Join us for a heartfelt celebration of early folk, gospel, and Western swing music with Women of Americana! This isn’t just a concert—it’s an exuberant exploration of this expansive and singular American genre that planted the roots of American music. Featuring vocalists and instrumentalists Cristina Vane and Brennen Leigh, together they will perform iconic songs including “This Land is Your Land” (Woody Guthrie), “This Train” (Sister Rosetta Tharpe), “Just Like a Woman” (Bob Dylan), “Angel From Montgomery” (Bonnie Raitt and John Prine), “Car Wheels On a Gravel Road” (Lucinda Williams) and more! Coinciding with the upcoming Semiquincentennial (250th anniversary of the United States’ founding), Women of Americana will entertain and inspire audiences at a historic moment in our nation’s history.
Cristina Vane
Songwriter, singer, slide guitar and clawhammer banjo player Cristina Vane has a breadth and depth of serious musical skill. Cristina’s half American, half Guatemalan heritage is as unique as her sound. She is a product of a merging of numerous worlds – her classic rock, 90s indie, and heavier roots with her passion for pre-war blues, old time fiddle banjo music, country and bluegrass. She has an extensive touring history and has provided direct support for Molly Tuttle, Bob Weir, Wynonna Judd, Sam Bush, Nikki Lane, Arlo McKinley and Willi Carlisle just to name a few. Cristina has been mentioned in Rolling Stone Country and NPR, and was featured in the Bank of America ad for Ken Burns’ Country Music documentary.
Brennen Leigh is an American songwriter, guitar player, mandolin player and singer whose to-the-point storytelling style has elevated her to cult icon status in Europe, Scandinavia, the United States, South America and the United Kingdom. Her songs have been recorded by Lee Ann Womack, Rodney Crowell, Sunny Sweeney, Charley Crockett and many others. As renowned for her musicianship as she is for her writing, it’s easy to see how Leigh caught the ear of greats like Guy Clark and David Olney, who described her writing as “tender, violent, sentimental, foolish and wise, she is always Brennen. Confident and at ease with herself, without being a jerk about it.”
