6 Voices Shaping the Modern South
Photos by Mary Fehr, Ryan Belk, East Fork, Rey Granger, Maude Schuyler Clay
In the South, we don’t just tell stories—we sing, we shout, we scribble. Our way of shaping the identity of this place we call home is through our craft, stitched together through roots and histories, and then forged with grit and gumption.
This season we’ve wandered back roads, highways, and main streets to catch up with a few modern-day makers who are telling the the South like it really is—layered, lyrical, and alive. Through tattoo, textile, lyric, and line, these artists remind us that storytelling in the South isn’t just a pastime—it’s a calling.
Sit down. Listen up. The South has something to say.
Roscoe Hall, Folk Painter and Really Good Cook / Birmingham, AL
What part of your story do you think only the South could have written?
I was born in Chicago, but the South is where my story found its roots. It’s wild down here—towns named after chiefs, highways cutting through sacred land, soil that holds so much memory you can almost hear it. The South carries the weight of history—especially for Native and Black folks—but it also knows how to flip that into flavor, into family, into art. The food, the colors, the heat—it all gets into your bones. I didn’t just inherit this place, I chose it. And somehow, despite everything it’s been through, it still teaches me how to grow.
Cortney Bishop, Designer / Charleston, SC
How do you define ‘good grit’ in your life or work?
To me, “good grit” is about staying tender while standing strong. It’s not about pushing through at all costs — it’s about finding beauty in the hard work, listening to your gut, and holding your ground with heart. I see it in the way we restore old buildings, honor legacy, and elevate every detail with intention.
Through tattoo, textile, lyric, and line, these artists remind us that storytelling in the South isn’t just a pastime—it’s a calling.
Alex Matisse, Potter & Founder of East Fork Pottery / Asheville, NC
Is there a Southern landmark, porch, or back road that tells part of your story?
East Fork was founded on an old tobacco farm in rural Madison County. On the property were our workshops and kiln shed, an old, nearly falling-down barn, and a small ramshackle farmhouse. Next to the farmhouse were two very old apple trees, and under one was a picnic table where we used to all sit around and eat our lunch in the spring and summer. I’ve always regretted leaving that property behind with all the care and love and work we put into it, but the decision was to grow East Fork, and that meant leaving. This year on my birthday, my co-founder John pulled a planter out of the back of his truck with a small twig sticking out from it—a grafted cutting from one of those old trees, which next spring I will plant on our property here in Flat Rock.
Miya Bailey, Artist / Atlanta, GA
What part of your story do you think only the South could have written?
I think the prejudices and racism I’ve faced living in the South would only happen to me here. But the love and wisdom given to me in the South have truly been priceless. I feel connected to my roots living here. No place on earth makes me feel like home the way the South does. I know what I’m dealing with—-it’s no surprise.
John T. Edge, Writer + Teacher + TV Host / Oxford, MS
What’s your definition of the South?
A place shaped by geographies and stories, a fount of creativity past and present.
The Lone Bellow, Indie/Folk Trio / Nashville, TN
What’s one Southern truth you carry with you in everything you do?
That joy and grief aren’t opposites—they often live side by side. Growing up in the South, you see people hold hard things with humor and keep showing up. That kind of emotional honesty finds its way into our music a lot.
