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Reclaiming Folk

Celebrating People of Color in Folk Music

Reclaiming Folk seeks to make space for musicians of color to share their stories and share the stories of our past, so that our future can be a more inclusive place for all.

Reclaiming Folk is an event series that celebrates and honors People of Color in folk music – we “reclaim” folk because, despite POCs being at the root of the genre, history and culture has erased us from American Folk music. From field calls to Blues and Gospel to Indigenous traditions, the origin of American folk music is connected to people of color.

Folk music is more than a genre, folk music is traditional music, folk music is storytelling, folk music is the music of the people, and folk music is a voice for what’s happening in the world today. In our society, there is often no space for marginalized people to tell our stories. Reclaiming Folk seeks to make space for musicians of color to share their stories and share the stories of our past, so that our future can be a more inclusive place for all.

Founded in 2024, Reclaiming Folk achieved immediate success and support from the community, featuring performances by 20+ artists, traveling to over 15 locations, and raising over $20,000 in the first two years.

The event includes original music from folk musicians singing in the round, cover songs that honor the musicians who came before us, short interviews with the musicians about folk music, and a Q&A from the audience.

About Naomi Westwater (Creator and Curator)
Naomi Westwater is a High Priestess of Tenderness. Their work brings the threads of music, poetry, tarot visual art, spells, spirituality, and gathering together. To experience her art is to open yourself up to your feelings.

Through ritual and storytelling, Naomi aids nature in the end of capitalism and the return to community, creativity, and collective joy. Her artist speaks to the margins. Their identity as a Black, queer nonbinary, chronically ill, witch is the spark for much of their work, and the lens through which they view the world.

Naomi holds a Master of Music in Contemporary Performance and Production from Berklee College of Music. They are a six time Boston Music Awards nominee, and have been featured in Basic Folk, The Boston Globe, Under The Radar, GBH, The Bluegrass Situation, Spirituality Magazine, and more. They are a WBUR 2024 Maker,  a 2024 artist-in-residence at Château d'Orquevaux in France, and part of The Club Passim Folk Collective.

Naomi is a Cultural Curator, she led the Boston Chapter of We Make Noise for 5 years, where she created We Make Noise Fest and We Make Noise Camp as tools for gender equity in the Boston music scene. Naomi has also produced shows at The Apollo Theater, The Beacon Theatre, The Bell House, and more. Currently, Naomi is producing a series called Reclaiming Folk: Celebrating of People of Color in Folk Music and has received over 20 grants to tour the series. They are the creator of Juniper Fest, an annual music festival for their dog.

Naomi is on faculty at Club Passim and is a NERFA board member. Her latest concept record, Cycle & Change is out everywhere. She lives in Boston, MA with her partner, their garden, and two dogs where she sings ans cries daily at her ancestor alter.

Zion Rodman is a Boston-based singer-songwriter with a soulful voice and intricate guitar playing, weaving storytelling between folk renditions of his songs. His latest EP, The Lives I’ve Kept, earned praise from The Boston Globe as a "respite from the forthcoming winter gloom with this fire-cozy EP". Zion is currently recording a politically charged full-length album, The Acquisition of All Things. When not performing, he helps foster the local music community by hosting a weekly open mic at Toad in Cambridge and frequently participating in events hosted by We Black Folk. To hear recordings and read more, visit www.zionrodmanmusic.com.

​​Chris Walton is a local singer/songwriter/producer who creates jazz kissed songs that tug at the heart strings of listeners with effortless relatability on love and loss of love. Walton is equally comfortable writing intimate introspective love songs or upbeat retro pop tracks, inspired by the likes of Stevie Wonder, early John Mayer, and Cory Wong.

Web: www.chriswaltonmusic.com | On Instagram | Streaming on Spotify 

Registration is requested, but not required.

This program is made possible by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

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