Rise Up!

This was interesting, but I should have read the description more carefully. I was looking for more of an objective reference book describing/reviewing the musicians' creations, but this is largely made up of autobiographical pieces about the musicians' lives with the music as one aspect of them.

Can be dipped into and skimmed according to your interest, as the chapters sort the music into various styles.

Thanks to Bison Books and NetGalley for the advance copy to review.

This was a great history of Indigenous music and how it’s evolved over time. Craig Harris does a great job in creating this nonfiction book. I appreciated getting to learn about Indigenous music and this was so well written. I got to learn about new people and it was a pleasure to read.

This is a really interesting compilation of anecdotes, and information regarding the various musicians of Indigenous heritage that have influenced the music world over time.
While I enjoyed the book- it seems more like a collection of related essays - rather than a book organized around a central theme. So, this is likely a book for reference and a great compilation for folks doing research and working on other projects regarding these musicians, for me as a reader, interested in music, it just didn’t have much to hold my attention.

In a world that has tried to assimilate indigenous people, indigenous musicians help keep traditional narratives, beliefs and language alive through their music. I enjoyed reading the stories of the musicians and what their music represents. I was only aware of a handful of indigenous musicians - this book has given me so many more to check out.
#RiseUp! #NetGalley

This is a historical perspective on the Indigenous people's contribution to American music. There is a Native American Music Awards which acknowledges the artists. Most of you are familiar with Buffy St. Marie, but did you know that Robbie Robertston of the Band, Jimi Hendrix, Willie Nelson, Rita Coolidge, Hank Williams, Richie Valens and the Neville Brothers were all recognized as Native American musicians? The artist that I was familiar with was Jesse Ed Davis, who was a very talented guitarist and session musician that record on many popular albums. If you listen to Jackson Brown's Doctor My Eyes, you will Jessie Ed Davis playing. Redbone was another Native American band that had had a hit that topped the charts with Come and Get Your Love (the song at the opening of Guardians of the Galaxy). Redbone's band included the brothers Pat and Lolly Vegas, and Pat's son PJ Vegas is a recording artist in Los Angeles.

Rise Up presents readers with an encyclopedic view of the Native-American experience in music. The book is chock full of information; however, I wish the book was more theoretical in its construction. It is hard to keep up with the massive amount of data that is being presented to us by the writer. I appreciate the history...but I would have liked more in the way of analysis.