{"id":66323,"date":"2026-06-08T12:51:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T17:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=66323"},"modified":"2026-06-08T12:51:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T17:51:20","slug":"amy-grant-launches-songs-of-u-s-a-new-series-marking-americas-250th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/?p=66323","title":{"rendered":"Amy Grant Launches ‘Songs of U.S.,’ A New Series Marking America’s 250th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Grant’s Session Kicks Off the New Music and Conversation Series From Salt Lick Sessions, Featuring Grace Potter, Mickey Guyton, Samara Joy, Old Crow Medicine Show, Brittney Spencer, Corook, Joy Oladokun, Tiny Habits and More<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amy Grant\u00a0<\/strong>launches\u00a0Salt Lick Sessions<\/strong>‘ new\u00a0Songs of U.S.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>series today with a reimagined performance of James Taylor’s beloved classic \u201cCarolina in My Mind\u201d and a wide-ranging conversation about music, memory and the evolving story of America.

Grant is the first artist featured in\u00a0Songs of U.S.<\/em>, a new performance and conversation series that brings together musicians from across genres to reinterpret songs that have shaped the country’s cultural identity while exploring what belongs in the American songbook today.

Today, Salt Lick Sessions premieres Grant’s performance of \u201cCarolina in My Mind\u201d alongside an interview in which she reflects on the power of music to carry history, foster connection and reveal the complexities of the American experience. Tomorrow (June 9), the series will debut Grant’s performance of her original song \u201cThe 6th of January (Yasgur’s Farm)\u201d from her recent album\u00a0The Me That Remains<\/em>\u2014 a song that examines pivotal moments in American history and was previously hailed by Variety as one of 2026’s standout protest songs.

Watch Amy Grant’s “Carolina in My Mind” performance\u00a0HERE<\/a>.

Watch Amy Grant’s\u00a0Songs of U.S.<\/em>\u00a0interview\u00a0HERE<\/a>.

“American music has always told the truth about who we are \u2014 the beauty, the heartbreak, the hope, the contradictions,”<\/em>\u00a0says Grant.\u00a0“I loved being part of a project that makes room for all of that. These songs carry history, but they also keep evolving as each new voice brings their own experience and humanity to them.”<\/em>

Upcoming sessions featuring\u00a0Grace Potter, Old Crow Medicine Show, Mickey Guyton, Samara Joy, Tiny Habits, Brittney Spencer, Trousdale, Joy Oladokun, Corook, Raye Zaragoza<\/strong>\u00a0and more will roll out throughout the summer via Salt Lick Sessions’ YouTube channel and social platforms. A session with\u00a0Chance Emerson\u00a0<\/strong>will begin rolling out this week on June 10.\u00a0

Across the series, artists reinterpret works by writers including\u00a0Woody Guthrie, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Beyonc\u00e9, Bill Withers, Roberta Flack\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0John Denver<\/strong>. Featured performances include Grace Potter’s take on “This Land Is Your Land,” Corook’s rendition of “Mississippi Goddam,” Mickey Guyton revisiting “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” Tiny Habits reimagining “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Joy Oladokun performing “Ain’t No Sunshine,” and Brittney Spencer interpreting “Killing Me Softly With His Song.”

In announcing the series,\u00a0Variety\u00a0<\/strong>noted that\u00a0Songs of U.S.<\/em>\u00a0arrives amid renewed conversations about patriotism and American identity, describing the project as offering\u00a0“a more thoughtful and perhaps meaningfully patriotic approach”\u00a0<\/em>to celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary. You can read more about the series in Variety\u2019s exclusive\u00a0HERE<\/a>.<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Photo Credit: Bella Sgarlata<\/em>

About Salt Lick Sessions<\/strong>Salt Lick Incubator\u2019s signature series, Salt Lick Sessions, is known for its artist-first approach to compensation, rights, and creative collaboration. The series takes viewers on a nationwide discovery tour, featuring more than 50 emerging musicians each year through intimate video portraits that invite viewers directly into the artist\u2019s realm. Past performers include Jon Batiste, Big Freedia, Sheryl Crow, Lalah Hathaway, Mickey Guyton, Madison Cunningham, Tank and the Bangas, Dawes, and many more.

About Salt Lick Incubator<\/strong>Salt Lick Incubator is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting innovative musicians at critical stages of their careers. Founded by Roger Brown, former president of Berklee College of Music and Liza Levy, the organization provides grants, mentorship, creative development and media platforms for artists building sustainable careers. Its signature series, Salt Lick Sessions, is known for its artist-first approach.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grant’s Session Kicks Off the New Music and Conversation Series From Salt Lick Sessions, Featuring Grace Potter, Mickey Guyton, Samara Joy, Old Crow Medicine Show, Brittney Spencer, Corook, Joy Oladokun, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,41,39,20,42],"tags":[2289,2288,409,298,2290,2291,2292],"class_list":["post-66323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-features","category-music-news","category-reviews","category-this-just-in","tag-americas-250th-anniversary","tag-amy-grant","tag-concert","tag-live","tag-new-series","tag-salt-lick-sessions","tag-songs-of-u-s"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=66323"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":66325,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66323\/revisions\/66325"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/66324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=66323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=66323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=66323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}