This lecture features musical samples from 250 years of Black music history with Kristina Gaddy, author of Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History.
Building on Rhiannon Gidden's mission of exploring overlooked American musical history, Gaddy will give an overview of the banjo’s key role in Black spirituality, ritual, and rebellion. She will also discuss the ways in which Black folk music developed and transformed in the Americas from the 1690s through the early 20th century. With music, images, and a reading from her book, Gaddy will illuminate the rich history of these forgotten musicians and traditions.
This event is part of Strathmore’s Windows series of performances and accompanying programs. Learn more
Meet the Lecturer
Kristina R. Gaddy
Kristina R. Gaddy is an award-winning writer who believes in the power of narrative nonfiction to bring stories from the past to life in order to inform the world we live in today. Her book Well of Souls: Uncovering the Banjo's Hidden History (W.W. Norton 2022) is an extraordinary story unfolding across two hundred years, where she uncovers the banjo’s key role in Black spirituality, ritual, and rebellion. Her first nonfiction book Flowers in the Gutter (Dutton 2020) tells the true story of the teenage Edelweiss Pirates who fought the Nazis. Through narratives based on memoirs, oral history interviews, and Nazi documents, she immerses the reader in the world of these teenagers as they resist the Third Reich. She holds an MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Goucher College and her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Baltimore magazine, Washington City Paper, Baltimore Sun, Bitch magazine, Narratively, Atlas Obscura, Shore Monthly, and other smaller history and music publications.