Making Music Festivals Safer for a Diverse Group of Musicians

Each September, a massive array of artists — whose music draws from a broad variety of roots traditions but may not fit the exacting standards of mainstream genre formats, especially in commercial country music — gathers in Nashville for AmericanaFest. Under the auspices of the Americana Music Association, they celebrate the eclectic nature of their work and their rejection of commercial restrictions. The association views that diversity as a hallmark of the genre and describes itself as “a forerunner” in diversity, equity and inclusion work (DEI).