By Caitlyn Tarney
“Do you think that violence makes someone powerful?” A reporter asks as the famous rock duo Opal Jewel and Nev Charles, sit down to discuss their first song following the riot that thrust them into the spotlight. Opal explains the history behind their song, considered radical for portraying a Black woman fighting back against a white man. Nev steers the conversation to the character they had created, talking instead about his excitement to play, “Who’s the N-word Now?”
Dawnie Walton does not shy away from the intricacies of the interracial duo she created. The result is an oral history so rich it feels like you’re watching a documentary and that Opal and Nev must have been inspired by a real-life story. Spoiler: they weren’t. Dawnie Walton tells a story so full of heart with The Final Revival of Opal & Nev that they might as well have existed.
The year is 2015. Fan-first, journalist-second Sunny Curtis gets the chance of a lifetime to interview her idols with one main goal: to find out what went on behind the infamous photo that catapulted them to fame in the 1970s. Opal Jewel and Nev Charles started out as an interracial rock duo who found moderate success with their first album. After a riot breaks out during their record label’s Rivington Showcase, a photo of the two puts all eyes on them. In the aftermath, the first album becomes a hit, and the second makes Opal and Nev household names. Soon after, the two break apart. Nev goes platinum as a solo artist, while Opal has never achieved the same fame. The duo remained a distant memory until now. With their rumored reunion tour, Sunny, who has a personal connection to the duo, aims to answer the question once and for all: what happened to them?
First-time novelist Dawnie Walton debuted The Final Revival of Opal & Nev in 2021. I would not be the first to describe this novel as “Daisy Jones but better.” But after the success of the novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid and the Amazon Prime show of the same name, I can’t talk about one without mentioning the other. Both books follow a similar interview structure, featuring an interviewer with a personal connection to the story. But Walton goes above and beyond to set her story apart. Fans of the ‘70s rock nostalgia explored in Daisy Jones and the Six (2019) will undoubtedly enjoy Opal and Nev, but don’t go into it expecting the same style.
As the audience discovers the truth behind the rock duo’s dramatic demise along with Sunny, decades-long stories unravel and secrets are revealed. Walton establishes a close connection between the character and the reader and then makes you question everything. Who is telling the truth? Who can you trust? Through this complex cast of characters, Walton opens a conversation about the difference between the image versus reality of rock music around the Civil Rights Movement. Opal and Nev’s launch to fame is not their music but their involvement in the infamous Rivington Riot, giving them an image as the industry’s resident civil rights activists. Deciding to embrace this image shows the contrast between fighting for change and performative activism as a marketing tactic.
Through such a genuine story, Walton explores the themes of race, inequality, and privilege in the music of the ‘70s. What could easily have been a story about sex, drugs, and rock and roll becomes so much more. As Sunny uncovers the whole story, she makes one promise that every reader should remember: “It’s all about Opal Jewel.”
Two years after the release of her novel, Dawnie Walton is busy leading discussions about writing and most recently co-founded Ursa Story Company. With Ursa, Walton invites writers to discuss the importance of storytelling.
Keep up with Dawnie Walton’s work, or order The Final Revival of Opal & Nev here.
*Cover art by David Litman, courtesy of David Litman.