Trailblazing Women of Country - A Tribute to Patsy, Loretta, and Dolly Program

TRAILBLAZING WOMEN OF COUNTRY

A Tribute to Patsy, Loretta, and Dolly

Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton revolutionized country music and blazed a trail for future generations of female artists. With their chart-topping hits and record-breaking sales, Patsy, Loretta, and Dolly wove threads of contemporary womanhood throughout the tapestry of country music, resulting in unprecedented commercial success and earning each a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Trailblazing Women of Country, will entertain and inspire audiences during this pivotal moment in our nation’s history, featuring soloists, Miko Marks, CMT’s 2022, “Next Woman of Country”; and Nashville based singer, Kristina Train, supported by a 5-member all-female band. Cline, Lynn, and Parton harnessed country music’s rich storytelling tradition to offer their uniquely empowered—and unmistakably female—perspective on issues faced by women of their day. Their shared legacy of musical excellence, earthy glamour, and unapologetic authenticity continues to resonate with listeners of all ages and backgrounds in the 21st century. Patsy’s assured contralto affirms that a woman can be heartbroken and sure of herself at the same time (“Crazy,” “Walkin’ After Midnight”); Loretta Lynn’s songs exalt autonomy attained through contraception (“The Pill”) and self-respect (“Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’ with Lovin’ On Your Mind”); and Dolly Parton demonstrates that a woman can ascend the career ladder (“9-to-5”) while never losing sight of her roots (“Coat of Many Colors”).Through their singular voices and artistry, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton defied restrictive gender norms, proving that women can be at once beautiful and strong, vulnerable, and powerful.

This project was supported with funding from the WCU Campus Theme Committee and a grassroots grant from the Jackson County Arts Council with funding from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Women of Country appears by arrangement with IMG Artists and is produced by Eli Wolf.

Trailblazing Women of Country Personnel

Miko Marks, vocals

Kristina Train, vocals

Megan Palmer, musical director, piano, fiddle

Morgan Blaney, bass

Heather Thomas, drums

Thayer Sarrano, acoustic guitar, keyboards

Anne McCue, electric guitar, lap steel

Eli Wolf, producer

By entering Western Carolina University’s campus you understand that you may be photographed, filmed, or videotaped, and you authorize Western Carolina University the unqualified right to take pictures and or recordings of you and grant the perpetual right to take your likeness, image, photo without compensation, for broadcast or use in any medium.

No video recording or photography of any kind is permitted during the event.

About Kristina and Miko

Kristina Train

Kristina Train quietly blows up our expectations. On her deceptively straightforward albums, you hear Kristina relaxed, her songwriting clear. Her voice mid-flight, saying what she means to say. There is bounty here, a pinch of wise vinegar; baleful truths and blossoms spilling perfume. For the categorically-minded, what are we listening to? Americana? Something approaching “Chamber Folk?” “Blues Pop?” “Gritty” double-dapping “pretty?” I honestly don’t know and for once, uncharacteristically, I don’t need closure.

We met, gosh, some time ago? She was supposed to be a person named “Christine,” but she wasn’t. It’s a long story, man. Point being, the band and I were, like, who is this singer amongst ladies?! Many treks through the Humanities later we have Spilt Milk, Dark Black, Rayon City, We the People, and Body Pressure. She has a way of keeping us guessing. Growing up in Savannah, Georgia with some time in New Jersey thrown in, she started playing violin at age three. Although her origins were heavily embedded in symphonic music, she released her debut album on Blue Note Records and became a touring member of Herbie Hancock’s band. Later, a move from New York to London brought the influence of synth-based pop to

her sophomore album, Dark Black, often played in Bruce Springsteen’s home as he’s stated in multiple interviews.

Then came the move back to the States and a departure from love and heartbreak-based material. The brainwashing scene from the 1974 thriller The Parallax View, might seem an odd platform to launch a song, but Alan Pakula’s dark riffs on home and country were on her mind when she took a touristy turn around Philadelphia’s historical monuments a few years back. We the People lands with particular urgency. Produced in Nashville by Bill Reynolds (Avett Brothers/Band Of Horses) at his home studio, Train’s remarkable band

includes a cast of musicians from across the genre spectrum from veterans and members of Bruce Hornsby to Milk Carton Kids; Tony Rice to Warren Haynes.

Residing in that tough space between tender and severe, We the People walks the musical/political tightrope with the deftness of Marvin Gaye’s What’s Goin’ On? or Buffalo Springfield’s For What It’s Worth. Maybe “message songs” are more inviting when they are genuinely beautiful? “What’s the price of our freedom?,” Train sings, “What’s the light we possess?” Consider it a shot across the bow for a more perfect union.

I believe her songs and performances hang with the best in the firmament. You get a sense

Miko Marks

The Wall Street Journal has described it as a “genre and industrydefying mission.” NPR declared it a “multilayered experience.” The New York Times commended the movement as carving out a new path in country music. All tell the story of Miko Marks’ resurgence as she deftly blends country, blues, southern rock and even gospel to create a sound and experience that has literally brought every audience to its feet. This new sound along with her warm and soulful spirit catapulted her into a community of change with her doing more than breaking ground -

of her ambition when you hear her sing “May God protect the fools and babies/ But you ain’t a baby anymore.” Her voice is pure, richly embodied, and crystal clear, with a recognizable nod to the vocal traditions of Nat King Cole, Roy Orbison, and Dusty Springfield. While her take on modern crooning is familiar, it can also be excitingly idiosyncratic, as showcased in her latest release, Body Pressure. It’s been a long journey and a relief to finally hear music for the grown. Life and loves that are real, not aspirational. Can you pick up what Kristina Train is putting down? If so, please take this “Homemade Bomb” out into the world.

—Mike Mattison (Tedeschi Trucks Band), somewhere in West Georgia

she’s shattering it. It’s a serendipitous realization that Marks was meant to be here, at this time, in this moment, for good.

After releasing her criticallyacclaimed album, Our Country (via Redtone Records) in March 2021, Marks dove head first into an industry that previously never fully embraced her. She closed out 2021 with her EP release, Race Records, which shined a light on the arbitrary divisions forced upon artists and audiences in the early days of music marketing in the 1940s. In January of this year, Marks was named to CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2022 and by April, she stood alongside five other artists and managers chosen to participate in the inaugural Equal Access Development Program, a program designed by mtheory and CMT to foster and support marginalized communities underrepresented in the genre of country music. Now more than ever, the change needed is beginning to come to fruition; a change Marks feared she wouldn’t bear witness to in her existence: “I get emotional around it, because I didn’t think I would see any of this in my

lifetime,” Marks says.

Nearly one year after the release of Our Country, Marks released the first single, “Feel Like Going Home” (March 25, 2022) from her forthcoming project of the same name, due this fall. The lyrics sing, “Rest for the wanderer who never more shall roam.” For Marks, the time to reclaim her roots that were planted long ago is now; a powerful reconnection that can be felt in every note. No longer a wanderer, Marks has returned to her true self after years of trying to figure out her place in the world and in her first true love: music.

Feel Like Going Home is an amalgamation of where Marks has been and where she is going. What she has learned and what she wants to teach. It’s an innermost look at the ebb and flow of her past, present and future. It’s the stories she wants to tell but hasn’t been able to speak into existence ever before. The messages are profound: healing, restoration and distinctly individual. Feel Like Going Home will be released on October 14, 2022.

House Policies for Trailblazing Women of country

No photography, videography, or recording of any kind is permitted. Food and drinks are NOT permitted inside the Performance Hall. If personal items are displaced during the event, please visit our BAC Box Office or call during operational hours at 828-227-2479 for assistance.

2023 - 2024 Bardo Arts Center Ticket Prices

Box Office Website - arts.wcu.edu/boxoffice

Box Office Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 4 pm | Thursday 10 am - 7 pm

WCU Student: $5 General Student: $15

WCU Faculty/Staff: $20

Adults: $25

These prices only apply to Bardo Arts Center presented productions. Sales tax and a $3 fee apply to all tickets sold. Find more information about these events at arts.wcu.edu/explore.

The WCU Fine Art Museum and BAC Concessions are open one hour before ticketed events.

Bardo Arts center staff

Scott Ashley - Production Manager and Technical Director

Denise Drury Homewood - Executive Director

Carolyn Grosch - Curator of Collections and Exhibitions

Rachel Hood - Marketing Manager

Kim Kopak - Administrative Support Specialist

Greg McPherson - Exhibition Designer

Sara Rincon - Audience Services Manager

Amber Rousseau - Visitor Services Coordinator

Logan Wallace - Lead Technician