Wrangler X Black Opry: Raising Awareness For Black Artists In Country Music

In 2023, Wrangler will sponsor the Black Opry’s mission of raising awareness for Black artists in the country music community. Wrangler recently announced its year-long sponsorship of Black Opry, a global platform for Black artists, fans and industry professionals with a focus on country, Americana, blues, and folk genres. Paying tribute to the brand’s music and western roots, Wrangler will serve as the exclusive sponsor of three Black Opry concerts and will feature the unique stories of numerous performers in Black History Month and throughout 2023.

What is Black Opry?

Black Opry is home for Black artists, fans and industry professionals working in country, Americana, blues, and folk music. Country and roots music have been made and loved by Black people since their conception. For just as long, Black artists have been overlooked and disregarded in the genre. Black Opry is changing that by celebrating and amplifying Black American musicians working to reclaim their place in the American musical cannon.

Artist Spotlights

Supporting Black Opry’s mission of creating an inclusive space for music lovers nationwide, Wrangler will be highlighting a selection of Black Opry’s performers across Wrangler.com and the brand’s social channels.

Participating Black Opry musicians include:

• The Kentucky Gentlemen – Twenty seven-year-old twins Brandon and Derek Campbell make up The Kentucky Gentlemen, offering a sound inspired by the ‘90s country and R&B they favored during their childhood. With multi-Grammy nominated producers, they blend pop, country and R&B, built around tightly-fused, unmistakable blood harmonies.
• Aaron Vance – Aaron Vance was born with undeniable gifts; a talent for writing songs and a voice with which to sing them. To date he has recorded and released three LPs, two EPs, the Mississippi Football anthem, "My Dawgs and My Rebels", and "The Dark Wolf  Trilogy.”
• Crys Matthews – Already hailed as “the next Woody Guthrie,” Crys Matthews is a powerful lyricist, her songs reflecting her lived experience as what she calls the poster-child for intersectionality. With the release of her hope-fueled, love-filled social justice album Changemakers, Matthews hopes to take her place alongside some of her heroes in the world of social-justice music.

All participating artist’s stories will be captured by esteemed western photographer Ivan McClellan. Ivan McClellan is a photojournalist and designer based in Portland, OR, whose work reveals marginalized aspects of Black culture, challenging assumptions and myths about racial identity in America.