I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll campaign highlights roots of genre

The I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll Festival will mark Indiana’s inaugural one-day Black rock event. The goal is honoring rock and roll’s origins while celebrating continued Black artistry and authorship in the genre. Leading up to the festival, GANGGANG and Forty5 are hosting listening sessions to spotlight local and regional voices and talent. The intent is to spark conversations about race, music and culture in the origins of rock. “The theme is super important to me as both a Black and female artist in the rock space,” said Nicole O’Neal who serves as co-chair for the festival and is a musician in the Indianapolis-based alternative rock band Wife Patrol. RELATED: Art for advocacy ‘Perceptions’ exhibit highlights the stories of people previously incarcerated “There’s been a lot of erasure of Black voices and Black visibility in rock music to the point that most of the time when I was growing up and into rock and roll, people would go, ‘That’s weird,’ or thought it was surprising.” She remembers friend groups assuming less of her knowledge of music when they would be discussing different bands and artists. “They would be like, ‘Oh, you wouldn’t know about this,’ because the assumption was that...