The following is an extended version of the interview that appears in our March 2022 print edition.
Photo by Joseph Ross Smith
Born near Bristol, England, guitarist and singer Yola grew up listening to the same music as her peers, but when she sings, it’s something else. She knows that takes some people by surprise.
“I grew up listening to R&B and hip-hop like the rest of us. But at the same time, it didn't impart itself on my voice in the way that it did to a lot of people,” she says. “And so there's something where my voice seems to have come from a bygone era. That used to be a real curse for me, because people are like, 'Where do you fit in?' ”
Yola’s not the type to wait for an answer to that question. She’s found her own space with the soulful slices of Americana on her 2019 debut, “Walk Through Fire,” and the more diverse 2021 follow-up, “Stand for Yourself,” which has earned her two Grammy nominations.
Yola, 38, also makes her film debut in an Elvis biopic due out in June, in which she portrays Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the pioneering gospel guitarist and former Richmonder credited with creating rock ’n’ roll. From her Nashville home, Yola talks about portraying Tharpe, navigating her own career and the long list she keeps.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Richmond magazine: What's it like to be doing shows again?
Yola: I realize I had a massive privilege of opening for another person who saw my love [for] them ... Chris Stapleton. ... [With a large tour operation in place,] it's easy to be on the road and to have great [COVID-19] protocols; everyone had to go and do their testing before they're allowed on premises, so everything was just run tight. And that was the environment [I experienced when] I went back into the touring sphere. I'm fully aware that ... artists that weren't playing as big venues, they're far more smooshed. And so it was harder to get started for some people. I felt really, really lucky to be in the environment that I was in that had the resources to keep everything rolling.
RM: How does it feel to be portraying Sister Rosetta Tharpe?
Yola: It feels like a real duty, to start with. I'm a rhythm guitar player. I don't really do a lot of solo; it may stretch the imagination. And so it feels like, because I have this opportunity to actually represent her in a way that was accurate, that the least I could do was complete the job by learning solos and representing her and her style of playing and be the complete package to put that forward. So, when people are looking at what's happening, it's not like tricks of the camera so you don't see what's going on. It's like, no, this is what it took. And it ain't easy.
RM: She paved the way for a lot of artists. But do you think some of the same attitudes persist? You know, for a black woman holding a guitar in the music business?
Yola: Yeah, I really did always have to come with the same kind of bravado as Sister Rosetta Tharpe did with that kind of, “I'm about it. I'm here. I'm ready to kick ass. I'm already good enough.”
RM: You’ve worked with quite a few big names already in your career, such as Paul McCartney, Massive Attack, Brandi Carlisle, Lenny Kravitz. Who else would you like to work with?
Yola: I've really got this long, long list of people that I want to work with who are based here [in the U.S.]. I'd love to collaborate with Alicia Keys, Thundercat, Bruno Mars, Big Krit, Donald Glover, Little Dragon ... Emily King. Gary Clark Jr. You name it. Like, you know, there are a long line of people. And I've only just arrived. Yeah, I've got a lot to do. Now I’m here.
RM: Did you see the article in The Atlantic about old music killing new music?
Yola: I did. I was just talking about that.
RM: What did you think about that?
Yola: When I think of old music being something that is outstripping new music in consumption, I think of how naive that time was musically. And it's not that there wasn't manufacturing of things, you know, [in] the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, by any stretch of the imagination, I just think we’ve got better at manufacturing sincerity. And so people can smell that. And that’s what is ... making people feel like harking back to a time where people were less guarded emotionally with art. And it’s what we want more of, and I feel like there’s a little vanguard of artists coming through who are ... emotionally adhering to an old paradigm. OK, they’re doing well, because that’s what’s happening. And it’ll be a big shift in music before new music can catch up again and go against like, a framework that has been built to manufacture things, minus really engaging with the human.
RM: Wow, thank you for that thoughtful answer. You need to do a TED talk or something.
Yola: TED have actually asked, so I’m gonna get to it.
Yola performs at The National on March 13 at 7:30 p.m. Jac Ross opens. Proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test is required. Tickets are $25 to $30.
