The Gullah ring shout is a powerful and deeply spiritual ancestral ritual birthed among enslaved Africans that traces its roots to 18th-century West and Central Africa. The ring shout is one of the oldest known surviving African traditions in North America and laid the foundation for nearly every major genre of American popular music—from gospel and blues to jazz, soul, rock, hip-hop, and even modern dance. The McIntosh County Shouters are one of the nation’s leading practitioners of this sacred tradition. Since 1980, they have performed across the U.S. and internationally, preserving this vital piece of American history. In recognition of their cultural importance, they were awarded the prestigious National Heritage Fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1993. When you witness the McIntosh County Shouters, you’re not just watching a performance—you’re experiencing a living, breathing thread of African American history and its transformative influence on the rhythm and soul of American music and dance.

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