Interview Excerpt Excerpt selection: Women in the field Haley Miller CootsHaley Miller Coots is a professional audio engineer who works for SE Systems, a sound and event production company that has offices in Winston-Salem, NC and Charlotte, NC. SE Systems provides sound, staging, lighting and production services for major festivals, concert series, venues, and touring…
Interview Excerpt Excerpt selection: Being a woman in the band Kristin Scott BensonKristin Scott Benson is a five-time International Bluegrass Music Association’s Banjo Player of the Year and recipient of the 2018 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass. Since 2008, she has been a member of Grammy-nominated and two-time IBMA Entertainers of…
Interview Excerpt Excerpt selection: Gender parity and diversity Ruth UngarRuth Ungar was raised in a folk musical family and learned fiddle at an early age. Her father is fiddler and composer Jay Ungar (Ashoken Farewell) and her mom is Lyn Hardy, a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Along with her husband Michael Merenda, she has recorded…
Interview Excerpt Excerpt selection: How Things Have Changed Traci ThomasTraci Thomas of Nashville, Tennessee, has been involved in artist publicity and management for several decades, and is a founding member of the American Music Association. As a manager, Thomas helped Jason Isbell in his rise to one of the new century’s most significant artists, and…
Interview Excerpt Excerpt selection: On Becoming a Musician Alice GerrardAlice Gerrard of Durham, North Carolina, started her musical career singing with Hazel Dickens as the duo Hazel and Alice. She’s gone on to have a long and varied career as a multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, recording as a solo artist, playing in several bands, and collaborating…
Interview Excerpt Excerpt selection: Pathways and Roadblocks Laurie LewisLaurie Lewis, of San Francisco, California, has been at the forefront of the west-coast bluegrass music scene since the 1970s. A co-founder of the Good Ol’ Persons, she’s gone on to front her own bands, including the Grant Street String Band, and currently Laurie Lewis and the…
Interview Excerpt Excerpt selection: Musical Beginnings Amythyst KiahAmythyst Kiah, of Johnson City, Tennessee, graduated from the Bluegrass, Old-time, and Country Music program at Eastern Tennessee State University, and has hit the ground running since then. Finding inspiration in old time string band music, alternative rock, folk, country, and blues, Kiah brings her banjo and guitar…
Laurelyn DossettLaurelyn Dossett is the interviewer for this series. Singer/songwriter Laurelyn Dossett lives and writes in the piedmont of North Carolina, and her songs tend to reflect the stories of the region, both traditional and contemporary. One of the most sought-after voices in creative collaborations, she co-founded the popular regional folk-bluegrass band Polecat Creek with…
Interview Excerpt Excerpt selestion: Women in the Industry Amy GrossmannAmy Grossmann is the President, CEO, and Director of The North Carolina Folk Festival. She was appointed to that role after when the Festival transitioned from The National Folk Festival to the North Carolina Folk Festival in 2018. Amy was chosen by Arts Greensboro to serve…
Interview Excerpt Excerpt selection: Advice, Observations, Experiences Missy RainesSinger, songwriter, and bass player, GRAMMY® nominated Missy Raines was the first woman to win IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year award in 1998, and has gone on to win this honor eight times, more than any other bass player in the history of the organization. Raines…