Basic Folk Podcast: Joe Troop of Che Apalache
Interviewed by Cindy Howes for Basic Folk Podcast
09.19.2019
Joe Troop, frontman for the Buenos Aires “Latin-Grass” group Che Apalache, has loved bluegrass since he was 15. He kind of discovered that fact almost at the same time he discovered his attraction to men. As a North Carolina native, Troop is a proud out gay man in a world that doesn’t always accept him: the rural south. Through his travels throughout Spain, Japan and Argentina, he’s become and advocate for gay and for immigrant rights. Joe talks about all this and more: how he can expertly subvert a hot topic in his songs and in his life to a crowd that might not be openly ready to talk about it.
Joe Troop has a very interesting mind! It’s wonderful to hear about his experiences living abroad, being out in the bluegrass world, working with Béla Fleck and his relationship to both liberals and conservatives.
