To shed light upon Black American contributions and raise awareness of diverse musicians, Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), in partnership with Billboard, kicked off Stagecoach weekend with Act II: A Conversation Around “Three Chords and the Actual Truth” on April 24, at Live Nation in Beverly Hills, CA.
The Stagecoach Festival is an annual country music festival held in the Coachella Valley. Stars and music industry leaders including “Black Like Me” country music superstar Mickey Guyton, BMAC Co-Founders Willie “Prophet” Stiggers and Shawn Holiday along with women music industry executives came together for the powerful and timely discussion.
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The panel was especially significant considering that Beyoncé has expanded into the country and western genre with her “Cowboy Carter” album, which featured little-known Black country musicians Brittney Spencer, Tanner Adell, Reyna Roberts, Willie Jones, Tiera Kennedy, and Shaboozey. In fact, Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” recently replaced Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” track atop the Hot Country Songs Billboard chart, making history as the first Black artists to lead the chart back-to-back.
Also, the event included an all-female panel discussion featuring speakers INK, Grammy-winning artist and songwriter; and Dr. Jada Watson, director of Musicology, University of Ottawa; and co-moderated by Gail Mitchell, executive director of R&B/Hip-Hop, Billboard; and Melinda Newman, executive editor, West Coast & Nashville, Billboard.
Mickey Guyton got emotional when she reminisced on her journey in the genre as a Black woman.
“I was asking why country music wasn’t working for me, and it was because I was running away from everything that made me different. I was trying to bend into what everyone was telling me country music was. I’m trying not to cry seeing you all here and the hard work that we’ve been doing.”
Before Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter,” a Black woman had never cracked the Top 20 Billboard Country charts. It wasn’t until 2015 that Mickey Guyton’s “Better than You Left Me” became the highest-charting country song by a Black woman in this century with a peak of No. 30. Beyoncé was also the first woman to claim the top three positions simultaneously on Hot Country Songs. Guyton and The Pointer Sisters were the only two Black female acts that have been nominated for a Grammy in a county category with a 45-year gap between them.
INK spoke about her transformative experience working as a songwriter on Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter.”
“In every beat, every lyric, and every melody, diversity is the driving force behind innovation, creativity, and connection. Embracing diverse voices, perspectives, and experiences isn’t just a choice; it’s a necessity for the evolution and enrichment of music,” said INK.
Carmen Dianne energized the crowd with a live musical performance of Mickey Guyton’s “Black Like Me” and her original song, “Sober.”
Stiggers emphasized the importance of bringing the conversation outside of Nashville and continuing the momentum that BMAC has helped create.
“We wanted to make sure this conversation happens in rooms that might not have heard this conversation before. If we don’t take this moment and turn it into a movement, we’re letting us all down,” he said.
Caron Veazey, co-founder of BMAC, noted, “Our mission is to eradicate racism in the music business. We need pipelines for young Black and Brown professionals who want to get into the business, and we need to make sure the [Black and brown] executives in this business are properly rising through the ranks in the same way their white counterparts are.”
BMAC has been working on creating economic solutions and programs to empower the next generation of Country artists and industry professionals and has asked for help in holding the industry accountable.
The only two Black artists that have been named CMA New Artist of the Year include Darius Rucker in 2009 and Jimmie Allen in 2021. Charley Pride was the first and only Black artist named CMA Entertainer of the Year.
While Jimmie Allen was also named ACM’s New Male Artist of the Year the same year he was recognized by CMA, there have been no Black women named New Female Artist of the Year.
BMAC’s Act II builds on Act I, which took place in New York City in March and was BMAC’s first iteration of this truthful conversation. BMAC will host its upcoming conversation around “Three Chords and the Actual Truth” with Act III, taking place in Nashville in May 2024.
