Today we’d like to introduce you to KC Music Girls.
Hi Marva, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
As a young woman, I was frustrated by the relative lack of female musicians I could look to as an example. There wasn’t a lot of encouragement or opportunity for women to play popular music, while at the same time, guys everywhere formed bands to be like their heroes. The percentage of female rock stars on the radio paled compared to their counterparts. Ironically, women had pioneered many genres of the past century but became marginalized when big money got involved. So I heard few voices like mine.
And consequently, there was no one to pull me up the ladder, tell me how it works to get gigs, and introduce me to important connections. Even today, women at all ends of the music industry are underrepresented, underpaid, and not equitably recognized by critics and awards committees. And it’s still very common for women to report that sexist, minimizing, and controlling actions continue against them. To change a culture and grow a movement, we have to start at the grassroots, so I began going to open jams, looking to connect with other female musicians. But the women I saw there generally faced a wall of guys and never made it onto the stage. I realized that if we got out of our silos and created our own events for learning, practice, and performance, we wouldn’t have to ask for anyone’s permission. We could provide a safe space to connect and create those opportunities for each other. So that’s what we did.
Would it have been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Statistically, women still bear an unequal portion of the household responsibilities while working outside the home. Because of those constraints, there is a big gap in the age of women with young children who don’t have time to participate. That disconnects them from the women who could be their support otherwise. Money is also an issue. That’s why almost everything we do is free. Because of wage inequality, lessons, and musical equipment take a larger percentage from women’s bankbooks. The KC Music Girls put a lot of effort into finding free facilities whenever we need to find a new place to gather, which presents a real crisis to the organization. The ultimate goal is to have our own performance space someday, with a recording studio and an area to sell our members’ merchandise. Honestly, not all women share the vision of working together for the good of all, but that’s a small percentage, and most are willing to give their time and talent in the spirit of sisterhood. And unfortunately, we do have to deal with misogynistic comments on social media, but it’s been manageable when we present a united front against it and take the high road. There’s also a challenge in deciding how fast and how far to grow. We eventually evolved into a non-profit organization with a board of directors. After that, we produced a women’s music conference, but the emphasis was never on money, so volunteer power only goes so far. For me, burnout became very real, so I reorganized the KC Music Girls, concentrating on the core principles and events. Then we had to move online when the pandemic came, which presented its challenges. But we powered through, and as a result, we reached women from as far away as Ireland!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might need to become more familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
The KC Music Girls are local women in music supporting, empowering, teaching, learning, producing events, promoting each other, and providing a safe place to start and a hand up the ladder of success. Since 2012, we have produced hundreds of events for instruction, practice, performance, networking, and promotion. Our activities are open to women of all ages, instruments, skill levels, and genres. There is nothing to buy and no membership fees. We have several chapter locations across the KC Metro area and in Lawrence, KS. Our song circles provide a communal, semi-private space to take turns choosing songs we play together and sit in on learning sessions. Our open mic/jam/stage locations allow women to showcase their talent in public performances and collaborate with our female jam band, all with a supportive audience.
We curated a Spotify playlist, “KC Women, Band-Together,” had writing and networking sessions, provided a platform for busking and karaoke, and did many radio performances together. We meet regularly, so you can find like-minded female musicians here if you want to write, record, perform, or start a band. We have hundreds of members and are always looking for your ideas! We’re here to amplify women’s voices because a healthy world needs to include everyone’s story.
I’m never the most musically talented person in the room. My forte is as an organizer, and through the network we’ve created, several bands and lifelong friendships have formed here. I love bringing female musicians together and hearing them shine. The open jams emphasize providing a place for women who might not get a turn on stage otherwise. But at our public events, men are always welcome as long as they are supportive and respect that we are our leaders.
A few other local organizations have been formed in our image, but they have either faded away, strayed from the values of women supporting women, or stopped producing events. It’s not easy, but we are currently averaging four events per month in three locations. So over the past eleven years, the KC Music Girls has involved over a thousand women in hundreds of events. So who knows what’s next? As long as local women bring in new ideas and energy, we can do anything!
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We would love for women to connect with us at meetup.com/kc-music-girls or on the KC Music Girls’ Facebook page and tell their friends! Plus, we curate a Spotify playlist called “KC Women, Band-Together.” Just listening online or in person supports local female musicians. We would also love for women to come out and play with our friendly femusicians in a song circle or at an open mic / open jam. In addition, we can use women who want to be in leadership; host events in their neighborhood, lead us into new ideas for the group, or provide a physical space for different kinds of meetups. We owe an outstanding debt of gratitude and our very existence to the many volunteers who have freely given their talents, time, and space because they know what we do is essential; plus it’s an absolute joy! Their names, gifts, and accolades are too many to mention. Still, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Kristine Fotland, Lynne Grimes, Mindy Hart, Alisa Jefferson, Lisa Kany, Jammin Jan Lamb, Dr. Megan Luttrell, Stacy Pfister, Caron Simpson, Holly Taylor, Norita Taylor, Kim Williams, Barb Wilmoth, and Linda Wilson. Be a part of the sisterhood and help us rise in song!
Contact Info:
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089085519019
- Other: https://www.meetup.com/kc-music-girls/
