ It's the way I think not how I talk, oh no ♪ ♪ It's a pride you feel that makes you walk the walk ♪ ♪ Oh yeah ♪ ♪ Come Sunday morning palms up in praise ♪ ♪ It's all about my mama 'nem and how I was raised ♪ ♪ It's a state of mind no matter where you're from, yeah ♪ ♪ Living like your grandma done ♪ ♪ 'Cause good home training ain't a common thing ♪ ♪ If this is who you are, let me hear you say ♪ ♪ You don't have to be a Georgia peach from Savannah Beach ♪ ♪ To say ♪ ♪ From Arkansas to appreciate a Southern drawl ♪ ♪ Don't need no kin from West Virginia to have it in ya ♪ ♪ Show the world you're a country girl ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, yeah ♪ ♪ See, I'm the kind of girl says it with a smile, oh yeah ♪ ♪ That sweet as molasses down home style, uh-huh ♪ ♪ See, I'm whatcha might call real corn-fed, oh yeah ♪ ♪ I'm a country girl born and bred ♪ ♪ It's a state of mind no matter where you're from, yeah ♪ ♪ Living like your grandma done, oh ♪ ♪ 'Cause good home training ain't a common thing, oh ♪ ♪ If this is who you are, let me hear you say, hey, hey ♪ ♪ You don't have to be a Georgia peach from Savannah Beach ♪ ♪ To say ♪ ♪ From Arkansas to appreciate a Southern drawl ♪ ♪ Don't need no kin from West Virginia to have it in ya ♪ ♪ Show the world you're a country girl ♪ [upbeat rock music] That's Mr. Charles Newkirk on guitar, y'all.

[upbeat guitar music] All right, ladies, here we go.

♪ Ladies if you understand ♪ ♪ Let me hear you all clap your hands ♪ ♪ If you hear me and you know you're bad ♪ ♪ Let me hear you all clap your hands ♪ ♪ Ladies if you understand ♪ ♪ Let me hear you all clap your hands ♪ ♪ If you hear me and you know you're bad ♪ ♪ All you country girls clap your hands ♪ ♪ You don't have to be a Georgia peach from Savannah Beach ♪ ♪ To say, yeah ♪ ♪ From Arkansas to appreciate a Southern drawl ♪ ♪ Don't need no kin from West Virginia to have it in ya ♪ ♪ Show the world you're a country girl ♪ ♪ Well, if you wanna be a Georgia peach from Savannah Beach ♪ ♪ To say, yeah ♪ ♪ From Arkansas to sing it with a Southern drawl ♪ ♪ Don't need no kin from West Virginia to have it in ya ♪ ♪ Show the world you're a country girl ♪ [audience cheering] Thank you so much.

So y'all, I'm gonna tell you a secret.

Actually, it's not really a secret because you can all see me coughing.

So I had an asthma attack during soundcheck today.

[coughs] So if you see me stop and cough, that's what's going on.

But the show must go on, right?

So we're gonna do it anyway.

This is called "Sweet Sweet Lovin'."

Here we go.

[upbeat rock music] ♪ Na na na-na ♪ ♪ Na na na-na ♪ ♪ Na na na na na ♪ ♪ I said, na na na-na ♪ ♪ Na na na-na ♪ ♪ Na na na na na ♪ ♪ I get my bacon from the butcher, get my eggs from the farm ♪ ♪ Get my strength from my daddy, smart mouth from my mom ♪ ♪ Get my word from the preacher, my money from the bank ♪ ♪ For all my good home training, got my granny to thank ♪ ♪ When I need kissin' and huggin' ♪ ♪ Get my sweet sweet lovin' from you ♪ ♪ I do ♪ ♪ Yes I do ♪ ♪ Sure do ♪ ♪ I get my sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Sweet, sweet lovin' from you ♪ ♪ I do ♪ ♪ Sure do ♪ ♪ I like the touch of your hands on the small of my back ♪ ♪ Feel your lips on my neck, I don't know how to act ♪ ♪ You make me wanna be faithful, stay honest and true ♪ ♪ No one else can move me quite the way that you do ♪ ♪ 'Cause when you call, I'll come runnin' ♪ ♪ Get my sweet, sweet lovin' from you ♪ ♪ I do ♪ ♪ Yes, I do ♪ ♪ Sure do ♪ ♪ I get my sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Sweet, sweet lovin' from you ♪ ♪ I do, sure do ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ Everything I want ♪ ♪ Everything I want ♪ ♪ Everything I need ♪ ♪ You give it to me, baby ♪ ♪ You give it to me, baby ♪ ♪ Yeah, yeah ♪ ♪ Most precious thing to me ♪ ♪ Satisfaction guaranteed ♪ ♪ I find peace in your arms, it's where I call home ♪ ♪ Wherever you are is where I belong ♪ ♪ Well, we'll be kissin' and huggin' ♪ ♪ Get my sweet, sweet lovin' from you ♪ ♪ I do ♪ ♪ Yes I do ♪ ♪ Sure do ♪ ♪ Sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Sweet, sweet, lovin', y'all, from you ♪ ♪ I do ♪ ♪ Yes I do ♪ ♪ Sure do ♪ ♪ I get my sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Sweet, sweet lovin' from you ♪ ♪ I do ♪ ♪ Get my sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Sweet, sweet lovin' from you ♪ ♪ I do ♪ ♪ Get my sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Get my sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Sweet lovin' from you ♪ ♪ I do ♪ ♪ I get my sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Sweet, sweet lovin' ♪ ♪ Sweet, sweet lovin' from you, yeah ♪ [audience cheering] This next song is new.

And this is a song that I wrote about my mother.

I lost my mother when I was seven.

I've always missed her, but I didn't start really missing her, like really, really feeling the absence until I turned the same age she was when she died.

So when I had my 38th birthday, I was like, I officially don't have a roadmap anymore.

And it was one of the scariest, loneliest, strangest years for me.

And one of my happy things to do is to think about her with my kids.

And like, her as an old lady.

I like to think of her as an old lady, 'cause she would've been such a cute old lady.

She was like one of those, she wore hats to church, and like, you never left the house without a slip.

And she would be appalled at my outfit today because I don't have on no tights.

And you know, she was just a very proper, beautiful southern woman.

And she's exactly the kind of old southern woman that I wanna be.

And so that's the name of the song.

This is called "Old Southern Woman."

"Old Black Southern Woman."

[mellow country music] ♪ I wanna be an old Black southern woman ♪ ♪ The kind my mother never got to be ♪ ♪ I want a hat for every Sunday ♪ ♪ To block out all the sun rays ♪ ♪ Over everybody that I see ♪ ♪ I want to sit out on my porch and drink my coffee ♪ ♪ Smell the sweet magnolias on the breeze ♪ ♪ Walkin' barefoot in my garden ♪ ♪ Tending open-hearted ♪ ♪ Tellin' stories while I'm shelling peas ♪ ♪ Oooh, I wanna see my daughters thrive ♪ ♪ Oooh, look their babies in the eyes ♪ ♪ I wanna be an old Black southern woman ♪ ♪ The kind that has no secrets left to keep ♪ ♪ I'm gonna give you all my wisdom ♪ ♪ My mother wit, and then some ♪ ♪ So you won't make the same mistakes as me ♪ ♪ I wanna live and honor every wrinkle ♪ ♪ Every sterling strand of silver in my hair ♪ ♪ And praise my rolls and all my softness ♪ ♪ Enjoy myself and careless ♪ ♪ Sit unbothered in my rocking chair ♪ ♪ Oooh, I wanna see my daughters thrive ♪ ♪ Oooh, look their babies in the eyes ♪ ♪ I wanna be an old Black southern woman ♪ ♪ The kind my mother never got to be ♪ ♪ I wanna honor her by healing ♪ ♪ Trusting and believing ♪ ♪ Breaking every curse my family, it ends with me ♪ ♪ Oooh, she should've seen her daughter thrive ♪ ♪ Oooh, looked my babies in the eyes ♪ ♪ I wanna be an old Black southern woman ♪ So I wrote another song.

I have a thing about old Black southern women.

I wrote a song.

'Cause one day I will be one.

I'm closer to it than I'd like to admit.

But I wrote this next song about the small town that my mother is from.

[coughs] Small town called Summerville, Georgia, and it's right outside of Chattanooga, in between Rome and Chattanooga.

Anybody familiar?

Have you ever been?

Okay.

And it's the place that my mother was born, my grandmother was born, my great-grandmother was born.

And actually, my grandmother and my mother were both born in the same house.

And it was my great-grandmother's house.

And every summer, they would take me, the day after school ended, and drop me off in Atlanta.

And that's where my mom and dad were from.

[coughs] Excuse me.

My dad grew up off of Bankhead Highway in Atlanta.

His nickname was Bankhead Red.

And my mom in Summerville.

And so I would spend time in Atlanta, and then my grandmother would take me and we would drive to Summerville and we'd spend the rest of the time with my great-grandmother.

And I loved it there.

It was about the size, about half the size of this room.

Half of it.

And it had tin roof, so it sounded amazing when it was raining.

She didn't believe in turning on the air conditioning.

To this day, I think that's why I can stand being in heat.

'cause I was training.

And she just was like, she's just the sweetest, most smushy, gushy, amazing-smelling woman.

She always smelled like baby powder.

And I just loved her.

And it was the first place that I ever sang.

And I remember all my cousins used to sit on the porch.

At least, I would make them sit on the porch, and listen to me sing songs, and then they would throw money at me.

[audience laughing] Still doing it all these years later.

And it just was my happy place.

It was the place where I felt I belonged, the place that I felt loved, place I didn't feel weird.

And so when I made this album, "The Back Porch Sessions," it had to be named after Summerville.

Summerville needed a song.

So that's what this is.

This is "Summerville."

[mellow country music] ♪ Running barefooted through the summertime ♪ ♪ White sheet drying on that old clothesline ♪ ♪ You'd say, child wash your feet ♪ ♪ Before you come inside to eat ♪ ♪ I'd show up at the start of June ♪ ♪ August always came too soon ♪ ♪ As we'd pull away in our four door ♪ ♪ You'd stand crying on your front porch ♪ ♪ Oh-ahh, Highland Avenue ♪ ♪ Ooh, I left too soon ♪ ♪ It'd take 20 years and a few left turns ♪ ♪ To get me back to where you were ♪ ♪ When love was still in Summerville ♪ ♪ I shed a tear and crack a smile ♪ ♪ When I let my mind wander down that country mile ♪ ♪ Where love is real in Summerville ♪ ♪ You'd take a ham bone and flat green beans ♪ ♪ Turn a bare cupboard into a feast ♪ ♪ If we didn't have nothing you couldn't tell me ♪ ♪ You always had my cherry ice cream ♪ ♪ You raised us all on kisses and honey ♪ ♪ Jesus and switches, stretching money ♪ ♪ You knew God and you gave him to us ♪ ♪ We had you so we knew love ♪ ♪ Oh-ahh, Highland Avenue ♪ ♪ Ooh, I left too soon ♪ ♪ It'd take 20 years and a few left turns ♪ ♪ To get me back to where you were ♪ ♪ When love was still in Summerville ♪ ♪ I shed a tear and crack a smile ♪ ♪ When I let my mind wander down that country mile ♪ ♪ Where love is real in Summerville ♪ ♪ There's an overgrown field where your flowers grew ♪ ♪ There's a house but there's no you, you ♪ ♪ Highland Avenue ♪ ♪ Ooh, I'm missing you ♪ ♪ It took 20 years and a few left turns ♪ ♪ To get me back to where you were ♪ ♪ When love was still, oh, in Summerville ♪ ♪ I shed a tear and cracked a smile ♪ ♪ When I let my mind wander down that country mile ♪ ♪ My heart is still in Summerville, yeah ♪ ♪ Na-na, na-na, na-na, na-na na ♪ ♪ Na-na, na-na, na-na ♪ ♪ My heart is still, oh, in Summerville ♪ ♪ One day I'm coming home ♪ ♪ My heart is still, oh, in Summerville ♪ ♪ No matter where I go ♪ ♪ My heart is still, oh, in Summerville ♪ ♪ Na-na, na-na, na-na, na-na na ♪ ♪ Na-na, na-na, na-na ♪ ♪ Oh, my heart is in Summerville ♪ So this next song I wrote in 2014.

Although I am a very proud Durhamite and have been for the past 15 years- [audience cheering] Yes, Bull City.

I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri.

[audience members cheering] Oh, St. Louis, hello, how are you?

There's always one in every crowd.

I appreciate that.

But speaking of St. Louis, in 2014, a young man by the name of Michael Brown was murdered in the town of Ferguson, which is in St. Louis.

And I remember seeing it before it made it onto the news and everybody talking about it and just everything, the unrest in the neighborhood and everything that people were feeling this tension.

And I remember that tension because I remember living there.

And so I wanted to say something that was positive, but something that could encourage people to fight against the power.

And so I decided to write this song after I saw this quote.

And the quote was, "They tried to cut us down, but they didn't know that we were seeds."

And y'all, each and every one of us in this room right now, on this stage, we are all seeds and we can decide the type of seed that we wanna be.

Do you wanna be a seed for the community?

Do you wanna be a seed of harmony?

Or do you wanna be a seed of chaos?

It's up to you entirely, but you get to choose every single day.

And so that's what this song is about.

And I hope, considering that this is a voting year, that you will go out and exercise your right.

I'm not gonna tell you what to do, but just remember, however the least of us is doing, that's how all of us are doing.

So this is called "Seeds," y'all.

[audience cheering] ♪ Brothers and sisters ♪ ♪ Don't believe what you've been sold ♪ ♪ They can bury your body ♪ ♪ But never touch your soul ♪ ♪ They built you a prison ♪ ♪ Locked up your mind ♪ ♪ Made you think you're nothing ♪ ♪ And filled your head with lies ♪ ♪ Can't act too free, act too proud ♪ ♪ Shine too bright, speak too loud ♪ ♪ For when they come to cut you down ♪ ♪ That's when you've gotta stand your ground ♪ ♪ When they bury our dreams ♪ ♪ We push them up through concrete ♪ ♪ We're growin' where they can't see ♪ ♪ These roots run deep ♪ ♪ Because we are seeds ♪ ♪ When we rise up ♪ ♪ No weapon can stop us ♪ ♪ No wall can block us ♪ ♪ No, hate can't stop love ♪ ♪ We are seeds ♪ ♪ Yeah, I said we are seeds ♪ ♪ Oh yeah ♪ ♪ Listen, mothers and fathers ♪ ♪ Ancestors of this earth ♪ ♪ Bring your strength and wisdom ♪ ♪ Teach your children what they're worth ♪ ♪ 'Cause armed with truth and mercy ♪ ♪ They won't fall to anyone ♪ ♪ Standin' on our shoulders ♪ ♪ Reachin' for the sun ♪ ♪ When they bury our dreams ♪ ♪ We push them up through concrete ♪ ♪ We're growin' where they can't see ♪ ♪ These roots run deep ♪ ♪ Because we are seeds ♪ ♪ When we rise up ♪ ♪ No weapon can stop us ♪ ♪ No wall can block us ♪ ♪ No, hate can't stop love ♪ ♪ We are seeds ♪ ♪ Yeah, I said we are seeds ♪ ♪ Oh yeah ♪ ♪ I said, the battle is now ♪ Or November.

♪ We are the army ♪ ♪ I said the battle is now ♪ ♪ We are the army ♪ ♪ Said the battle is now ♪ ♪ We are the army ♪ ♪ Said the battle is now ♪ ♪ It's now, it's now, right now ♪ ♪ When they bury our dreams ♪ ♪ We push them up through concrete ♪ ♪ We're growin' where they can't see ♪ ♪ These roots run deep ♪ ♪ Because we are seeds ♪ ♪ When we rise up ♪ ♪ No weapon can stop us ♪ ♪ No wall can block us ♪ ♪ No, hate can't stop love ♪ ♪ We are seeds ♪ ♪ Yeah, I said we are seeds ♪ ♪ Oh yeah ♪ ♪ And when we rise up ♪ ♪ No weapon can stop us ♪ ♪ No wall can block us ♪ ♪ No, hate can't stop love ♪ ♪ We are seeds ♪ [upbeat country rock music] Hey!

♪ Trapped in darkness ♪ ♪ Waitin' for the light ♪ ♪ There's a cold and hotness ♪ ♪ 'Cause there's something ain't right ♪ ♪ No more empathy ♪ ♪ For our fellow man ♪ ♪ I said, people they look at me ♪ ♪ Like they don't give a ♪ ♪ We should fall on our knees ♪ - [Announcer] Funding for "Sonark Sessions: Live from the Barn" series is proudly provided by the Orange County and Chapel Hill Visitors Bureau.

- [Narrator] If you are adventurous, inquisitive, hungry, thirsty, courageous, bored, spontaneous, and longing for a rewarding getaway minus the planning, let curiosity leads you here.

[upbeat dance music]