TRAVERSE CITY — For more than 18 years, Lindsay Lou has lent her dazzling vocals to Michigan-bred bluegrass stylings — first as a member of Lindsay Lou & The Flatbellys and later as a solo artist who’s collaborated with Nashville’s music elites.
But the Michigan native has long rued the way female pioneers of the bluegrass scene have been overlooked, even as she celebrates the recent high-profile contributions made by a new generation of uber-talented women embracing the genre.
“You can’t help but notice over the years how often you’re the only woman in the room, and how few women or almost no women are visible or counted among the original, the first generation pioneers of this music and the second generation pioneers of this music — the people that we know and love and have a great deal to be grateful for in moving this music along and bringing it to the world,” the singer-guitarist said in a recent interview, just days after releasing her star-studded new studio album, “Bluegrass Women.”
“There’s a great shift happening now in my generation. … There’s a lot of women who paved the way for this to happen. … As a woman who can’t help but notice the lack of representation of women in our history, it just felt like a really, really cool thing to see where women’s place in the music has always been, and get to feature a lot of these amazing pickers and women in the scene today to bring all the songs to life.”
Those much-beloved, oft-played bluegrass songs were written by women, from Ralph Stanley’s wife to Ricky Skaggs’ mother to groundbreaking musicians and writers such as Ola Belle Reed, Elizabeth Cotton and Hazel Dickens.
Songs by all of them and more unfurl on “Bluegrass Women,” an impressive traditional bluegrass album featuring guest contributions from the contemporary scene’s most respected and lauded female musicians, including Sierra Hull, Molly Tuttle, Aoife O’Donovan, Sarah Jarosz, Laurie Lewis and more.
Recorded in March and co-produced by Lindsay Lou and Shani Gandhi, the 10-song collection released earlier this month includes time-honored classics such as “Like a River,” “I Only Exist,” “Freight Train” and “High on a Mountain.”
“It wasn’t hard to convince anybody. They’re all friends and they’ve all had the experience of being the only woman in the room,” Lindsay Lou said of guest stars.
“It just feels good to honor women in this music and play these songs that we love with friends. Everybody on the record knows each other and has crossed paths and played with each other and respects each other and admires each other.”
Fans will hear those iconic songs when Lindsay Lou returns to her home state for a special Michigan tour next month.
That mini-tour kicks off Oct. 1 with a concert at Traverse City’s Milliken Auditorium, followed by an appearance at The Acorn in Three Oaks on Oct. 2, The Big Room in Grand Rapids on Oct. 3 and The Ark in Ann Arbor on Oct. 4. Get tickets and details online at lindsayloumusic.com/tour-dates. It follows her Honeymoon Trio appearance in late August as part of Billy Strings’ much-buzzed-about Ionia Freak Fair that brought more than 28,000 people to the Ionia County Fairgrounds.
Lindsay Lou’s October Michigan tour reflects an annual autumn rite that coincides with her father’s birthday and reflects Lindsay Lou’s passion for her home state and the inspiration that’s driven her music.
“It’s unavoidable and undeniable. I mean, we have myself and Greensky Bluegrass and Billy Strings and May Erlewine and Rachael Davis and The Crane Wives. Michigan is such a special place being surrounded by the lakes. It’s sort of insular and so vibrant. The culture and the music culture is so, so vibrant and special,” she insisted.
“I’ve worked with different people in the music industry, booking agents who book bands from all over the place, who have affirmed that Michigan is a special and unique place. So it’s not all that surprising the special music that comes out of it. I mean it’s home. Home is where the heart is, man. You can’t forget that.”