Fell for the blues at age 13 (thank you, Mississippi Public Radio!). Stopped dead in my tracks the first time I heard the Blind Boys of Alabama. Whisked back to memories of my grandfather's tiny Baptist church every time somebody hammers out the relentless chorus of "Power in the Blood."

Somewhere along the way in my mostly-southern childhood, I fell hard for the varied and fragmented musics that make up our American soundscape. I came to realize that conducting this love affair properly meant finding words, spoken and written, to capture the ephemeral sounds and the complicated ways they have intersected with religion and race and popular culture in American history.

Need a historical and cultural consultant to research, write, or lecture for your organization or special project? I'm available to help you with every stage of your project, whether it's researching newspaper databases; decoding blurry handwriting in historic documents; fact-checking your manuscript; writing program notes for your ensemble; or presenting a lecture to your performing arts organization. Check out my writing and speaking experience, as well as my editing services. For more detail about my consulting specializations, check out my Zintro profile.