A showcase of black artists in country music is headed to Southwest Michigan.
The Acorn Theatre, 107 Generations Drive, Three Oaks, is set to host performances by Julie Williams, Tae Lewis and Tylar Bryant at The Black Opry Revue on Sept. 23..
Founded in Nashville in 2021, the Black Opry is a home for Black artists, fans and industry professionals working in country, Americana, blues and folk music. Its mission is to showcase the diversity in sound and stories that Black artists offer to these genres.
Named after the historic Grand Ole Opry, the Black Opry began after country-music lover Holly G noticed she never saw any people who looked like her at country concerts.
“I actually bought tickets to see country music concerts a few times. And I would look on social media and see the other people that were going; it just makes you feel unsafe,” said Holly, in a Rolling Stone interview. “The type of person that mainstream country music is marketed to is very clear – it’s for conservative white people. Those are the same type of people who wouldn’t want me there and could possibly be violent toward me or make me feel unsafe because of the color of my skin. Those are places I wanted to actively avoid.”
The organization’s website says country music has been made and loved by black people since its conception, and for just as long they have been overlooked and disregarded in the genre by fans and executives. The Black Opry wants to change that, and invites the public to discover the black artists in the space.
Doors to the show open at 7 p.m., with the show at 8 p.m. General admission tickets are $20, with reserved seats going for $45. Tickets can be purchased at acornlive.org.
About the Artists
Julie Williams
Fearlessly forging ahead down country roads, singer-songwriter Julie Williams is turning heads in Nashville’s country music scene with the soft but powerful songs that capture the soul of growing up as a mixed-race child in the South. Music has always been a part of Julie’s life – honing her singing talent in church and beach bars and belting national anthems before packed stadiums. She grew up listening to everyone and everything, from The Chicks and James Taylor, to Gladys Knight and Michael Jackson. Even though she was drawn to the storytelling of country music, she never quite found the sound that spoke to everything she was: Black, white, Southern, a woman, hopeful, truthful. So naturally, it was up to Julie to make this sound. “My music is mixed like me,” is how she describes it, “I want to tell the stories that need to be told.”
Tae Lewis
The emerging Country singer/songwriter Tae Lewis doesn’t sell short when it comes to his creation of country music. The North Carolina native started his roots by singing in his grandfather’s church at the age of 5. In 2016 he began to emerge in his own element of what he wanted to create for his audience as a country artist With one of his first singles “Good Luvin.” Good Luvin brought success in being placed in the hit sitcom “Shameless” which brought his artistry to a whole new level of people acknowledging who he really is.
Tylar Bryant
Tylar Bryant is a soulful country recording artist whose path took him on a journey to take the stage in the country music arena. Championing the challenge, where no one saw him coming, Tylar is a new contender who’s in it to win it. The former MMA fighter changed his career path to pursue a passion that caught him completely by surprise. He laid down his gloves to pick up a songwriter’s pen and a guitar. In a courageous leap of faith to chase his dream, Tylar moved to Nashville in 2019.
The Texas native prides himself in his authenticity and ability to infuse a mix of styles and sounds. Influenced by some of country music’s greatest voices and performers (such as Jim Reeves, Randy Travis and Chris Young), Bryant marries modern and traditional country sounds with rock and R&B grooves for an added twist.
By Ryan Yuenger
MOTM contributor
