By Pauline France
Louisa Branscomb, a clinical psychologist, songwriter, and pioneering bluegrass musician from Cartersville, Ga., can be credited for inspiring and empowering an army of female bluegrass musicians.
She formed the first modern all-woman bluegrass band, the Bluegrass Liberators, and was one of the first women to form a successful, nationally touring bluegrass band. She also faced many challenges while breaking into the world of music, and heard time and time again that girls couldn’t play banjo.
“I heard that a million times when I was girl,” Branscomb told Bluegrass Today.
That’s precisely why she presented a speech titled “Bad Girls and Banjos: Breaking the Wrong Rules the Right Way,” at the 16th Annual Women’s Leadership Conference at Ferrum College in southwestern Virginia on March 7.
In “Bad Girls and Banjos,” Branscomb combined her expertise as a clinical psychologist and songwriter, and shared insights from her work in transformational psychology to help aspiring female musicians break the status quo.
Visit Branscomb’s website here, and listen to her song “I’ll Take Love” below:
