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QMH November 2008 & September 2010

National Women's Music Festival

http://www.wiaonline.org/home.htm

From their site:

In 1974, the first National Women's Music Festival was held on the campus of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in response to the underrepresentation of women in the music industry and with the possibility of building an alternative culture. The National Women's Music Festival became an annual event and continued in Champaign-Urbana for the next six years. In 1982, the festival was officially incorporated as a not-for-profit organization called Women In the Arts/National Women's Music Festival, Inc., and moved to the Indiana University campus in Bloomington, Indiana. Over the years, the organization has expanded its scope to include other events such as dances, women's film festivals, and other events promoting women's music, art, and culture. The organization changed its name to Women In the Arts, Inc., in 1995 to represent the broader base of activities the organization produces.

Actually, I am kind of surprised (and disappointed) that their website does not devote any space to their rich history...such as a list of performers each year, photos, highlights, etc...but then, the Olivia website pays little attention to their history either. Why are not other people, besides some guy in Texas, honoring the early years of Women's Music? Okay, rant over....

I have read that the festivals from (at least) the late 70s, were recorded, and then tapes
of the highlights were sold, as both a way of getting the music out there, and for fundraising for the next year's event. These tape copies were sent to me, and I do not have any idea if the orignal tapes had any artwork. But, still, this provides at least a partial chronical of who performed at NWMF in the early years. If you have more information about the tapes they issued, I would love to hear about it.

Oh, remember that this is the National Women's Music Festival, not the National Lesbian Music Festival, so one cannot assume an artist is lesbian just because she appeared as a performer.

The song from Part 1 of my November 2008 show came from the 1976 tape,
Holly Near and Meg Christian, singing "Lady at the Piano."

Below, from the December 1974 issue of Musica, mentioning sale of the first year's tape

and from the Spring 1976 Musica, more about the tapes

and from the Spring 1977 issue of Musica

If those clippings from Musica whetted your appetite, you can see every issue, here

http://queermusicheritage.us/sep2005mus6.html

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Nov 2008 & Sep 2010