Ring of Fire

For decades, country music has been largely shut off to Black artists. There have been notable, even iconic, exceptions throughout history, of course. But there are too few of those, to the point that their success was often treated as novelty. There were also too many performers who should have made it big but were forced into stereotypes that didn't comfortably fit. Fortunately, there have been signs of hope in the past few years—hope that feels like a lot more than just good intentions and lip service. This tribute explores the history, and promising future, of Black artists in country music.

Much beloved in life and now mourned and celebrated after an untimely death, urban troubadour, master storyteller and folksy yet sophisticated ruminator on all things human, John Prine will always be one of the music world's greatest losses to the COVID-19 pandemic, passing in Nashville on April 7, 2020 at age 73.

If you're looking for Lucinda Williams' worldview in her music, it can be found somewhere between "Drunken Angel," and "Get Right With God." Coupled with genuine empathy for the foibles of humanity—and respect for the allure, urgency and wreck 'n' ruin of relationships—Williams has always had a healthy awe for the powers of good and evil, a looming sense of the vigilant almighty. From the album's title to the worried cover photo, a sense of misgiving hangs over the songs on her compelling new album, Good Souls Better Angels.