DIVA sat down with this star after her win at this year’s Folk Alliance
BY VICTORIA P, IMAGE BY EMILY APRIL ALLEN
Singer-songwriter and social justice warrior Crys Matthews is taking the world by storm. The proud butch black lesbian is claiming space that is usually reserved for cis white men within the folk and country music scene. Her latest album Reclamation is a 17-track musical collection tackling important narratives, including trans rights, the perils of racism, whitewashing history, and the discrimination many LGBTQIA people have faced. In the process, Crys Matthews is inspiring others to be true to themselves and fight for equality.
Reclamation feels both personal and universal, offering a wide-ranging reflection on the complexities of identity, love, and life in an often chaotic world. Crys Matthews’ sharp, poetic lyrics are the backbone of the album, but the way she uses her voice and arrangements adds a whole new dimension. It’s an album that feels like a journey, one that you want to revisit, and with each listen, it offers more.
Fresh off of Crys Matthews winning Artist of the Year at this year’s Folk Alliance, we sat down and chatted with the artist all about her new album, favourite LGBTQIA artists, and writing a song on the motorway.
Congratulations on your new album Reclamation. Can you tell our readers all about your new album?
A daughter of the South in the USA by way of Nashville now and North Carolina forever, I often say that I’m basically the poster child of intersectionality — a preacher’s kid, a Black woman, a Butch lesbian, and a proud Southerner who sings social justice music right alongside “traditional” Country and Americana music. This album is both sonically and ideologically the fullest representation of who I am as an artist and as a human. I’m reclaiming not just the space Black artists have been denied in Country and Americana music, not just of the space LGBTQIA people have been denied in communities of faith, not just of the autonomy women have been denied over their own bodies, I am reclaiming the South that raised me.
If listeners could take away one thing from your new album what would that be and why?
That Country and Americana music can sound really good while saying something that really matters.
Describe your new music in three words.
Antidote to fascism.
It has been a big year for you! Not only have you released a new album but you also won Artist of the Year at this year’s Folk Alliance! Tell us what this award means to you and how was the celebration.
I am still pinching myself about both the nomination for and the winning of this award. For an artist like me, who mostly sings social justice music, who is a woman in a profession dominated by men, who is Black in a world in a world plagued by white supremacy, who is a lesbian in a country actively terrorizing its LGBTQIA citizens, to be named Artist of The Year means so much, not just to me, but to a lot of people especially at this moment in history.
You are a proud butch Black lesbian who lives in the South in America. How does time and place influence your music?
I think time and place are often unsung co-writers of a song. They often influence the backdrop and setting as the story within a song unfolds. They can inform the mood and tone of a song. For example, my song Red was written via voice-to-text while travelling the New Jersey turnpike. I had been in the Northeast several times within a couple of months and was able to mark the progression of the leaves turning colours as fall set in.
Who are some LGBTQIA icons you look up to and why?
When I was first coming out, I would blast Melissa Etheridge’s Yes I Am every morning before school. It was my quiet rebellion, my first attempt at being brave and being me. I almost got to open for her this year, but it didn’t pan out. Besides Melissa, I was very drawn to Tracy Chapman, Ani DiFranco, and The Indigo Girls.
What plans do you have for the remainder of the year?
Well, my partner on and off stage Heather Mae and I just got engaged over Christmas, so we’ve got some wedding planning (and saving to do). Plus, between the two of us, we have three new albums being released by our household, so we’ll be busy touring in support of that. Beyond those things, I’ll be trying to inspire others to do whatever they can to ensure we survive this current chapter in history with as much of our humanity intact as possible.
How can listeners connect with you?
Thankfully, because of the spelling, I am @crysmatthews almost everywhere on the Internet. You can also find links to most anything CM-related at crysmatthews.com.
You can listen to Crys now:
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