Women in American Music follows the development of the music from classic blues, to rural blues, to swing and “rocking hillbillies”, through the stories of the diverse and interesting women that played music from 1900 to 1950. The show begins in the ’20s when pianists Lovie Austin and Lil Hardin, led jazz bands and wrote songs for singers like Alberta Hunter and Blue Lu Barker. Moving on to the ’30s singers Mildred Bailey and Billie Holiday are followed by instrumentalists like pianist Mary Lou Williams and bebop guitarist Mary Osborne. The bluegrass and hillbilly women are represented by Rose Maddox and the great tradition of Tex-Mex border music by singer and bajo-sexto player Lydia Mendoza. The diverse music of these women is tied together by new guitar arrangements that bring the songs to life for younger generations. The show is interesting both for it’s historical information and the innovative musicianship involved in playing these pieces on guitar. There is both humor and inspiration to be enjoyed in the lives and music of these women and it is exciting to have a woman instrumentalist playing the songs in the here and now.

Women in American Music is available as a 60–75 minute concert presentation or as a workshop 30–60 minutes long which includes time for question and comment afterwards. Focused presentations can be designed for particular class topics; for instance a focus on Depression era music, or the music of Memphis. A reading list and suggested topics for classroom use are also available.

Also available, the show of rare photographs, video, and music of Forgotten American guitarists from 1900 to 1950, called Women With Guitar.

Blues and Jazz are the major musical innovations to come from the Americas. The contributions of women musicians, singers, band-leaders and song writers have long been neglected in conventional music histories, yet there are accounts of women drummers in Congo Square in 19th century New Orleans, women were the dominant element of the blues craze of the ’20s, and women instrumentalists played hot and sweet in big bands in the ’40s.