Welcome to 12-Bar Talk, a blues music and dance podcast that covers blues history, current artists and trends, dances done to blues music, and more. Join Dr. Chelsea Adams as she interviews musicians, dancers, scholars, and delves into the myriad of topics that deal with this uniquely black American art form.
Episode 19: Spotlight on Harrell "Young Rell" Davenport
Young Rell and Dr. Chelsea Adams sit down to talk music, the power of community and a crowd, and thoughts on college education. You can also take time to support Young Rell by following him on his social media pages, listed below, and by putting money to his GoFundMe campaign to help him get the money he needs to launch his first album.
Guest: Harrell "Young Rell" Davenport
Website: https://youngrell.com/
Fundraiser: https://www.gofundme.com/f/youngrellblues
Socials: IG, @young_rell_official; TikTok, @youngrellblues; Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/YOUNGRELLBLUES/
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 Greater Salt Lake City area.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
Sa 29.03.2025
42 : 28 min
Episode 18: Clifford Antone's Legacy of Mentorship, a Conversation with Sarah Rucker
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 in Business Foundations from the University of Texas at Austin. Her expertise in American blues and early rock began as research and teaching assistant to Clifford Antone (founder of Antone’s Night Club, Records, and Record Shop) in 2004. Antone lectured on these topics at the University of Texas and Texas State University until his death in 2006. She then helped direct programming for Texas' folk arts agency, Texas Folklife,
Fr 14.02.2025
45 : 22 min
Episode 17: Mapping the Diaspora, a Conversation with Deirdre Molloy
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 resource. The Map is a collective art-research work that touches many communities, and comments, feedback, and contributions are welcome!
Molloy's Research:
Molloy, D. C. (2024). Black Atlantic Space-Time Portfolio by Unity (V.1). Nakala (Huma-Num - CNRS). Available online https://doi.org/10.34847/NKL.FCF71S7D
Molloy, D. C. (2024). Black Atlantic Space-Time Teaser by Unity (V. 1). Nakala (Huma-Num - CNRS). Availabl
Mo 20.01.2025
38 : 46 min
Episode 16: The Tech Behind the Event, A Conversation about Accessibility with Josh Davis
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 Greater Salt Lake City area.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
So 15.12.2024
49 : 40 min
Episode 15: "The Social Part Matters," a Conversation with Grey Armstrong
Writer, Instructor, and Lecturer Grey Armstrong and Dr. Chelsea Adams get personal about community, why people are leaving social dance, and what we can do about it.
Guest: Grey Armstrong
Video Referenced: Why Is Everyone Leaving Social Dance?
Websites: https://obsidiantea.com/, https://greyarmstrong.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.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
Fr 22.11.2024
41 : 26 min
Episode 14: Genre, Competition, and the Blues, A Conversation with Columbia Jones
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 expect to see him perform on guitar while kicking a bass drum, foot tambourine, and some live looping. With the band, they serve up originals and covers peppered with lots of improvisation.
Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams
Guest: Columbia Jones
Website: Columbia Jones
Music: Columbia Jones - Music
Produced by Dr. Chelsea Adams
12-Bar Talk is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC, a blues dance event and education organiz
Di 29.10.2024
37 : 08 min
Episode 13: Intergenerational Power, a Conversation with Charlley Ward
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 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.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
Fr 20.09.2024
60 : 01 min
Episode 12: "The Song is the Starting Point," an Interview with Angel "Cash" Ocasio, Jr.
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/
Early in the Morning Official Video
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.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
Di 23.07.2024
32 : 25 min
Episode 11: Toward a Definition of the Blues
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 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.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
So 07.07.2024
11 : 36 min
Episode 10: On the Shoulders of Giants: An Organizer Conversation with Genevieve Senechal
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 dances and blues to the Greater Salt Lake City area.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
So 26.05.2024
33 : 17 min
Episode 9: The Power of Community Mentorship, A Conversation with Erica Brown
Award-winning musician Erica Brown talks with Dr. Adams about the power of community to lift up talent, how that influenced her career, and the importance of mentorship to continue to build and innovate in blues music.
Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams
Guest: Erica Brown
https://www.ericabrownentertainment.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.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
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 Greater Salt Lake City area.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
Do 15.02.2024
16 : 00 min
Episode 7: Blues and the Black Experience, a Conversation with Brother Yusef
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.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
Mo 15.01.2024
39 : 28 min
Episode 6: Scene or Community? A Conversation with Organizer Andi Hansen
In our final episode of 2023, Dr. Chelsea Adams talks with Grand Rapids, MI organizer Andi Hansen about what it was like restarting a dance community post-pandemic, what the differences are between a dance scene and a dance community, and why that matters for community building, sustainability, and a sense of belonging both locally and regionally.
Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams
Guest: Andi Hansen
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.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
Fr 15.12.2023
31 : 41 min
Episode 5: What Makes a DJ? A Conversation with DJ Steven Watkins
Anyone who loves music can likely tell you who their favorite DJ is, whether that's a radio DJ, club DJ, or dance DJ. In this episode, Dr. Chelsea Adams and DJ Steven Watkins discuss the art of DJing, what it takes to teach it, and how we evolve our understanding of what a DJ is and does for a dance floor in comparison to the choices we make when we DJ in other situations.
Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams
Guest: DJ Steven Watkins
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.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
Do 16.11.2023
62 : 29 min
Episode 4: The Blues Experiment
The pandemic killed off many national events and intensive learning experiences offered across dance styles. In this episode, we discuss a unique, week-long intensive event called The Experiment, which has revived post-pandemic. Hear from the founders of The Blues Experiment and learn what it's all about and what it's offering, and why it's important to have spaces to explore what it means to be a dancer in many different contexts.
Link to Learn More about the Experiment: www.thebluesexperiment.com/ and www.thebalboaexperiment.com/
Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams
Guests: David Rehm and Mike "The Girl" Legenthal
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.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
Fr 20.10.2023
42 : 54 min
Episode 3: Blues Dance in Europe, an Interview with Vicci and Adamo
In this episode, Vicci Moore and Adamo Ciarallo discuss building up blues instruction, and blues festivals, in Europe. We talk about the importance of music and history, but also the importance of creating ways for small communities with fewer resources to have access to quality information and teaching and learning materials about the blues. You can find out more about their online platform, The Blues Room, and their other events in the links below that Adamo and Vicci have provided for this podcast:
The Blues Room
thebluesroom.com
Why do I exist? To make blues dancing accessible to everyone world wide! You can learn from a range of teachers from the comfort of your own home without needing the time or finances to travel to an event.
Bluesology
thebluesroom.com/bluesology
Why do I exist? For teachers (of any level of experience) to learn and improve their pedagogy skills, be inspired, inspire others, connect and support each other. Building a dance community can be hard, but at Bluesology you'll r
Di 03.10.2023
27 : 29 min
Episode 2: Blues in Britain, A Conversation with Dr. Roberta Schwartz
When we think of the blues in Europe, one of the first places our minds wander are the famous blues festivals in Great Britain that brought international attention to blues greats like Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. But there is more to the story than the festivals. Dr. Roberta Schwartz, Director of the Musicology Division of the University of Kansas and the advising director of the KU Archive of Recorded Sound joins us to give us some of the backstory and the behind-the-scenes of the music scene in the UK as we discuss her book How Britain Got the Blues: the Transmission and Reception of American Blues Styles to the British Isles (Ashgate, 2007), which won the 2008 Association of Recorded Sound Collections award for best historical writing on the blues. We also discuss her current project about the Chicago or “hokum” blues of the 1930s.
Link to Purchase How Britain Got the Blues: https://www.amazon.com/How-Britain-Got-Blues-Transmission/dp/0754655806
Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams
Guest: Dr. Robe
Fr 01.09.2023
36 : 43 min
Episode 1: A Local Dance Restart
In this episode, we discuss the importance of, and struggles that come with, restarting local dance scenes. In an interview with Chicago blues dance organizer Tom DeGroh, Dr. Adams discusses how to navigate restarting, struggles in creating community in a post-covid world, the necessity of activism in dance communities that teach black dances and dance to blues music, and why it is important to rebuild a team rather than focus on singular organizers to do the work of community building.
Host: Dr. Chelsea Adams
Guest: Tom DeGroh
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.
Di 01.08.2023
43 : 18 min
12-Bar Talk Intro
Learn more about the blues and the people who listen to it in this new podcast with a focus on the evolution of blues music and the dances done to this uniquely American art form.
Podcast intro music is Chicago Shuffle Blues, courtesy of JuliusH. Song can be found at https://pixabay.com/users/juliush-3921568/.
12-Bar Talk: A Blues Podcast, is supported by Salt City Blues, LLC.
Do 13.07.2023
2 : 04 min
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