No Repression

Writings on Roots Music in the Post-Journalism Age

No Repression: Writings on Roots Music in the Post-Journalism Age is a collection of Gillian Turnbull’s columns published on the website No Depression. Written between 2010-2015, these pieces captured Turnbull’s thoughts on music at a time when the industry was changing rapidly. Turnbull’s perspective as a reviewer, academic, and professor offered alternative ways of thinking about the genres that fell under the broad category of roots music. Like many other contributors on the site, Turnbull wrote in the hopes of generating spirited discussion about what music means to us in an age when the critical side of music criticism has largely disappeared, and when artists and journalists can no longer rely on the support of their vanishing industries.

“Gillian Turnbull is a superb writer who unearths great insight into whatever she is exploring because she does the research – she does the work!  I hold her work at the highest level and know that she puts those same expectations on herself.  I am proud to call Gillian both a colleague and friend.”
-Allison Brock
Radio Host and Artistic Director of Wide Cut Weekend Roots Music Festival

“Gillian Turnbull's informed line of artist questioning enables readers to live within the lyrics and read between the lines.”
-Sean McCann
Singer-songwriter

“Gillian Turnbull is a writer of immense clarity who understands the deep heart of the music we’ve become to know as ‘Americana.’ Her field of expertise — and joyful passion — covers country and blues and just about every other offshoot of these two distinctly American forms of music. A collection of her work for the No Depression website (and former magazine) is long overdue.”
-Richard Flohil
Publicist, Promoter, and Author