ONLINE: National Women's Music Festival

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Irene Young

Holly Near and Jan Martinelli.

This annual fest celebrating women in the arts — and serving as a counterbalance to under-representation in the music industry — debuted in 1974 on the campus of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and has been taking place in Middleton since 2008. As in 2020, the 2021 edition will be a virtual fest, streaming on the Mandolin platform, but there’s a silver lining to the fest remaining online: a festival pass is a super bargain at $50. That includes four days of stage performances (including Holly Near & Jan Martinelli, Big Bad Gina, Tammy Lynne Hall and many others), as well as a plethora of workshops, talks, film screenings, open mics and more. Find tickets and schedules at nwmf.info.

Press release: The National Women’s Music Festival is produced by Women In the Arts, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. The 2021 National Women’s Music Festival — the 45th — will be held on the Mandolin streaming platform online June 30th-July 4th, 2021.

We have been monitoring Covid-19 pandemic government regulations. We are thankful for the vaccine, but it is still not safe for events like ours to be held indoors.

For the safety of everyone involved with the Festival, the WIA Board has decided to stream the 2021 National Women’s Music Festival. 

For more information, browse this site or send an e-mail to nwmf.info@gmail.com.  

This year the National Women’s Music Festival will be a five-day musical and cultural extravaganza that incorporates all facets of women’s lives. It’s a jam-packed long weekend where choices for things to do range from concerts, comedy, a marketplace, newly released films and videos, workshops featuring a spirituality series, writer’s series, and much, much more!

Attendees come from all genders and cultures, cutting across ethnic, racial, sexual, age, and ability boundaries. Likewise, Festival programming reflects many points of view; a diversity of ideas and topics are explored and discussed in a safe environment. Festival is an environment in which philosophies and politics are open for discussion, not mandated or judged.

The majority of our streamed festival will be interpreted for the deaf and hard of hearing. Click Here to check our performance, featured speaker, and workshop schedule.

Stage schedule (The SheRocks and Spotlilght stages have been combined into one evening performance. Click on the day to see artist photos/bios.):

All times are Central Daylight Savings Time. (Name) = Sign Language Interpreter.

Thursday –  July 1, 2021    7-9pm

7pm – Open Ceremony  (Jenny McKitrick )

7:10 – e nina jay (Emily Kimmel-Kurtz)

7:40 – Orchestra Ensemble directed by Nan Washburn (Emily Kimmel-Kurtz)

8:10 – Tammy Lynne Hall (Laura Kolb)

8:40 – Open Mic

Friday – July 2, 2021     7-10pm

7pm – Sistah Ngoma  (Sunny Pfifferling-Irons)

7:30 – Nancy Scott (Sunny Pfifferling-Irons)

8:00 – Hardened and Tempered (Laura Kolb)

8:30 – The Blu Janes 

9:00 – SeekHer 7   (Emily Kimmel-Kurtz)

9:30 – Open Mic

Saturday –  July 3, 2021     7-10pm

7pm – Be Steadwell (Laura Kolb)

7:30 – Giwayen Mata  

8:00 – Holly Near & Jan Martinelli (Laura Kolb)

8:30 – Kofy Brown (Laura Kolb)

9:00 – Big Bad Gina (Sunny Pfifferling-Irons)

9:30 – Open Mic

Sunday – July 4, 2021      noon-3pm

12:30pm – NWMF Choruses  (Jenny McKitrick )

                    Drum, Ukulele and Vocal

1pm – Sandra Valls  (Jenny McKitrick )

1:30pm – Sarah Bush Dance Project (Sunny Pfifferling-Irons)