Salt Lick Announces Songs of U.S. Panel at AMERICANAFEST 2026 Featuring Swamp Dogg, Raye Zaragoza & Farayi, To Be Moderated by Salt Lick’s Roger Brown & Nicole Izzo Mlynczak

New Performance & Interview From Panelist Farayi Out Today, Followed by Brandy Clark on August 26

August 24, 2026 — Salt Lick has announced their AMERICANAFEST 2026 Songs of U.S. panel set for September 16 in Nashville, featuring series participants Swamp Dogg, Raye Zaragoza, and Farayi. The session will tackle the responsibility that comes with reach: How do you use visibility internationally to navigate a divided cultural moment, and make a lyric into a movement?

The panel, starting at 2 PM at Embassy Suites (Meadow A&B), will be moderated by Salt Lick Incubator’s founder Roger Brown and Salt Lick Incubator’s Director of Programming and Media, Nicole Izzo Mlynczak. Reflecting on how America’s musical identity continues to be written in real time, panelists will share what they’ve learned about leading with values, uniting diverse audiences, choosing their moments and why the work starts with the song and extends far beyond any one performance.

Today for Salt Lick Sessions' Songs of U.S. series, Farayi reflects on the limited accessibility of the American Dream with her stunning cover of Randy Newman’s “Sail Away.” In her accompanying interview, also out today, she notes how she feels a responsibility and purpose as an American songwriter to speak to people’s hearts and inspire change, especially when so many women’s and Black folks’ voices were left out of the American songbook.

Farayi is a Grammy-nominated American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and educator whose music is fundamentally rooted in the blues. She is the Managing Director of Berklee College’s American Roots Music Program and recently released her new single “Prayer for the People” featuring The Steeldrivers as a Down The Road Records recording artist, which asks that people find relief from the challenges – despair, anger, loneliness, and fright – facing the world today.

Farayi selected Randy Newman’s 1972 “Sail Away” as belonging to the American songbook due to its criticism of injustice through satire. The ironic song is from the perspective of a slave trader trying to convince African people to board a ship to America, deceptively claiming that they’ll “sing about Jesus and drink wine all day” and live out the American Dream. Farayi underscores in her interview how transgressive Newman’s songwriting is and that the song serves as “a good reminder that we have a dark history, and we’re still working towards having the American Dream be available to everybody.”

Watch Farayi’s cover of Randy Newman’s “Sail Away” HERE.

Watch Farayi’s Songs of U.S. interview HERE.

Songs of U.S. is a performance and conversation series that brings together musicians from across genres to reinterpret songs that have shaped the country's cultural identity while exploring what belongs in the American songbook today. Watch Salt Lick Incubator’s founder Roger Brown discuss the series on Boston Public Radio, and watch Salt Lick Incubator’s president Liza Levydiscuss the series and America’s musical legacy in her interview on MS Now’s Morning Joe.

Forthcoming Songs of U.S. sessions featuring Brandy Clark, Nia Ashleigh, and more will roll out throughout the summer via Salt Lick Sessions' YouTube channel and social platforms. Most recently, sessions with Joy Oladokun (watch her “The Thrill Is Gone” cover HERE) and MARIS (watch her “Fly Me To The Moon” cover HERE) went live, and Brandy Clark’s sessions will begin rolling out this week on Wednesday, August 26.

Across the series, artists reinterpret works by writers including Woody Guthrie, Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Beyoncé, Bill Withers, Roberta Flack and John Denver. Featured performances include Amy Grant's take on "Carolina in My Mind," Mickey Guyton revisiting "Take Me Home, Country Roads," Tiny Habitsreimagining "Blowin' in the Wind," Joy Oladokun performing "Ain't No Sunshine," Brittney Spencer interpreting "Killing Me Softly With His Song," Samara Joy performing Duke Ellington’s “Le Sucrier-Velours, Paula Prietorenditioning “God Bless The Child,” Trousdale covering “Amazing Grace,”; Durand Bernarr reworking “Summertime,” Old Crow Medicine Show andMaggie Rose’s duet of “Beautiful Land”; and Swamp Dogg performing “Sam Stone.”

Variety noted that Songs of U.S. arrives amid renewed conversations about patriotism and American identity, describing the project as offering "a more thoughtful and perhaps meaningfully patriotic approach" to celebrating the nation's 250th anniversary. You can read more about the series in Variety HERE.

About Salt Lick Sessions

Salt Lick Incubator’s signature series, Salt Lick Sessions, is known for its artist-first approach to compensation, rights, and creative collaboration. The series takes viewers on a nationwide discovery tour, featuring more than 50 musicians each year through intimate video portraits that invite viewers directly into the artist’s realm. Past performers include Jon Batiste, Big Freedia, Sheryl Crow, Lalah Hathaway, Mickey Guyton, Madison Cunningham, Tank and the Bangas, Dawes, and many more.

About Salt Lick Incubator

Salt Lick Incubator is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting innovative musicians at critical stages of their careers. Founded by Roger Brown, former president of Berklee College of Music and Liza Levy, the organization provides grants, mentorship, creative development and media platforms for artists building sustainable careers. Its signature series, Salt Lick Sessions, is known for its artist-first approach.

For more information, please contact SaltLickPR@ShoreFire.com.