Check out this full video interview featuring Old-Time musician and dancer Martha Spencer, recorded and produced as content for the special museum exhibit "I've Endured: Women in Old-Time Music" developed by Birthplace of Country Museum!
Martha Spencer is a singer-songwriter, mountain musician and dancer from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She grew up in the musical Spencer family and learned to play several instruments (guitar, fiddle, banjo, bass, dulcimer, mandolin) and flatfoot/clog at a young age. She performs and has recorded with various groups and has been involved with several roots music projects. She has played shows, festivals and led workshops across the US, Australia, UK, Canada, and Europe. Martha’s first solo album 2018 and latest release “Wonderland” in 2022 have been featured in articles in Rolling Stone Country, No Depression, Holler, Wide Open Country, Bluegrass Situation, Americana Highways, PopMatters and more. She also has been included in articles in the NY Times, Austin Chronicle and Billboard and was a part of the Fiddlin’ documentary movie.
This project involved interviewing over 20 contemporary female musicians and old-time music industry professionals who shared their personal stories, challenges, experiences and perspective of women in the old-time music industry. Clips from these interviews are found throughout the exhibit, full video interviews will be uploaded throughout 2023 while the exhibit is on display at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum.
The "I’ve Endured: Women in Old-Time Music" exhibit highlights the many women who have been integral to the old-time music genre, exploring the challenges they’ve faced making a career in the field, the ways they have impacted the genre, and their vision for the future of old-time.
Special thanks to the numerous individuals who shared their insights, experiences and knowledge with us through these conversations! Video interviews for this project included: Alice Gerrard, Amythyst Kiah, Cathy Fink, Elizabeth LaPrelle, Emily Spencer, Ivy Sheppard, Kalia Yeagle, Martha Spencer, Roni Stoneman, The Reel World String Band: (Karen Jones, Bev Futrell and Sue Massek) Sheila Kay Adams, Suzy Thompson, Toni Doman, Tatiana Hargreaves and Allison de Groot, and Trish Kilby Fore.
You can learn more about the exhibit by visiting www.WomenInOldTimeMusic.com or at www.BirthplaceOfCountryMusic.org.