Our country was colonized by the nations of West Africa under brutal, horrible conditions. Over 12.5 million slaves were brought to America, and it is they who built the huge financial base of our country. More importantly, the culture they developed defined the greatest cultural attributes of our nation. After Emancipation and through the greatest migration of people in our nation’s history, their influence in religion, food ways, speech, and music touched every corner of the world.

The musical culture that has evolved in the American South through the centuries has roots that go deep into the very founding of our nation. Here at Music Maker, we glory in the partnerships we have with Music Makers whose direct ancestors taught our nation songwriting, singing, rhythm – the music that made America famous. So we celebrate Black History Month, a time to reflect, and cherish who we are as a nation, the struggles folks have been through. As my good friend Guitar Gabriel used to tell it, “We came so far, but we have a long way to go, we have a living past and a future coming in.”

— Tim Duffy