Hi. My name is Aspen Black. I'm on a mission to preserve people's personal LEGACY STORIES!
Seen me live and ready to share your story?
Through my concert program, “Generations: Songs and Stories of Rural Legacy”, I present original songs and stories inspired from my own memories, family traditions, and experiences, as well a songs I've written based on life memories people have told me as I've traveled all over the country as a singer/songwriter. This is a new project launched in 2026, with the goal of preserving individual stories of life and legacy, elevating the focus from casual stories that people share with me after my concerts to actively collecting as many stories from people as I can, in communities all over the country, then sharing them as I go community to community through written words and new songs I write inspired by some of the stories that people have shared with me.
Current Project Stage:
gathering stories
The first part of my mission is going community to community, sharing songs and stories in my "Generations" program to spark memories and inspire others to share their stories. I have papers available before and after the program for people to take and write their story, with instructions on how to return those to me for inclusion in the project. When time and preparation allows, I choose a few folks to read their legacy memory during the program!
Once I have enough stories to display in small books, I will bring those books with me, community to community, letting people read other people's stories and giving partcipants the opportuntity to send me their own to be added to the collection.
Who Am I?
about: Aspen Black
I am a singer/songwriter who has been performing for over 30 years. In the mid-90's I had two songs on mainstream country radio. I branched into western Americana and won several awards for my cultural songs including the 2015 Rural Roots Music Commission Traditional Country Album of the Year, 2017 National Traditional Country Music Association Original Album of the Year, 2024 Western Writers of America Spur Finalist Award for Best Western Song of the Year, and the 2025 International Western Music Association's Working Cowboy Song of the Year for a song inspired by the grit a legendary female "cowboy" I met. Two of my original songs were #1 on the IWMA radio charts in 2023 and 2025, and my 2025 song, As Cowboy As They Come went to #1 on the Indie-Country Radio chart, #7 on the Cashbox Magazine Indie Country Chart (April 2026), and played on mainstream country radio (KLAW) in 2025.
Despite some awesome opportunities, interviews, and charting in the current country radio markets, I am not a modern country performer! I consider myself a cultural singer/songwriter with themes inspired by rural life all over America, and with musical stylings rooted in folk, country, Americana, and old-time mountain music. I have played in large, beautiful concert halls, like the Historic Homestake Opera House in Lead, SD, to small community rooms at local senior centers, talking with people, sharing my stories, and hearing theirs.