Interview by Ian Saint
Few names are as synonymous with Dallas music history as Erykah Badu. Before Badu became a household name, she worked at a bookstore called Black to the Basics while attending Grambling State University in Louisiana — where powerhouse vocalist, and fellow Grambling student, Miko Marks struck conversation with her.
Speaking with me for NPR Ohio affiliate WOUB Public Media last year, Miko shared the story of how she was singing with a group in the musical theater stairwell, then Erykah suddenly appeared to harmonize and “she sounded so wonderful.” This impromptu epiphany culminated in Miko and Erykah launching an acapella singing group, called Harmony.
Just this month, Erykah hailed Miko as “now the biggest Black country-western singer,” while fondly recalling Harmony in conversation with K104-FM’s Bay Bay. Badu’s enthusiasm for Miko’s country foray isn’t new, however; Erykah even played the title character in Miko’s “Mama” music video, way back in 2006, and Miko told me that Erykah “got a trailer and bought, like, 30 outfits…. she showed up for me in a big, supportive way, and I’ll never forget that.”
On New Year’s Eve 2023, Miko will play Erykah Badu’s hometown for the first time, opening for Little Feat — the funky classic rock band, boasting a massive “Dallas roots by proxy” relationship of their own: the Dixie Chicks, whose name was inspired by Dixie Chicken, the title track of their 1973 album. Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page famously named Little Feat as his “favorite American group” in a 1975 Rolling Stone interview.
Miko Marks and Little Feat are playing New Year’s Eve at the Longhorn Ballroom — often hailed as Texas’ Most Historic Music Venue. Opened in 1950, the Longhorn Ballroom’s roster of performing artists is incredible in range — from country (Patsy Cline, Charley Pride) to blues (B.B. King, Bo Diddley) to rock ‘n’ roll (Little Richard, Fats Domino) to jazz (Count Basie, Nat King Cole) to R&B (James Brown, Ruth Brown) to soul (Ray Charles, Al Green)… and the stories of who’s operated the venue – which includes Jack Ruby, who shot President Kennedy’s killer at a news conference — are just as captivating.
Buddy magazine sat down with Miko in her dressing room, backstage at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, on Friday the 13 th in October. This was a year after Miko made her Opry debut upon her 50 th birthday — a long-awaited milestone that garnered effusive praise from fellow performers Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks, and the Oak Ridge Boys. Her Opry return was commemorated with a performance of “Jubilee,” off her Feel Like Going Home album (released on her Opry debut day), with the legendary Fisk Jubilee Singers from Fisk University – honoring the significance of historically Black universities, which brought Miko and Erykah Badu together in Harmony.
New Year’s Eve, 2023. Photo by Karen Santos
Watch Ian Saint’s backstage interview with Miko Marks below, and find a transcript of the conversation edited for length and clarity beneath the video. Filming credit: Isaiah Cunningham.
IAN SAINT: Have you had history in Dallas? We’ve talked a lot about your good friend, Erykah Badu, and that’s her hometown.
MIKO MARKS: That’s my only history there, is Erykah being my friend. She’s the only person I know from Dallas; but Dallas is rich, from what I can tell from her.
IAN SAINT: We’re sitting in your Grand Ole Opry dressing room, a year after you made your marvelous, long-awaited Opry debut to a full house — which gave you two standing ovations. Our camera man, Isaiah Cunningham, saw that; your Opry debut was Isaiah’s first time at the Grand Ole Opry, and it was the night before he made his debut with the Black Opry — at the same age you were, when you released your debut album. As a fellow Black country artist, witnessing your Opry debut was profound for Isaiah; and he was just one of thousands who watched you, so imagine how many others you impacted in their own quests. How does processing that make you feel?
MIKO MARKS: For me, it’s really come full circle. Because when I got in that Circle [where Opry performers stand in the center], I realized I was not just “me” anymore — I was a piece of the whole experience for the audience, the history, the legacy, the spirits that moved in that Circle… and so I became rooted and grounded in my delivery of what I wanted to say and do. So for Isaiah, or anybody else, I would tell them to just envelop everything around you — like, get out of self for a second — and really bring in the spirit, and the movement, and the sincerity of the people who come here for… because they come here for a reason — because of this legacy, this history, and for all the people that have gone on and left their mark in this space. So I became, kind of, not “me”; I became the roots of the ancestors, I became the roots of what music has transpired in this place, and brought that forward in a way that really was kind of like an out-of-body experience… I was just the vessel to bring it.
A lot of times when I do musical things, I’m transported — it’s not only me, but it’s all those that have gone before me, and the people in the audience that bring this unseen energy to the space. That’s what I’m looking forward to tapping into, because it’s not about me — I just got a gift, but I’m only the vessel. I don’t own this; I’m supposed to share it, give it to the people — and then when you do that, you get something back, and it’s just this… it’s something you really can’t put into words; it’s a spiritual experience.
IAN SAINT: At your Opry debut, you got to meet Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks. I’ll never forget how stunned I was to find Trisha sound-checking “She’s In Love With the Boy,” right before your soundcheck; Garth was an unannounced performer, and had recently completed his stadium residency in Ireland. Trisha then raved about you on Twitter, and shared the link to your new album. What was meeting them like?
MIKO MARKS: I wanted to meet Trisha so bad, and I didn’t know if it was going to happen or not. Then she was walking down the hall in her pink costume — because this Opry program emphasized breast cancer awareness — walking down to me. She came up and said, “Girl, if you couldn’t sing, I wouldn’t be over here right now; but I had to come see who you were!” And then she gave me a huge hug, and embraced me for a long time. She was like, “you were awesome!”
And then Garth asked me, “How was your Opry debut?” I said, “Oh, Garth, I cried like a baby!” And he said that he cried at his Opry debut, too. They were both such amazing people, and so supportive — just loving, kind, and genuine, so it was a real blessing.
IAN SAINT: I saw you open for Little Feat in Lorain, Ohio, near Cleveland. That was super interesting to process, because I had previously always seen you in Nashville, and this was in a very different culture. You’ve performed all over this country — and a bit outside of this country — since we spoke last year, and for audiences in different genres. What have you observed along the way?
MIKO MARKS: Yeah, I get different crowds all the time! But what I know about what I’m doing now, is it’s not just country music… it’s blues, it’s gospel, it’s jazz, there’s a little hint of R&B in there, even classical is in there. I’m doing roots music. The music that I’m doing is mostly Americana; like, it’s this underbelly of things that don’t quite fit into one space — it’s too big to fit in one space.
I started out doing traditional country music, when I started in 2005 [with debut album Freeway Bound]; but as I’ve grown older, I’ve brought in different elements of my upbringing, my life, my experiences [impact] my singing technique. I try to make a big old gumbo of music, and I think that it just can’t be defined by a genre. I feel most comfortable in a space where it’s roots music, and anybody can be a part of roots music; it doesn’t matter who you are, or what your sound is — if you’re bringing all these different elements, hey, that’s roots music. “Roots Music,” that’s what I feel like I am.
IAN SAINT: When you talk about the gumbo of genres in your upbringing, I’m thinking of how that also applies to the Longhorn Ballroom — which is infamously one of the only places that the Sex Pistols ever played in the USA, but of course it’s also had Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson, and also Al Green and James Brown… you gave me goosebumps in talking about enveloping yourself in the spirits of your predecessors — because I’m thinking about if those Longhorn rafters could talk, and what they would say as you become the latest contribution to that vibrant history.
MIKO MARKS: Yes, absolutely. I’m feeling like I’m coming into myself; I’m realizing that, for me, genre doesn’t really matter — I just want to put out the best quality, soul-stirring music that I can put out. Wherever you want to put that, put it there; but for me, it’s about the real interpersonal spiritual giving of my soul.
IAN SAINT: You began touring with Little Feat before your Grand Ole Opry debut in 2022; and now you’re on their “Rollin’ Into 2024” Tour.
MIKO MARKS: Yes, I’m keeping up with Little Feat! I love Little Feat; I’m looking forward to it. I get to sing with them on certain songs — I won’t tell you what songs, because if you haven’t seen the show, then I don’t want to spoil it for you… but I get to come out and sing with them, and that is an honor; it’s a gift, because this is a legendary band, that has been around for over 50 years. They have three members from their classic line-up, and it’s just so awesome to be a part of that, and to feel those roots — because that’s roots music, too.
IAN SAINT: The Longhorn Ballroom had their own Americanafest panel this year. They’re hailed as the most historic music venue in Texas, and that’s where you’ll conclude this amazing year you’ve had.
MIKO MARKS: Wow! I’m looking forward to it. When you told me about the Longhorn’s legacy, you made you go research it; and I was like, “oh, this is awesome!” So thank you for that.
Tickets to Miko Marks and Little Feat’s New Year’s Eve show at the Longhorn Ballroom are being sold on Prekindle: https://www.prekindle.com/promo/id/532452769368399712. For a full list of Miko Marks’ tour dates and her music discography, visit Miko’s official site: https://www.mikomarks.com.
