Dr. Chelsea Adams sits down with Sarah Rucker to discuss the life and legacy of Clifford Antone--the legendary owner of Antone's in Austin, TX--in his later years. Rucker was Antone's personal assistant from 2004 until his death. They also discuss how Rucker is continuing his legacy of advocacy for musicians and folk music in Texas and throughout the USA.    Guest: Sarah Rucker Sarah Rucker is an event producer and independent folklorist with specialties in traditional and popular American musical and dance genres. She holds a B.A. in Fine Arts with a focus in dance and a Certificate ..read more

How do you map dances across space and time, especially when doing so requires dealing with forced migration and slavery? Dr. Chelsea Adams and Deirdre Molloy discuss dance, the African Diaspora, and Molloy's ambitious Doctoral project of mapping dance from Africa to the Caribbean and Americas in her interactive Unity Atlantic Map (link below).  Guest: Deirdre Molloy Website to the Unity Atlantic Map: https://unityatlantic.org/  A Note on the Map from Deirdre Molloy: I designed the Map to be iterative – to grow deeper as a research notebook and public Afrofuturist digital heritage re ..read more

In today's world of social media, much of what was once accessible through online events is no longer easy to access. Josh Davis, board member on the Blues Association of Austin, discusses what we might do to help make events work for more people, and how we can get more of the community involved.  Guest: Josh Davis Website: joshdavis.contact   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams Post-Production by Jeremy Carberry   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greate ..read more

Dr. Chelsea Adams sits down with local Utah musician Columbia Jones to discuss blues, genre, competitions, and building a career as a musician. Jones’ songs are earnest reflections of the everyday American experience paired with a sound that blends the best elements of Americana, Folk, Country, and Blues. His versatility as a musician is evident in the wide range of instruments and musical styles covered in his studio recordings, as well as onstage his on-stage performance, where gentle acoustic ballads can easily shift to a lively on-stage folk frenzy. Spectators of the his One Man Band can e ..read more

Dr. Chelsea Adams talks with blues musician and dance instructor Charlley Ward about the power of sharing information across generations, an act called generativity. They discuss the power of both listening to elders and respecting culture, but also the importance of pushing genre and culture forward through innovation in both the music and dance communities. Charlley also shares some of his favorite stories and his belief in the power of storytelling to inspire generations and preserve legacy and culture.     Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Charlley Ward   Produced b ..read more

Dr. Chelsea Adams interviews a premier musician from the Macon Music scene, Angel “Cash” Ocasio, Jr., founder of the band Cash's Juke Joint. They talk about the origins of the band, Angel's family upbringing and the importance of church in his life to shape his musical sound, and the power of the blues for the current generation of musicians to shape the future of the blues. You can find Cash's music on all platforms, and learn more at his website. The link to his newest music video is below.   Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Angel "Cash" Ocasio, Jr. https://www.cashsjukejoint.com ..read more

We often talk about the blues in vague and general terms: a feeling that you know when you have, a sound that a musician either has or doesn't. But what actually makes up this genre of music? In this episode, Dr. Chelsea Adams shares some of her scholarly research in a condensed format to help people reach a general shared understanding of a definition of the genre, with the hopes of working from that base to ultimately build a better definition with future podcast episodes.    Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City B ..read more

Dr. Chelsea Adams and Philly organizer and dancer Genevieve Senechal discuss Powerhouse Blues and Blues Muse, how to build community, and how to evolve events to fit community needs after a pandemic. This interview is from June 2023, and has been edited to reflect the delay in release.    Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Genevieve Senechal www.bluesmuse.dance/ www.powerhousebluesphilly.com/     Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black ..read more

In honor of Black History Month, Dr. Chelsea Adams gives a brief historical spotlight of famed, but often forgotten or marginalized blues singer and performer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, utilizing information from archives and a variety of sources, including the one official biography of Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey, written by Sandra Lieb.    Link to Biography   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the ..read more

In our first episode of 2024, Dr. Chelsea Adams and musician Brother Yusef discuss blues, history, black experience in the United States, and why race is inextricable from the music, culture, and conversation surrounding blues and other forms of black music.    Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams   Guest: Brother Yusef  http://www.brotheryusef.com/   Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams   12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organization committed to bringing education about black dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.&nbs ..read more