Music and the Power to Change

EDITOR'S NOTE: This passionate essay originally appeared in the Winter 2020 "All Together Now" issue of No Depression. We're sharing it now in tribute to Raul Malo, frontman of the legendary country, Latin, and rock band The Mavericks, who passed away due to cancer on Monday, December 8, 2025 at just 60 years old. The entire No Depression team sends their condolences to the Malo and Mavericks families.

Throughout history, art, literature, music, and poetry have been some of the most profound instruments of change. The pen has always been mightier than the sword. If you have something to write, write it. If you have something to say, say it. If you have something to sing, sing it.

One could say that 2020 has been a year of reckoning. A year of reckoning for our country, for ourselves, for our families, and for seemingly every relationship we have ever had. I write this not knowing the outcome of our election. No matter. Change is already happening everywhere whether we like it or not. NASCAR has banned the Confederate flag from being displayed at its races. Mississippi has changed its state flag. Confederate monuments are being removed peacefully by local municipalities throughout the South. Even major league sports are visibly and publicly advocating for racial equality and justice for all. I commend them all for their courage.

Undoubtedly not everyone is on board with change. Sometimes change is difficult to accept or understand, no matter how small or incremental it may be. Music can help us with this. After all, music is one of those things that can inspire and challenge us all at once. At times it can help us see things in a different light, or perhaps even offer some perspective, while ultimately forcing us to examine ourselves and our way of life. The world was forever changed when “rock and roll” offered its ultimatum while bursting onto the stage screaming, “Great balls of fire!” Just as it had done previously when our Dukes, Counts, Satchmos and Earls ruled the land by swinging us into the wee hours from Harlem to New Orleans. Of course the world changed. It had to.

As artists, whenever you take a stand (for anything), the “shut up and sing” brigade will make their presence known. I tell young artists not to worry about them. They can’t hurt you. They eventually go away and find someone else to be angry at. What that crowd often fails to see is that before we are artists, we are husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, daughters, and sons. More often than not, we share similar concerns with our audience. How can we not?

The difference is we document the world we live in through our music. Bruce Springsteen never worked in a factory a day in his life, but he knew plenty who did. And in turn, the world got a look at a slice of life that they could somehow relate to. Johnny Cash never served a prison sentence, yet his songs have shed light on many of the triumphs, failures ,and injustices of our own judicial system. 

Our audiences may not always agree with our point of view. That is a given. Nonetheless, music is the language that helps us talk to each other, instead of at each other. That is our power! That’s why if you have something to say, say it. If you have something to write, write it. If you have something to sing, sing it … all together now!