Crys Matthews has been releasing albums and performing for years but her recent album, Changemakers, is a clear quantum leap in her songwriting craft. It could be that this uber-political songwriter just has more to work with in these last few years! This batch of songs takes on immigration issues, gun violence, racism, police brutality and the opioid crisis. While it is indeed unfortunate that these issues still haunt our nation, we can rely on musicians to give us perspectives to make us think. In Crys’ case, most of these songs leave us with something that we crave; hope! We can easily list societal ills without end but the process leaves us depressed or hopeless. This batch of songs portrays the circumstances as dire while offering optimism that we can work together to act in positive ways.

Our segment begins with two new songs, “Exactly Where You Are” and the title cut, “Changemakers” followed by a great intelligent conversation about her NC roots, her songwriting and of course, the issues that inspired these songs. We finish the segment with a powerful song “Call Them In” dedicated to civil rights icon John Lewis who died last July.

One of my favorite interviews with honest but powerful insights into these social issues and the songs that deal with them. Highly recommended.