Thank Folk For Feminism

Thank Folk For Feminism Ep.009 - Ft. Jess Morgan & Roary Skaista

In the second episode of our LGBTQ+ themed month, Pinky and Lucy chat with songwriter and storyteller Jess Morgan. Jess fuses poetry, storytelling and song to make unique and evocative music which has been widely critically acclaimed, she’s toured extensively across the UK including slots with Beans On Toast. She’s also the creation of a new live literature show, called Boring Someone In A Dark Café which fuse music into the narrative. Jess spoke to us about her creative processes, her challenges in telling more personal stories in her creative work, and we muse on what more festivals could be doing to be inclusive. In this bumper edition we also spoke with Oxford based queer folk musician Roary Skaista. Roary spoke to us about the challenges of the trad cannon, and the issues they face as a non-binary artist.

Thank Folk For Feminism Ep.008 - Ft. Grace Petrie

To kick off our LGBTQ+ themed month, Pinky and Lucy chat with the powerhouse singer songwriter that is Grace Petrie. Grace is undeniably the voice of a generation, a proud socialist and feminist, her songs reflect the world around us and call for positive, inclusive and impactful change. Her disarming wit and passion is a tour de force and in this exclusive interview Grace shares her experiences of 10 years of non stop touring and activism.

Thank Folk For Feminism Ep.007 - Ft. Ella-Joy Hunton

This week Pinky and Lucy chat with the tremendous Ella-Joy Hunton. Ella is singer songwriter, folk degree student and is the founder of Folky Union of Women. In the summer of 2020, Ella wrote a blog post called 'Why I Lost Faith In Folk Music', where she detailed personal experiences of abuses of power and predatory behaviour within the folk scene. The blog was widely read, shared and discussed amongst folk fans and members of the industry alike, galvanising people into having serious conversations about how we can do more to make our scene safe and empowering for young people. Here, Ella shares her own visions for building an awesome, inclusive folk scene.   

Thank Folk For Feminism Ep.006 - Ft. The BIT Collective

This episode explores the #tradstandswithher campaign aimed at raising awareness of violence against women in the folk industry, as we chat with Jenn Butterworth, Catrina Hawksworth and Rachel Newton from 'The BIT Collective', a community of people interested in discussing and addressing equalities issues in Scottish folk and traditional music. 

 

And we hear a beautifully, haunting song from Nicolette Macleod called 'Guard of Stories'.  

Thank Folk For Feminism Ep.004 - Ft. Nancy Kerr Pt.2 & Stevie Smith

Continuing the theme of 'Music Is My Mother' (exploring musical heritage, the passing of the tradition and being a 'mum-sician'!) Lucy and Pinky share pt.2 of their epic conversation with Nancy Kerr, in which Nancy wisely advises we metaphorically don flamethrowers and blast our way to freedom from misogyny in traditional song! 

We also hear sweet, hilarious and exasperated anecdotes from Kathryn Roberts, Debs Hanna (Megson) and Jackie Oates on their experiences of touring with their children.  

And because TFFF wants to represent women from across the industry, not just musicians, we speak to Stevie Smith, head of the Americana Music Association UK about how she achieved gender balance at the festival, being a working mum and grandma and her experiences of supporting mums in music. 

 

 

Thank Folk For Feminism Ep. 005 - She Was Just Walking Home (bonus episode)

An additional episode of TFFF recorded in response to the tragic deaths of Sarah Everard, Bennylyn Burke and her daughter Jellica. As women, feminists and activists, Pinky and Lucy both felt moved to create this short podcast for any TFFF listeners who feel it might be helpful to have a collective space to process, express and grieve. It features a moving statement from Pinky and a new song written and performed by Katy Rose Bennett called 'She Was Just Walking Home'. 

Thank Folk For Feminism Ep.003 - Ft. Nancy Kerr

For episode 3, Lucy and Pinky interview the wonderfully talented Nancy Kerr as they discuss this months theme, "Music Is My Mother", looking at musical heritage, the passing of the tradition and the juggling of being a mum whilst working in the music industry,

 

You can find more on Nancy at https://nancykerr.co.uk/ 

 

Plus in honour of International Women's Day on the 8th March, find out Pinky and Lucy's feminist icons.  One may shock you!

Thank Folk For Feminism Ep.002 - Ft. Katy Rose Bennett & Elie Rees

In the second episode of our month delving into 'Music as Activism' we chat about writing music with refugee women in Birmingham with Katy Rose Bennett & Lucy and songwriter Elie Rees exclusively premiere their feminist rewrite of traditional song ‘The Two Sisters’

Plus Pinky and Lucy unpack what happened when the English Folk Dance & Song Society (EFDSS) plugged us on their Facebook page

Thank Folk For Feminism Ep.001 - Peggy Seeger

The very first episode of Thank Folk For Feminism!
 
Lucy and Pinky chat to folk luminary Peggy Seeger.  Peggy graciously shares her sage insights on folk, feminism and how her songs have been anthems for change.