Has the YEAR OF THE WOMAN come 'round again, as it seems to do every five years or so in some mainstream rag or other?
Nah. It's Creative Loafing's position that every year is the year of the woman.
That said, 2007 seems like as good a time as any to focus our annual Music Issue on women artists. In the ensuing pages, we've profiled 10 local women musicians of varied stripe and style. We did not take the choosing of these artists lightly, and we're keenly aware that there are plenty of other local talents who deserve attention, too. As some of our interviews bear out, women don't always have it easy in the Tampa Bay music scene.
Still, these 10 honorees have all found a way to make an indelible mark. They range from buzzed newbies to sage veterans and they work in many different genres, but they have one thing in common:
These chicks rock.
The issue's other major feature is a compendium of 100 essential CDs by women artists from the early 20th century to the present. This was fun: Everyone on the editorial staff weighed in, and the discussions gave rise to some spirited arguments around the conference table. (For instance: Should a pin-up girl like Gwen Stefani make the list? We ultimately decided no.) Sound clips accompany the profiles of several of our local artists, and our 100 CDs list includes a podcast in I talk with Wade Tatangelo and Wayne Garcia about some of the choices we made for the list; listen for excerpts from some classic cuts.
Finally, in the news-you-can-use category, we include a list of Florida music fests and a guide to local venues.
So, let's go. As Queen Latifah declared back in 1989, "The title of this recital is Ladies First."
– Eric Snider
Music Issue 2007: Chicks Rock
Tampa Bay's top 10 women musicians — plus 100 must-have CDs by women artists
