Roger Street Friedman Shares 'Banks of the Brazos' Video

12-11-2024

(MPG) Americana singer-songwriter Roger Street Friedman shares "Banks of the Brazos," the third single from his upcoming album Long Shadows, out January 24. The song is a powerful exploration into the untold story of the "Sugarland 95," a group of Black convict laborers forced into brutal work in Texas sugarcane fields along the Brazos River during the post-Reconstruction era. Magnet Magazine praised the "sobering, real-life tale," calling it a "standout track" from the album.

"This song is sung in the voice of a convict laborer, one of the 'Sugarland 95,' sentenced to work in Texas sugarcane fields under unjust laws controlling freed people," Friedman says about the track. "The hidden history beneath the Brazos River's fertile plain, now a Houston suburb, felt like fertile ground to explore this unjust system and the brutal treatment that these men endured."

The discovery of the Sugarland 95 unearthed a tragic chapter of history, inspiring Friedman to channel their story into "Banks of the Brazos." The song aligns with a viral TikTok he shared last year, which has amassed nearly one million views and resonated with audiences for its thoughtful exploration of hidden histories.