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In deciding to move forward with her scheduled concerts, Erin wrote the following on her website:

first, one of the most important things that i can do as a musician is create space for community, and the folks who come together for my shows appreciate that for themselves as much as i appreciate being part of it. to get together in a room with queer and straight allies in north carolina right now is a very important act. you can be sure that i will highlight this from the stage, and you can be sure that i will be listening closely as NC folks tell me firsthand what is going on their communities.

second, the two venues that i’ll be playing at, the pinhook in durham and the grey eagle in asheville, have been homes to me for many years. i have had some of my most wonderful nights in those rooms, and the folks that run them are first rate good guys in a pretty bullshit business. beyond that, the pinhook has from its inception been clear that it is a space meant to support queer artists, and it was the first club i ever played at that had gender neutral bathrooms.

finally, as a touring artist coming into a venue, i have an opportunity to make some requests that could have some larger repercussions. ahead of our april 15 show, i asked the gray eagle to make their bathrooms gender neutral for the night. they already have one single user bathroom marked as such, but they enthusiastically agreed to make their other bathrooms gender neutral and put signs up telling their patrons why. sure, it is just for one night, but if you’re going to tour in north carolina, why not ask your venue to do the same?

While it may seem contradictory, I understand and support Erin McKeown’s decision just as I understand and support Bruce Springsteen’s. Folk music has always reflected opinions of the communities from which these songs grew. The songs have not only reported history but they were also used to support and inspire groups that were fighting for social justice. It is important that artists like her continue to provide motivation and comfort in times of need. Just as important, the act of boycotting the state might be the most effective way for Bruce Springsteen to act AND to educate his audience and share his feelings about this controversial law.

This brings me back to the phone call I received from a listener on Sunday. I started the show by playing Erik Balkey’s recording of Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.,” a song used by conservatives in the 1980s who were campaigning for Ronald Reagan. The misinterpretation of Springsteen’s lyrics relates to what Charles Seeger once called “Folk Process”, in this case not changing the lyrics but changing the meaning and purpose of the song. I followed “Born in the U.S.A.” by discussing both Springsteen and McKeown’s decisions and then played a set of songs in support of the LGBT community, recordings that focused on a variety of issues and feelings.

Although I received a few complimentary phone calls about the songs I was playing, one listener called to admonish me for sharing only one side of the issue. To his credit, the listener admitted that he tuned in late and did not hear all the commentary, but he wanted to point out that there are differing opinions. He also proceeded to mention a song I played a few months earlier in support of removing the Confederate flag. “The North had no right to invade the South” was the caller’s stance, and since I was in the middle of a show I did not have time to debate this issue, again.

After finishing the set, I started thinking about this particular caller. Am I doing something wrong by playing songs that speak to one side of a particular issue?

A “folk music” radio program is not a news show. While I do try to be “fair and balanced”, the songs I choose to share on the radio represent my observations of the living tradition of folk music. I cannot deny that my opinions help me decide which songs to play. This is music that rises from a community, and the community I observe is flowing with songs about love, peace, understanding and justice. This might sound naïve and simplistic, but I would be hard pressed to find songs in the folk community that deal with the negative results that support the side in favor of HB2. That would not be a community that I would want to belong to, and I suspect most of my listeners feel the same.

To respond to this callers complaints, I do see that there are two sides to every story, but “equality” has only one side. It might be true that I could gain a larger audience and avoid getting complaints if I stayed away from these type of songs and subjects, but I am not unique. Most folk radio shows play songs like these for the same reasons I mention in the previous paragraph. Folk music has a long and proud history of being involved with progressive causes, although interest in folk music in the early 20th century had a more conservative approach(a story for another day). I’m not sure we would really be playing “folk” music if we avoided these songs. My radio show is not a personal soapbox, but I do plan to continue to offer a forum for songwriters and folksingers to share their songs that promote just causes that fight for rights of segments of society that are being trod upon.

In the end, it is up to each of us to speak our minds, and you do not need a folk radio show to do so. In addition to doing such things as writing to elected officials, protesting and showing support, I also encourage you to add your thoughts to the comment section that follows the playlist below. Discussion and sharing of opinions, through song or actions, can lead to change. In 2016, the LGBT community needs everyone to support their rights and to help bring an end to the bigotry and violence that is inflicted upon them. We are all one community in the end.

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