Music City sees uprising of female musicians
A tour of Nashville reveals singer-songwriters and artists telling entertaining stories
NASHVILLE, TENN.— Sure, it’s still bro country, with pickup trucks and pretty women in jeans and cold beer dominating the charts, but a fourday swing through the aptly-named Music City revealed something I didn’t expect to see — female artists are on the rise.
They’re writing urgent songs about what women want and need, and from what I heard during shows in venues big and small, they’re in no mood to be messed with, regardless of their age.
“Fifty years ago, we were writin’ all these songs about how you (men) can do anything and we’ll always be here waiting for you,” said country legend Jeannie Seely as she prowled the Grand Ole Opry stage.
Uh oh. I began to slink down in my seat, eyes darting. A few other guys were blinking like gophers.
“I wrote a few of those but then life happened. I got a divorce and changed my tune. I wrote this song for all the ladies in the audience (big cheer) because I think you’ve all probably felt this way at least one time about one man in your life. It’s called, ‘Who Needs You?’ ”
I sank further as women around me clapped and hooted and stamped their feet at the 4,400-seat venue, which has sleek concession stands for drinks and food and, boy, I needed a beer.
Years ago, Seely fought to be the first female Opry host and once had a dust-up with management over wearing a miniskirt onstage. When she brought out Carrie Underwood, the current country queen belted out “Blown Away,” about a daughter who locks herself in a storm cellar as a tornado advances toward her mean, alcoholic father passed out upstairs. Ladies 2, men nothin’. We’d stood in a long line to get into the Opry (tickets run from $38 to $95 U.S. and more if you want a backstage tour). At first, I’d dismissed it as a needless travel checklist item, but now I highly recommend it. The stage attracts top stars (Vince Gill and Reba McEntire were also on the bill that night) and it’s a compelling slice of Americana.
The next day, when a flock of cowboy-hatted bachelorettes stopped traffic during my afternoon walk along downtown’s Lower Broadway (Nashville’s relative affordability and the more than 160 live-music venues are a draw for soon-to-be brides and their entourages), live rock, blues and even a twist on jazz boomed onto the bustling sidewalks.
As cranes dot the swiftly changing skyline, Nashville is making waves in food, art, fashion and, of course, music. The city can move you like a pinball into unexpected directions, given its kaleidoscopic variety. Exit-In and the Mercy Lounge are just a few of the stages where you can experience a wide range of new music beyond what’s traditionally considered country. The Listening Room features female singer-songwriters weekly.
Even so, it’s not all Sunshine & Rainbows — the title of Nashville singersongwriter Jamie Floyd’s self-fund- ed EP. For her and most emerging female artists, it’s a daily struggle.
At the Bluebird Café, a photo of Willie Nelson with his eyes closed, cradling his guitar, oversees the small stage. Jarred candles on round tables glow like caged fireflies here and there among bottles of wine and beer.
Though just a 20-minute or so drive from the Opry, in size and scope, it’s a world away.
I saw Floyd perform at the Bluebird during a Women in the Round night. The intimate, 90-seat club showcased on the television show Nashville is a mainstay for performances by experienced, as well as up-andcoming, singer-songwriters. You’ll line up to get in (there’s a $15 cover charge and a $10 food and drink minimum per person). It’s worth it.
Earlier that afternoon, I’d coincidentally visited the restaurant Lockeland Table in historic East Nashville, one of the city’s burgeoning food-and-drink scenes.
It’s where Floyd waited tables and mopped floors until this April, even as she was a Grammy-nominated songwriter for “The Blade,” which became the title track for Ashley Monroe’s album. Her insider tip: for dinner, try chef Hal Holden-Bache’s signature grilled steak with his chimichurri, and get the Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet for dessert.
For Floyd, it’s been a Cinderella story, of sorts, with no promise of a fairy tale ending. She’s in the new Burt Reynolds’ movie Dog Years, opening in 2018, with her songs as well as her playing in the film. She’s also in the documentary The Last Songwriter, the audience award winner at the 2017 Nashville Film Festival. It tells the story of how songwriters are now paid less than a thousandth of a penny for a streamed song, forcing many to leave the business and give up.
Still, there is much to admire and enjoy when seeing female artists in Nashville. As Tobi Lee (who heads up the band Mustang Sally) took the Bluebird stage and sang her song “Real Woman” (“I’ve got stretch marks on both of my hips, I’ve got wrinkles from smokin’ on my lips . . .”), along with her songs about cheating and women dancing badly, the audience couldn’t get enough.
While exploring East Nashville, I stumbled onto Fanny’s House of Music. Inside, salesperson Callan Dwan, who’s in the rock band Bleary, explained that women started the guitar store for female customers.
“It’s a safe space for women to flourish. Another music store might just assume you’re there buying something for your boyfriend.”
At the Taylor Swift Education Centre in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which encourages kids to learn songwriting, a sign by Swift reads: “I was 12 when I learned my first three chords on guitar and wrote my first song. My life changed forever . . . music became the way I told my stories.”
Every female songwriter I met in Nashville had an entertaining story. You can hear them in venues throughout the city. Maybe you’ll catch a rising star. As it once was for Swift, for some, the story is just beginning. Mike Fisher was hosted by Nashville Convention & Visitors Corporation, which didn’t review or approve this story.