NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Monday night, Nashville’s all-female singer-songwriter showcase, Song Suffragettes, hosted their 4th anniversary show at Analog at the Hutton Hotel in Nashville. Ten female songwriters were invited to play two rounds for the sold out crowd: Kelleigh Bannen, Candi Carpenter, Alys Ffion, Tegan Marie, Kalie Shorr, Nora Collins, Erin Enderlin, Madison Kozak, Hayley Orrantia and Tara Thompson. The ladies also hosted a panel consisting of Red Light’s Tracy Gershon and MTSU’s Beverly Keel that discussed the underrepresentation of women in country music, specifically in radio, at music festivals and behind the scenes. The panel was moderated by Billboard contributor Phyllis Stark.
“Since its inception over four years ago, Song Suffragettes has always been about providing the opportunity for women to be heard,” says Todd Cassetty, founder of the esteemed singer-songwriter series. “Our fourth anniversary show was a celebration of those female voices and we couldn’t be more proud of the 10 women who took our stage and the industry leaders who came out to speak about the ongoing gender disparity in country music. As we say at Song Suffragettes, #LetTheGirlsPlay!”
Since Song Suffragettes first made their debut four years ago, they have grown to become the Listening Room Cafe’s largest weekly sold out show. Each show airs live on Periscope with as many as 28,000 viewers per week. The Song Suffragettes performances have featured guest appearances from Lauren Alaina, RaeLynn, Lindsay Ell, Kelsea Ballerini, Deana Carter, Jesse James Decker, Jamie O’Neal and more. Nine suffragettes, including Carly Pearce and Jillian Jacqueline, have received record deals and 37 women have received publishing deals, including Kalie Shorr and Abby Anderson. The group has been featured by the Washington Post, Billboardand USA Today, and was most recently featured in this Tennessean article. Song Suffragettes has performed at Tin Pan South, Project Music, Bentonville Film Festival and CMA Fest. You can keep up with Song Suffragettes on their website at www.songsuffragettes.com.