James Tritten talks about using art to reflect on and impact the people and places around you.
Bringing together his love for music and a desire to strengthen his community, James and Fort Lowell Records are using creativity to not only shine a light on deserving hip hop and indie artists, but to also make a difference for the health and well-being of Wilmington.
About the speaker
Fort Lowell Records’ James Tritten has spent the better part of his life dedicated to two major efforts: creating and supporting good music and giving a damn about the people and places around him.
Working (and playing) his way from Jacksonville, FL, to Boston, MA, to Tucson, AZ, to Raleigh, NC, and finally, to Wilmington, James and his wife, Tracy, launched Fort Lowell Records in 2009 to promote and release music for artists they love – paying back the kind of support they received as young musicians. They also wanted to give back to their now-hometown of Wilmington, and do everything possible to help nurture its soil, and establish deep roots for a long lasting, music-filled future.
To that end, in 2020, Fort Lowell released a compilation album of Wilmington indie rock bands called “GROW,” as a way to raise money for New Hanover County’s chapter of the NAACP. And since then, the couple has started a vinyl series called "This Water is Life," which not only highlights new hip hop and indie rock artists from the region, but also provides a platform for environmental organizations — like Cape Fear River Watch and the Coastal Plain Conservation Group — to help spread the word about GenX contamination in the Cape Fear River Basin and the fight for clean water.
Bringing together his love for music and a desire to strengthen his community, James and Fort Lowell Records are using creativity to not only shine a light on deserving hip hop and indie artists, but to also make a real difference for the health and well-being of Wilmington.
Favorite quotes from this talk
So happy to attend the first Wilmington CM! I love how the Tucson tragedy with Gabby Gifford is entirely wrapped in the role of music bringing recovery…watching her recover with music therapy and learning James and his wife held a musically charged response to create music for cause made a deep connection for collaboration. Glad you enjoyed Arizona, but really glad you sold your jeep and moved here for the advocacy and awareness. James shared, “ Metaphorically, we asked the question: “Is the past going to get up with me?” i.e. the cop is gonna get me for speeding or being a slow poker?” Reflections before selling a CJ5 to start a record label.