Wild Women of the Blues: The Origins of American Popular Music

The true pioneers of American music were women!

Against a backdrop of oppression and segregation in the post-slavery era, musical artists like Ida Cox, Ma Rainey, Alberta Hunter, Billie Holliday, and Bessie Smith thrilled crowds across America. Their unapologetically honest and sometimes bawdy and controversial lyrics inspired fearlessness and authenticity.

Join us for a live music program with Kirsten Thien and Erik Boyd as they perform select songs from these trailblazers' 1920s and '30s catalogs, demonstrating their original styles and describing their path to bringing the blues to life. As their blues caught on, their performances would transform over time both musically and culturally while retaining elements of these performers' original styles.

Kirsten and Erik will also share a few of their own original contemporary blues compositions.

Free and open to all! No registration required.

Kirsten Thien’s unlikely path from a business school graduate to a blues and rock singer/songwriter began just weeks before her graduation, when she decided to forgo a career on Wall Street for a life in music. Since then, she has released five studio albums and toured the USA, Canada, and Europe extensively. Her most recent release, “Two Sides,” has enjoyed worldwide radio airplay and held a top 5 position on the Root Music Report Blues Charts for over three months.

Erik Boyd is a musician, writer, and producer. He has toured, recorded, or played bass with The Mamas & The Papas, Black 47, Mary Wells, Little Anthony, and many more. In recent years, Erik has played shows in Norway, Germany, Ukraine, and India.

They are a musical couple living in New York City.