Just Elsie is Just Getting Started!

Written by Alberlynne “Abby” Woods

There is something happening throughout the south.

You can hear it in the sanctuaries where children first learn harmony. You can hear it on back roads and front porches. You can hear it at festivals, farmers markets and community events where local artists are building audiences one performance at a time.

You can definitely hear it in the voice of Bailey Alford.

Known to fans as @ItsJustElsie on social media, the southern singer-songwriter is part of a growing generation of Black country artists helping audiences rediscover something that should never have been forgotten in the first place: Black people have always been part of country music.

Elsie is not trying to reinvent country music. She is simply telling her story in a voice that feels authentic to who she is and where she comes from.

That authenticity is exactly why her music resonates.

Spend a few minutes talking with Elsie and it becomes clear that she is as passionate about Mississippi as she is about music. She speaks openly about the state’s beauty, its culture and the misconceptions people often carry about life in the Magnolia State.

For Elsie, Mississippi is not the punchline often portrayed in national media. It is home.

“It’s so pretty here. It’s so peaceful,” she said while discussing the state’s reputation. “I want people to understand Mississippi is so much more than how they portray us.”

That perspective feels increasingly important at a time when many young creatives are choosing to build careers without leaving home.

For years, aspiring musicians believed success required moving to Nashville, Los Angeles or New York. Social media has changed that equation. Today, artists can build audiences from anywhere with a smartphone, a story and a willingness to show up consistently.

Elsie understands both the opportunity and the challenge.

“You don’t have to be signed to a label to get your music out there,” she said. “But you can spend a lot of time trying to keep up with algorithms.”

Like many Millennials juggling multiple responsibilities, music is only one piece of her life. She is also a business owner, helping operate multiple ventures with her husband while raising two young children.

The balancing act is real AND so is the dream.

Photo Credit: Justin Hardiman @kail_sovl 

Long before social media and streaming platforms entered the picture, music was already woven into Elsie’s life. Raised in a family of pastors, she grew up surrounded by gospel music and church musicians. Church became her first performance venue and her earliest musical training ground.

Later, she discovered something surprising.

The songs she was writing sounded like country music.

For some artists, that realization might have felt limiting. For Elsie, it felt natural.

After all, country music and Black culture have never been as far apart as popular narratives suggest.

In her book My Black Country, author Alice Randall draws a distinction between blues and Black country music that feels particularly relevant to artists like Elsie.

“The blues exist in a world where Satan is real and God is dead, or in a world where there was never a God, or in a world that is hell on earth now,” Randall writes. “Black Country exists in a world where God is love, and what violates love violates God, and God is violated daily. This is a place where reckoning, reconciliation, and righteous anger slow dance with love and beauty, creating the possibility that some sweet tomorrow on earth will be better than today.”

That hopefulness echoes throughout Elsie’s story.

There is grit in her music. There is honesty. There is Southern storytelling. But there is also optimism.

Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in her breakout song, “Ghetto Cowboy.”

The title alone challenges assumptions. The song embraces multiple identities at once, blending country influences with experiences that feel uniquely Southern and unapologetically Black.

It is a reminder that country music belongs to more people than many have been led to believe.

Elsie is helping prove that point every time she steps on stage.

Even her stage name reflects that connection to heritage.

The name “Elsie” comes from her great-grandmother, Elsie Robertson.

She remembers her as a woman with gold teeth, a beautiful spirit and a love for music. Her great-grandmother played piano and performed in a family band alongside her brothers. Today, Elsie boldly uses her great-grandmother’s name and wears gold teeth of her own as a tribute to the woman whose legacy continues to inspire her.

“I thought it was important for me to honor my great-grandmother,” she said.

The name also feels perfectly aligned with the artist she is becoming.

“Elsie is country as hell,” she laughed.

Photo Credit: Justin Hardiman @kail_sovl 

That blend of humor, family pride and Southern identity feels central to everything she creates.

I would push it further into Cue The Culture’s mission of celebrating Black influence while also inviting readers to challenge their assumptions about country music. The ending should feel less like a biography and more like a call to discovery.

When asked where she sees herself in the future, Elsie’s answer was ambitious.

She wants to become a household name in country music. She wants to build what she calls the “Elsie universe.” And she hopes to follow the path of country music icons like Dolly Parton, using her platform to influence not only music, but business, philanthropy and culture on a global scale.

Those are big dreams.

Then again, Mississippi has always been a place that produces dreamers. The difference today is that artists like Elsie are proving they do not have to leave Mississippi to chase them.

Her music is also a reminder that country music’s story is bigger than many of us have been taught. Black artists helped build the genre. Black artists continue to shape it. 

So just press play.

Listen to “Ghetto Cowboy.” Follow the @ItsJustElsie journey. Explore the growing world of Black country music. You may discover the Elsie Universe is forming and from where we’re sitting, she’s just getting started.