Pushing Boundaries With Martha Redbone
In âBone Hill,â the blues and soul singer-songwriter tells the story of her Appalachian Cherokee familyâa story that may ring true for historically multiracial families everywhere.
âThese are the stories that a lot of people would not like to be toldâto sweep things under the rug and put a pretty little bow on top of it.â
Thatâs how musical artist Martha Redbone describes the stories and family lore at the heart of her newest work, âBone Hill,â a musical theater performance that tackles themes like racism, erasure and colonization.
Growing up as a Black and Native woman, Redbone says, she viewed the American ideal through a âwhiteâ lensâone that gave little weight to the very existence of her multiracial identity.
âWeâve been forced to erase ourselves and downplay who we are, and I think that we're living in a time where we're not doing that anymore,â she says.
âBone Hill,â based largely on Redboneâs own history, follows the lives of four generations of an Appalachian Cherokee family. The show weaves a tale of the familyâs connection to the land, punctuated by references to the Trail of Tears, U.S. racial reclassification legislature like Virginiaâs Racial Integrity Act of 1924, and the oft-untold dynamic between Native people and African Americans.Ìę
âWe talk about the American Indian Removal Act,â she says. âWe talk about the formation of the Bureau of Vital Statistics, which was led by eugenicists who believed that they could turn everyone white within three generations.â
Through gospel, folk music and blues, âBone Hillâ abstractly tells the story of Redboneâs Native family.
âThese are the stories that, as an artistâwhether it's through dance or music or song or storytelling or writing or paintingâthese are the stories from the Southeastern people that I come from,â Redbone says.
âItâs really exhilarating,â she says. âItâs very beautiful, and I think itâs needed.â
She says she hopes the show inspires people to find out about the intricacies of where they come from.
âI thought, well, maybe I can share a little bit of my family story through song and hope that I can spark conversations about your own family history and your own contributions to this land, and what that means,â Redbone says.
Redbone created âBone Hillâ with her partner, Aaron Whitby, and says that while she understands that the stories the show is based on are that of strife and struggle, she wanted to create something that showcased her familyâs strength.
âAaron and I said, âWe are not going to write a bunch of really angry and sad songs,ââ she says. â âThere's just no way. We've got to write about our resilience in this.ââ
And the finished product, Redbone says, is a lot of fun.
âI feel like I have the best band of musicians on the planet, who are also the townspeople [in the show], and so we're all hollering on the stage, and yelling, and then this amazing music comes out, and it's just so much fun,â she says. âIt's so much fun. And I'm really, really excited to bring it to the Newman Center.â
Martha Redboneâs âBone Hillâ comes to the Newman Center Sept. 25 at 7:30 p.m.Ìę.Ìę