Jake Blount - “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” covered by Jake Blount from the 2020 album Spider Tales on Free Dirt Records.

The song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" has been covered hundreds of times before — the track is often associated with blues musician Lead Belly, but the Nirvana version from their 1993 MTV Unplugged performance is perhaps the best known rendition. And now, banjo player and fiddler Jake Blount has added his own interpretation, influenced by his research into Black and Indigenous cultures, as well as his own experiences as an LGBTQ activist. 

“Connecting with my family history and my father’s childhood history, he’d talk about people disappearing,” he reflected in a press release. “Those lynchings didn’t all happen in broad daylight; my dad talked about people in his community ‘disappearing’ and you’d kind of assume what had happened. For me there was a very direct connection between what I’d gone through in the queer community and this narrative of disappearance and loss that surrounded the Black community in the South throughout much of our nation’s history, and still arguably does.” 

Read the full post on KEXP.org

Jake Blount - &ldquo;Where Did You Sleep Last Night?&rdquo; covered by Jake Blount from the 2020 album Spider Tales on Free Dirt Records.
The song "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" has been covered hundreds of times before &mdash; the track is often associated with blues musician Lead Belly, but the Nirvana version from their 1993 MTV Unplugged performance is perhaps the best known rendition. And now, banjo player and fiddler Jake Blount has added his own interpretation, influenced by his research into Black and Indigenous cultures, as well as his own experiences as an LGBTQ activist.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Connecting with my family history and my father&rsquo;s childhood history, he&rsquo;d talk about people disappearing,&rdquo; he reflected in a press release. &ldquo;Those lynchings didn&rsquo;t all happen in broad daylight; my dad talked about people in his community &lsquo;disappearing&rsquo; and you&rsquo;d kind of assume what had happened. For me there was a very direct connection between what I&rsquo;d gone through in the queer community and this narrative of disappearance and loss that surrounded the Black community in the South throughout much of our nation&rsquo;s history, and still arguably does.&rdquo;&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/song-of-the-day/2020/6/30/jake-blount-where-did-you-sleep-last-night/">Read the full post on KEXP.org</a>

From independent music station KEXP, In Our Headphones brings you the songs DJs, artists, and others just can't get enough of. Join host Evie Stokes and guests as they introduce you to new music, with added insight into the artists behind the records.

From independent music station KEXP, In Our Headphones brings you the songs DJs, artists, and others just can't get enough of. Join host Evie Stokes and guests as they introduce you to new music, with added insight into the artists behind the records.

A never-ending journey of music discovery from KEXP.

In Our Headphones

From independent music station KEXP, In Our Headphones brings you the songs DJs, artists, listeners and others just can't stop listening to. Join host Evie Stokes and guests as they introduce you to new music, with added insight into the artists behind the records.

From independent music station KEXP, In Our Headphones brings you the songs DJs, artists, listeners and others just can't stop listening to. Join host Evie Stokes and guests as they introduce you to new music, with added insight into the artists behind the records.

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