Come for the music, stay to learn about southern culture

The old white house on Franklin Street looks like any other residence on the block. But it’s home to people and a group working to redefine what it means to be Southern.

The house at 410 East Franklin is the Love House and Hutchins Forum, home to the Center for the Study of the American South. The Center has been around for more than 20 years, and includes the Southern Oral History Program, which has been running for more than 40 years.

The Center aims to present the multitude of cultures that make up Southern American culture through art exhibits, academic lectures and concerts.

“We like to think beyond the boundaries of what people have traditionally considered as Southern,” Associate Director Patrick Horn said. “But we also honor the traditional things. We still have biscuits and sweet tea from time to time.”

The Center’s current exhibit The South in Color portrays different Southern communities across the country in the 1970s, focusing on Mississippi. Its journal, Southern Cultures, will soon come out with a new edition, focusing on Southern Fiction, engaging audiences by centering each issue around a theme.

“The title Southern Cultures is plural for a reason,” Horn commented, “Our intention is to represent those who come to the United States and celebrate the folk traditions of southerners who aren’t always considered southerners. Music on the Porch is also a good way to show that.”

Music on the Porch

Music on the Porch is a series of concerts at the Center. All shows are free and open to the public. The Center reaches out and presents diverse music groups in local and up and coming hubs, such as the UNC Jazz Studies Program.

Ray Cashman performed at the Center last week. A graduate student became interested in Cashman and decided to write his masters thesis on Cashman’s music, suggesting him to the Center.

“Southern culture is something that should be supported,” Cashman said. He supports it through the white working class ethos of his music, drawing from Southern literature and authors like Harry Crews for his lyrics. He focuses on the gothic and dark aspects of Southern history.

There are two more concerts this fall.

The Old Ceremony, a local indie rock band, will be playing this at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 29).

Juanito Laguna, a Latin American folk music group, will perform at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 6, accompanied by Captain Ponchos Tacos food truck. Juanito Laguna’s sound expresses the music of immigrants from Bolivia, Cuba, and Mexico, celebrating their folk traditions and representing Southern identities that are not always recognized as part of American culture.

“We like to have new and different sounds and genres, “to try not to pigeonhole Southern as country, bluegrass, and banjos,” Horn said.

Besides music on the porch, the Center for the Study of the American South is open to all students for use and support. If students have any academic interests in southern culture, just want to sit on the porch and do homework, or want to bring a band – the house is open and welcome.