LYDIA WARREN

Research Fellow, she/they

Lydia Warren is a PhD candidate at the University of Virginia in Critical and Comparative Music Studies. She also holds an M.A. in Music from the University of Virginia and a Certificate in Ethnomusicology from the Five College Consortium. Warren uses archival and ethnographic research to show the lived experience of performing and working on Beale Street, a blues music tourist destination and the most visited tourist attraction in Tennessee. As both a professional musician and a scholar, she is passionate about advocacy and equity in tourism and music. In 2019, Warren worked with the Downtown Memphis Commission and Beale Street Management to secure discounted parking for Beale Street musicians, and she is working on a born-digital archive that showcases and preserves the stories of Beale Street musicians in their own words.

Expertise: Racism & Inequality, Sustainability & Equity

Contact: lkw2eq@virginia.edu