My guests this week are Carolyn Kendrick and Tristan Scroggins and we're talking about a fascinating project that looks at the role of women in bluegrass through the lens of a historic newsletter created by Murphy Henry in the 1990s.
The newsletters have been digitised and made available in an archive that captures candid conversations, accomplishments, and challenges of women
in bluegrass.
Tristan and Carolyn have also produced a wonderful 8-part documentary podcast called 'Don’t Call Me Darlin’.' The podcast revisits the bluegrass matriarchs who were interviewed in Murphy Henry’s original newsletter from 1994 – 2003,
as well as talking to contemporaries from the community like Sierra Hull, Bronwyn, Brittany Haas, and more.
It was a fascinating (and fun) conversation that covered gender roles in bluegrass but also much more, including what bluegrass really is, who it's for and what it means to feel like an insider vs an outsider in the scene.
You can check out the podcast on Spotify and Apple (or wherever you get your podcasts) and find out more at womeninbluegrass.org
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Thanks to Bryan Sutton for his wonderful theme tune to Bluegrass Jam Along (and to Justin Moses for playing the fiddle!)
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