We’ve come a long way since the era when “girls with guitars” were more a novelty than an ingrained part of the folk-rock scene—thanks in large part to a group of women who’ve refused to use gender as a calling card. The current crop of performers acknowledge their femininity without falling into clichéd folkie roles (no delicate flowers or strident leaflet distributors here) so often reserved for women in the past. With clever, guitar-heavy arrangements on their Gibson acoustics, these are the women who are shaping the future of folk.
Erin McKeown—Hummingbird, Chet Atkins
This folk singer-guitarist may have an Ivy League education—a degree from Brown in ethnomusicology, no less—but she draws just as heavily from real-life lessons learned over a decade as a rough-and-ready touring musician. Capable of making her Gibson Hummingbird sing and of creating a rollicking vibe with her Wurlitzer piano, McKeown says, “I’ve always admired the ability to communicate on more than one instrument. Some of that is the myth surrounding different things and some of it is just the ability to capture any emotion in a song.”
Aimee Mann—J-45
Singer Aimee Mann began her career in Boston as the spiky-haired lead singer of ’Til Tuesday, but she’s changed considerably since her mid-’80s detour into new wave. Today, Mann lets her songs ride on voice and lyrics, and charges her Beatles-tinged melodies with crisp, chiming lines on her J-45. A compelling storyteller, Mann’s songs helped to inspire director Paul Thomas Anderson’s narrative in the acclaimed film Magnolia, and drove her 2005 concept album The Forgotten Arm, which tells the ill-fated story of two runaway lovers.
Patty Griffin—J-45, J-200
“At the end of the day, guitar and voice is what I do,” says Patty Griffin. “That’s who I am. I started playing coffeehouses, but I always thought of myself as a rock and roll person who was too chicken to audition for bands.” The Boston-bred singer-guitarist eventually sidestepped her fears and forged out on her own, armed with a J-45 and a clutch of songs that have earned her songwriting credits on albums by the Dixie Chicks, Joan Osborne, and Solomon Burke. More recently, Griffin provided the soundtrack for her first musical, 10 Million Miles, in New York City, but it’s when she’s onstage herself, guitar in hand, that she shines most brightly.
Martha Wainwright—Dove, Hummingbird
Daughter of Loudon and sister of Rufus, Martha Wainwright has split the difference between her musical family members. The 30-year-old is possessed of a rock star presence and an affinity for eccentric storytelling—skills she matches with the elaborate riffs she coaxes from her Dove acoustic. “The songs I write have complicated structures and tempos, so I have to play guitar to lead people that I’m playing with,” she says. “The guitar is a necessity to me. It’s like another arm. I can’t imagine being without it.”
Maria McKee—Hummingbird
Maria McKee has come a long way since her early ’80s efforts with cow-punk pioneers Lone Justice. Twenty-five years of recording and playing have honed her folky, rough-hewn sound, facilitated by her main guitar, a weathered Hummingbird. McKee has said that she chose her Gibson as a nod to late half-brother and primary influence Bryan MacLean, who played alongside Arthur Lee in the classic lineup of Love. She says, “I fell in love with the birds on the guitar. I thought that guitar was so magical. It’s also kind of my lucky guitar, as well as being really nostalgic, because my older brother always played it when I was a kid.”
Kathleen Edwards—Southern Jumbo
This Canadian singer-songwriter has made a mark by balancing Neil Young-inspired compositions with the sort of stage banter one might expect from Sarah Silverman. With a naturally plaintive vocal twang, Edwards cranks out thumping country-rock songs that can make any room feel like a honky-tonk. “I usually play a nice little Gibson acoustic because that’s really well-suited to my songs,” she says, “but sometimes I have to plug in because there’s something about playing an SG that’s incredibly sexy.”
Tegan and Sara—Blues King, J-165
Tegan and Sara Quin convey the mystical bond carried by identical twins in virtually everything they do, harmonizing closely and complementing each other’s melodic predilections. “Tegan has this tendency to write pop songs with all these power chords,” says Sara, whose twin counters by noting, “and Sara always wants like eight interlocking parts coming together at once.” Either approach works, thanks in large part to the aggressive strumming and sinewy leads on their Gibson acoustics—making each cut on the newly-released The Con something of an anthem in its own right.
—David Sprague, August 10, 2007