On Feb. 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program hosted their event “Tradition, Innovation, and Power: The Women of American Folk Music” featuring special guest speaker, Kalia Yeagle, a faculty member in the Bluegrass, Old-time and Country Music Studies program at ETSU. This event included a presentation of video clips, recordings, songs and an overall rich history of women in the music industry whose names did not have a chance to be recognized.
In a field where women lived in the shadows, Yeagle spoke on the women who told their stories living in America as housewives through music, some being Loretta Lynn, Roni Stillman, Elsie McWilliams, Katherine Jackson French and many more. She mentioned that listeners had this romanticization of women in folk as history preservers, but that only scratched the surface of their experiences.
“While many women were not performing musicians, in other words, they primarily played music in the home or in a local community, their music was influencing those around them and has had a lasting effect on the genre,” Yeagle said.
Shining a light on hidden figures, Yeagle introduced names who shaped the world for women everlastingly; names that kept the voices of women alive and loud.
“Women were cultural memory keepers,” Yeagle explained. “Cultural memory is passed down through generations preserved in objects, texts, traditions, ceremonies and also orally through stories and songs.”
Along with being a professor who teaches the appreciation of folk music and its intrinsic values, Yeagle is also a performing musician herself.
“Being a performing musician means that I’m also experiencing what relevance this music has for people today and that helps me learn that it actually looks a lot of different ways and a lot of different places for a lot of different people,” Yeagle said. “That has really enhanced my ability as a teacher.”
For more information on this event, visit www.etsu.edu/etsu-news/2023/01-january/americanfolkmusicfocusoftalkatetsu.php. For more information on Kalia Yeagle, visit www.etsu.edu/cas/das/bluegrass/facstaff/kailayeagle.php. To get involved with Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program, visit www.etsu.edu/cas/litlang/wsp/.
