This special issue of Ethnic and Racial Studies examines the relevance of popular music in the contemporary theoretical and policy debates about immigrant incorporation now taking place in the diverse cities of immigrant receiving societies on both sides of the Atlantic.

It came about through a series of conversations between social scientists, musicologists, musicians and critics which culminated in a 2016 conference under the auspices of the Advanced Research Collaborative of the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Like many interdisciplinary projects it was the sort of effort that was more difficult to put together than it initially appears. There was a considerable danger of “falling between the cracks,” being too focused on the details of the music itself for the social scientists while not being detailed enough about the aesthetic practices for the musicologists and the performers. We would like the thank the editors of Ethnic and Racial Studies for taking a chance on the project, as well as the many reviewers of the individual articles, most of the whom seemed to “get” what we were trying to do and were willing support work that in many cases steps outside of traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Explore the Special Issue Music, Migration and the City