On Sept. 17, locals, poets and music lovers alike flooded Duke University’s Page Auditorium to celebrate 10 years of shirlette ammons’ album, “Language Barrier.” Along with nine other North Carolina-native performers, a four-piece band and a live loop station, ammons brought the emotional, captivating, multi-genre album to life once again in its place of origin, Durham, N.C. 

Poet, musician and self-titled “Black queer Southern truthteller” shirlette ammons was raised in Mount Olive, N.C., alongside her twin sister, Shorlette. She spent mornings learning the Southern gospel and afternoons and weekends working in the pickle factory and tobacco fields in Botanic, N.C. In her free time, she reveled in the songs of North Carolinian artists like John Coltrane, George Clinton and Nina Simone, as well as the choir from the church she grew up in – the same voices and genres she now credits as her inspirations. She later moved to the Triangle to attend NC State University and has since sewn her artistic and personal roots in Durham. 

Each piece of her life, every adventure and wound has made up the intricate, incredible puzzle that she is today – a smorgasbord of musical genres, political influences and intrinsic beliefs that led her to write this album. 

ammons even decided to publish her name in all lowercase letters, as a nod to the Black Arts Movement and the artists that emboldened her, such as sonia sanchez, who kept their names lowercase as an act of resistance and the decolonization of language. 

“There’s concentric circles to all this, you know? When I make Black stories, I make rural stories, I make North Carolina stories. It’s all true to the fact that I’m from here. I’m born here and bred here,” ammons said.

 

ammons released her second album, “Language Barrier,” in 2016. She had been touring internationally when she began to reflect upon the multifaceted power of music as means of human connection, especially one founded in the Black experience. She had been building relationships and audiences all over the world, shedding a light on the sheer variety of musical styles and lifestyles available to us, when it dawned on her. 

“It just made me realize, in a very loud way, how useless borders are – how useless these boundaries are that we impose on ourselves and on music, particularly,” ammons said. 

Thus, “Language Barrier” was born – ten songs, in a mix of jazz, rock, blues, hip hop and spoken word, exploring what it means to be Black, queer, Southern and, most of all, human. 

“The record became less about choosing one musical vocabulary and more about allowing different vocabularies to speak to, and sometimes interrupt, one another,” ammons shared. 

Each song was a collaboration, with the instrumental stems composed by Daniel Hart, lyrics written by ammons, and featuring artists like The Indigo Girls, Phil Cook, Median, sookee – who rapped a verse in German language – along with many others. In the titular song, she says, “let me take your barriers down.” 

The album is “a masterful exploration of how we are still trying and struggling to communicate with each other,” ammons said. It is social and musical intersectionality set to music and more relevant today than ever. 

 

 

At 7:30 p.m., the full, stirring audience hushed to silence as the Page Auditorium stage went black. The musicians were in gear, a pulse began on the drums and, as ammons greeted the stage, the house began to roar with cheers and applause. Light bled onto the stage, illuminating ammons smiling and waving calmly in a white “Don’t Mess with Mama” t-shirt, her signature wide frame, black-rimmed glasses, and black pants. 

 

“Earth Intro Segue” 

ammons kicked off the night with the first song on the album, “Earth Intro Segue.” The audience clapped to the infectious beat as ammons rapped, “The matter is with the fact that we ain’t asking for much // The matter is with the fact that they’ve been takin’ too much from us.”

One of the many distinctive qualities of the album is that there is a “segue” number preceding four of the songs, in which an emcee speaks over the original stems introducing the language, theme or story at hand.  

From then on, not a patron in the audience was still. ammons waved at a baby held up, smiling in the audience with protective headphones on – a testament to the lives this music has, and will continue, to touch. 

 

“Earth Intro”

The music seamlessly transitioned into “Earth Intro” as the first guest, a close friend of ammons’ and Durham-based artist, Rissi Palmer, arrived on stage. Palmer is a Grammy-nominated country, soul and Americana singer-songwriter, an avid activist and the founder of the Color Me Country Foundation and radio show. ammons was one of the first people Palmer met when she moved to Durham. 

“I know this album means a lot to her, so it meant a lot to me to be a part of celebrating it,” Palmer said. “And this was really a celebration of Durham, too. I am the artist that I am now, I do the work that I do because I moved here. I’m very fortunate to be a part of this community.” 

The two sang in satisfying harmony about the unavoidably difficult yet ever-informative nature of life, a deeply relatable, angsty tune to listeners everywhere. 

The rest of the night continued in this fashion. Each song was about three minutes long, featuring a new artist with deep connection to Durham who would hug and sing with ammons, then wave goodbye to welcome the next performer. 

“This was how the record was made,” ammons said onstage. “This is just a big ass family reunion!”

ammons’ wife, Laura Ritchie, is opening Boarding House Arts in downtown Durham on Oct. 3. The performers had their pre-show dinner in the gallery space.  

“Everybody sat down, we put some music on and ate jerk chicken from Seasoned by Sydnie and it was amazing. It was just Southern Black culture, you gotta break bread to really solidify a thing. You gotta sit down and eat together,” ammons said. 

 

“Dear Nora”

Jazz and gospel singer Lizz Wright graced the stage next, entering in a long black dress to sing a jaunty, more indie, melodic song about seeking safety and hope for the future. The audience sat captivated by her smooth, creamy voice and peaceful confidence, while ammons herself did the same. 

“Sometimes I write songs knowing I can’t sing them and have voices in mind who can,” ammons said. 

Wright was the perfect fit. 

 

“Language Barrier Segue”

Durham-born and -raised slam poet and hip hop Japanese artist, G Yamazawa, swaggered onstage to introduce the titular song. In a backward hat and monochrome black outfit, Yamazawa brought great energy into the space. The audience joined in with their hands up, chanting “peace and love,” alongside ammons. 

Yamazawa sang fittingly, “I hope that love turns a barrier into a segue.” 

“You know, the creative writing teacher in high school, the friend that you just rap with and watch smack DVDs with on the weekend is a part of what makes you who you are,” he said. “Thanks to this event, I’ve been able to be reminded of how wonderful this community of artists is, of how powerful these artists are.” 

H.C. McEntire later came on to sing “Language Barrier,” followed by “Aviator Segue” sung by local rapper Median and “Aviator” with singer Cyanca. Mykki Blanco covered “On the Road Segue,” Sunny Miles sang “On the Road,” and Phil Cook concluded the album with a tear-jerking rendition of “Travel Light.” The headphoned baby who had been smiling in the audience began to cry as the song concluded -– a perfectly timed mirror to the emotions of the entire theatre. 

 

In just one hour, the pendulum swung dramatically between genres and emotions, with lyrics encapsulating many universal experiences today: what it’s like to grow up in marginalized communities -– Black, Southern, queer -– how it feels to hope for a better future and want more from the world around you, continuing to work to connect with one another, and tear down barriers we run into on our way. 

True to ammons’ upbringing, the performance felt like a church service and a protest all at once. In many ways, it was a reflection of the diversity and culture of Durham itself. 

This performance kicked off the 2026-2027 Duke Arts season. While the initial vision was to bring back the original artists featured on the album, ammons said that she is not the same as she was 10 years ago and neither is this music. Instead, new life was breathed into the album that night by a handful of new artists, all with North Carolinian roots, a connection to the lyrics and to ammons herself that was palpable from back of the house. 

The concert was also the inaugural event of the new Duke and Durham initiative, We the People, aimed to examine our evolving identity as a city and nation as we celebrate 250 years. Through a series of events in arts and humanities, we are challenged to question the people we have been and aspire to be. 

The evening concluded with the second standing ovation of the night, as ammons welcomed out her fellow performers for one last bow. 

“I don’t have a lot to say,” ammons said. “And I usually have a lot to say. I’m really overwhelmed.”

The audience trickled out in extensive, excited conversation, hands and voices sore, with a list of new artists to follow and a renewed sense of hope and pride for this city we share. 

 

Edited by: McKenzie Acton and Brantley Aycock