👇🏻 Video podcast link below 👇🏻

Welcome to another episode of Herizon Music: The Podcast. Today’s guest comes to us from England. Her new book From Seattle To The System: Grunge As Political Expression is drawn from a thesis she completed at York St. John University where she is a PhD researcher in American History and Sociomusicology.

She’s also a fan of film and photography with a short documentary interview series called Close Focus and posts her music films and photography online.

She’s no stranger to Herizon Music, as we discussed the effects of celebrity political endorsements just before the 2024 U.S. Presidential election.

She’s our favorite musicology political buff and music Substacker, I’m thrilled to welcome Sintija Brence!

In This Episode

• Why she pursued socio-musicology studies and the grunge genre in particular

• Definition of grunge and why its political roots began in Seattle

• Music censorship as a bi-partisan issue

• The woman who had the most influence on the male-dominated genre

• Music as a means to oppress or liberate people through history

Plus, Sintija’s answers to the Shakedown Questions!

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Recorded in October 2025.
Herizon Music is produced by Thea Wood Productions, LLC, an Amazon Associate that earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Disclaimer: Opinions of Herizon Music show guests are not necessarily those of Thea Wood Productions, LLC or its employees, volunteers, advisors, or contractors.
If you’d like to reproduce this podcast or a portion of the podcast or associated content, you must obtain prior approval in writing from Thea Wood Productions, LLC. Email herizonmusic@substack.com.

Guest Links

Buy Sintija Brence’s book
Website
Instagram

Show Credits

Guest: Sintija Brence
Host: Thea Wood
Production: Thea Wood

Together We Rise!

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She’s also a fan of film and photography with a short documentary interview series called Close Focus and posts her music films and photography online.

She’s no stranger to Herizon Music, as we discussed the effects of celebrity political endorsements just before the 2024 U.S. Presidential election.

She’s a favorite musicology political buff and music Substacker, I’m thrilled to welcome Sintija Brence!

In This Episode

• Why she pursued socio musicology studies and the grunge genre in particular

• Definition of grunge and why its political roots began in Seattle

• Music censorship as a bi-partisan issue

• The woman who had the most influence on the male-dominated genre

• Music as a means to oppress or liberate people through history

Plus, Sintija’s answers to the Shakedown Questions!

Recorded in October 2025.
Herizon Music is produced by Thea Wood Productions, LLC, an Amazon Associate that earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Disclaimer: Opinions of Herizon Music show guests are not necessarily those of Thea Wood Productions, LLC or its employees, volunteers, advisors, or contractors.
If you’d like to reproduce this podcast or a portion of the podcast or associated content, you must obtain prior approval in writing from Thea Wood Productions, LLC. Email herizonmusic@substack.com.

Guest Links

Buy Sintija Brence’s book
Website
Instagram

Show Credits

Guest: Sintija Brence
Host: Thea Wood
Production: Thea Wood

Watch The Video Now!

Paid subscribers get exclusive access to our Video Vault. If a picture is worth a thousand words, video is priceless! Become a paying subscriber today.

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Listen to the audio version from our website or on your favorite podcast platform.

👇🏻Watch the video podcast here 👇🏻

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• Spotlight: All Things Considered & Charlie xcx

• Spotlight: The Romantasy - The Grief That Shapes Us: A Reader Dedication

• Spotlight: Five For Friday - Guess The Theme!

• Spotlight: Chelsey Coy “Sync Licensing 101”

• New Music Videos: Thao, Vitamin String Quartet

• Upcoming Events

Herizon Music Mashup: Romantasy Music Craze

Welcome to the Romantasy Music Craze Mashup issue! This Mashup draft didn’t start as a Romantasy-themed issue. Yet, the Divine FemiNINE stepped in and willed it through seemingly unconnected roots that bloomed into this metaphorical Garden of Eden. Who am I not to heed the call?

For music fans not familiar with this multi-media entertainment genre, indie author and illustrator Angeline Trevena’s article “Five Common Elements of A Romantasy” offers a quick summary. While “Romantasy” may be a pop culture buzzword, the storylines originate from fairy tales of yore. Disney made billions from their historical magic kingdoms.

Publishers, Hollywood, streaming services, and now record labels are milking Jack’s cash cow. The genre dominates the adult fiction book market with a 40% year-over-year growth rate. That does not include subsidiary rights like merchandising, gaming, or movie/series revenue.

Detroit punk/garage/goth fan and personal friend “Riley” turned me onto the genre last year with Jennifer L. Armentrout’s “starter” series Ash and Blood. An easy sell since my binge history includes True Blood, Twilight, Penny Dreadful, Vampire Diaries, Lucifer… Point made.

Female-centric fans connect on social (BookTok leading the charge), then meet up at local venues, adopt the fashion, buy the merch, and curate the soundtracks. Big fandom, big bucks.

SPOTLIGHTS

All Things Considered

Which brings us to NPR’s All Things Considered segment featuring host Juana Summers and iconic (and my favorite) music critic Ann Powers discussing music’s growing influence on romantasy/romance fans. The jumping point: Charli xcx’s Wuthering Heights soundtrack album for the 2026 feature film starring Margot Robbie released on Valentine’s Day.

Let’s hit “pause” for a moment. Emily Brontés’s Wuthering Heights is a savage revenge novel akin to Dante Alighieri’s Inferno or the softer Alexander Dumas’s the Count of Monte Cristo. How do we idly accept the plot as a romance? Perhaps Hollywood’s machine cast a curse convincing us that weaponizing sexual violence and control = love and romance (sub-category Dark Romance). Charli xcx’s single “Chains of Love” lyrics and video are submitted to the court as evidence.

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I’m glad Riley started me out with Blood & Ash, where heroine “Poppy” and her true love Hawke develop a sensually intense yet playful Fire Horse romance that battles evil forces.

Just announced: Sony picked up the Blood & Ash series for TV production! What I wouldn’t do to be on the Music Supervisor’s team for this baby. Anyone have a lead for me?

The Grief That Shapes Us: A Reader Dedication

“The Grief That Shapes Us: How Sarah J. Maas writes healing into Romantasy” is a heartfelt and relatable read. The Romantasy and Tara Green dedicate it to a reader who recently lost a loved one. Maas’s characters remind us that healing is never easy, but we can move forward while carrying our grief. Pair with Mary Gauthier’s “Till I See You Again.”

Five For Friday - Guess The Theme!

Music Stacker Emm As In Music publishes Five For Friday, a playlist-themed series. In this playlist, Emm has to guess the veiled common thread that collaborator Kirstin DeMarr’s chose for her five songs. It fits perfectly with our Romantasy theme. Click here to play!

Chelsea Coy & “Sync Licensing 101”

All you indie songwriters may want to pitch your music for a series or any sync opportunities that generate more revenue than a lifetime of Spotify streams. Chelsea Coy was the special speaker at Herizon Music’s off-SXSW event in 2024. It’s a PACKED hour of everything you need to know to prep and submit your music correctly for consideration.

NEW MUSIC

Thao

From Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles to HBO’s True Blood to The CW’s The Originals, I think we can safely claim New Orleans as the epicenter of U.S. romantasy. Thao released the music video “Remember Me” from short indie film Amongst The Disquiet. The Cajun Catholic Eucharistic Procession on the bayou and spirit warding in crypt cemeteries is just what the witch doctor ordered. (Thank you for introducing me to Thao!)

Vitamin String Quartet, Los Angeles

Vitamin String Quartet is a revolving group of classical musicians who have released over 300 classical renditions of popular music.

Bridgerton (Netflix) paints a fanciful world where characters of all stations, colors, and ages may climb their way into masquerade balls and royal courts. Season 4’s Cinderella theme with VSQ’s rendition of Paramore’s “All I Wanted” sets the mood for a happily ever after. This ensemble features violinist/composer/arranger Rachel Grace.

Are you a female or female-fronted act releasing new music? Submit the following info for consideration:
Artist Name
Contact Name (if different)
Contact email address
Link to YouTube video for the single; audio-only videos are fine
Link to website

Poll Time!

Substack has character limits on poll answers, so here’s a detailed listing.

“A Thousand Years” (Christina Perri), Twilight
”Temptation Waits” (Garbage), Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel
”Never Let Me Go” (Florence + The Machine), The Vampire Diaries
”All I Wanted” (Vitamin String Quartet), Bridgerton

Itty Bitty Merch Store

The results are in and the Herizon Music Can Cooler was last month’s most popular merch. Maybe because you can personalize it with your name for FREE. Get yours and one for your music friends today!

GET YOUR COOLER

EVENTS (click orange or underlined text)

• Coffee & Cassettes Radio Series Debut. Mixed tape DJ extraordinaire Joi invited Herizon Music’s host Thea Wood (me) to be the premiere episode guest. It’s an eclectic curation of classic icons and indie artists with the story behind each.

• Wavemakers Learning Series, April 10th. “Alchemy, Systems, and the Art of the Fan Funnel with Ali Holder” covers how to build a high-level narrative using tools like Substack, how to automate the “boring stuff” with AI and Brand Briefs, and how to own your audience through smart email funnels.

• Sintija Brence Herizon Music Podcast Interview, April 16th-ish. Author and PhD Researcher of American Protest Music and Sociomusicology, Sintija Brence talks the politics of Grunge for Herizon Music fans.

• BMI Composer Lab Grant, April 24th deadline. Apply for the 9-day online workshop, followed by a 10-day intensive in Los Angeles, CA.

• Disney Sync Opp, July 2026. Get a head start on this golden opportunity. Details posted on Instagram by Valentina Reynolds.

Welcome to our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars! More ways you can help us champion women in music:

• Become a paid subscriber: only $12 for 12 months!

• Shop Herizon Music’s Itty Bitty Storefront

• Drop $2 in the coffee can tip jar (or more!)

• Buy a gift sub for a friend

• Sign up for Qobuz using this link (HM earns a small commission)

• Ask Thea about sponsoring the podcast or showcases.

Together We Rise,
Thea ❤️🧡💛

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In this Herizon Music debut Artist Showcase, Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Caroline in the Garden performs music from her March 20, 2026 album release Act Two and chats with host Thea Wood about her own second-act journey.

*Recorded live in 2025

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Meet Caroline In The Garden

• Caroline shares the story behind her stage name

• Caroline’s “Garden Philosophy” and overcoming fear

• Musical influences and Caroline’s unique song DNA

• The “Late Bloomer” discusses why she shifted to her songwriting and creative passions at age 39 after a successful legal career

Featured Songs, Act Two

Caroline performs three piano tunes from her new album Act Two (links below):

• “Push Through”: Inspired by the resilience in a music industry that doesn’t play nice.

• “Mine”: A song about the courage to express oneself and reclaim personal power.

• “The Dentist Chair”: A snappy cabaret tune with a scary metaphor and laser focus.

Disclaimer: Opinions of Herizon Music Artist Showcase guests are not necessarily those of Thea Wood Productions, LLC or its employees, volunteers, advisors, or contractors.

Herizon Music is produced by Thea Wood Productions, LLC, a Qobuz Associate. We receive a commission for every user who signs up for a free trial of one month or makes a purchase in the download store.

Guest Links

• Artist Website: CarolineInTheGarden.com (Sign up for a free song).

• Substack: Kinda Conquering Creative Fear with Caroline

• Qobuz: Add Caroline In The Garden To Your Library

Credits

• Guest: Caroline in the Garden

• Host: Thea Wood

• Production: Thea Wood, Bianca Garcia

Browse articles, podcasts, mashups, and more from Herizon Music.

Ways to Champion Women Through Herizon Music

1. Become a Patron and sponsor evergreen artist showcases, newsletters, or podcast. This is the long-term, high-impact way you or your business can champion women in the music industry and the issues that affect them. Request a rate card, email herizonmusic@substack.com.

2. Choose a discounted Substack subscription or leave a one-time tip.

3. Shop Herizon Music’s Itty Bitty Storefront.

4. Sign up for Qobuz using this link (HM earns a commission on purchases at no cost to you).

If you’d like to reproduce this Artist Showcase or a portion of the showcase or associated content, you must obtain prior approval in writing from Thea Wood Productions, LLC. Email herizonmusic@substack.com.

• Women’s Music History Month Spotlight

• Herizon Music’s Itty-Bitty Storefront

• Podcast: Kalamazoo Gals (revisited)

• New Music Videos

• Upcoming Events

Herizon Music Mashup: Women’s [Music] History Month

Women’s Music History Month Spotlight

Spotlights include works from a variety of music media journalists, photographers, authors, and artists. Please follow them and forward to like-minded music fans. Sharing is caring!

Music journalist Ellen from Endwell takes us back to the 1960s with this diverse yet united cast of leading ladies.

Rock 'n' Roll with Me

1964 hits by Dionne Warwick, Cilla Black, Marianne Faithfull, The Supremes, Shirley Bassey, Martha and the Vandellas, Sandie Shaw, and Petula Clark

Welcome, everyone, to the first post in my new series spinning and showcasing the hits of the wildest decade in music, 1964 to 1974…

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2 months ago · 44 likes · 51 comments · Ellen from Endwell

Music photo journalist, author, and music media veteran Theresa Kereakes exposes a living snapshot of punk’s late Michelle Meyers.

This one may seem off track… until Jameela Jamil hits you one more time with the Britney Spears Rolling Stone cover. Music media is not immune to the dark side of The Force.

A Low Desire To Please with Jameela Jamil

Ah shit! We let pedophiles decide our beauty standards.

Post the release of the harrowing Epstein files, and the powerful men in media and fashion, considered possible accomplices, it feels fair to say this with more gusto…

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2 months ago · 8960 likes · 614 comments · Jameela Jamil

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Herizon Music’s Itty-Bitty Storefront!

This may just be the most itsy-bitsy-teenie-weenie-yellow-polka-dot-bikini storefront launch in music history. Four products make their debut. Two are exclusively for our Fire Horses with the motto “Together We Ride” (inspired by Herizon Music’s “Together We Rise” motto and the 2026 Year Of The Fire Horse zodiac issue). After endlessly browsing local bookstores for a Fire Horse themed journal, it occurred to me: design your own! The badass t-shirt is a natural complement and looks/feels really good on (tip: size up this stretchy, women’s tee). Inspiration unbridled! 🔥🔥🔥

Writing the music-centric product descriptions was a blast. Surprisingly, I gave myself a “4-star” review when my personalized cooler sleeve arrived and I was less than thrilled with the font and placement. That has since been beautified. Best part? You can print your name on the cooler sleeve at no additional charge. Personalize sleeves for you and your friends as pre-show trading gifts! There are big plans for this tiny storefront. If you have a music-related retail product or service offers that Herizon Music fans should know about, drop me a line. Keep your eyes peeled for more announcements. Meanwhile, always support your local music scene and…

SHOP IT

Podcast: Kalamazoo Gals (ICYMI)

Author, attorney, musician and life-long music history buff John Thomas appeared as the first male guest on the Herizon Music podcast with the backstory behind his book Kalamazoo Gals. It reveals the almost-lost history of women who produced Gibson Guitars during World War II and is a must-listen for Women In [Music] History Month.

New Music Videos

Just a few weeks ago, Herizon Music spotlighted cigar box guitarist, singer songwriter Bear Ryan’s single “Mississippi Mornings” as an essential soundtrack to the modern American Gothic Reckoning now upon us (here’s the music video and writeup), The LP Low & Slow just released and hot damn, it tastes good. This is “Bad Old Man” featuring legendary Chicago blues harmonica player Charlie Musselwhite. Listen to the whole LP on Youtube.

Substack’s music stackers recognize Ririverse as a force in our community. Her single “HUMANS” released three months ago, so “new” is discretionary. The song is a Night Tapes cover (2023), a successful UK/Estonian soundscape dream pop trio. Why spotlight this song now? Because it’s a rarity when a cover enchants the listener better than the original thanks to an angelic vocal performance.

Upcoming Events

Artist Showcase w/ Caroline In The Garden (March 12-ish)

During Covid, Herizon Music developed an Artist Showcase video series to connect music fans with indie artists during lockdown. But who needs a lockdown to meet artists and enjoy a short set from the comfort of your favorite couch or coffee shop? Music stacker, songwriter, musician, producer Caroline In The Garden (Caroline Milby) will be the first featured artist for the first of many Artist Showcases planned for 2026. Just in time for her debut album Act Two, scheduled for an April 2026 release.

Send Bel and Quinn to the Dakar Music Expo (March 26-29)

Montreal-based sister duo Bel & Quinn are invited to participate in Senegal’s African music festival Dakar Music Expo (akin to the U.S. SXSW Music Fest). A major honor! The catch: artists must bear travel expenses. Fans are raising the funds to get them center stage where they belong. The duo is only 20% away from their goal! The lineup announcement is March 11th.Let’s make sure they meet their goal and hit the stage.

Go Fund Bel & Quinn

Thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars! More ways to support our work in spotlighting women in music:

• Become a paid subscriber: only $12 for 12 months!

• Shop Herizon Music’s Itty Bitty Storefront

• Drop $2 in the coffee can tip jar (or more!)

• Buy a gift sub for a friend

• Sign up for Qobuz using this link (HM earns a small commission)

• Ask Thea about sponsoring the podcast or showcases

Together We Rise,
Thea ❤️🧡💛

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• Black History Month: Release The Fire Horses!

• Freedom Songs Playlist on Qobuz

• Music Stackers Recommendations

• BHM Music Article Recommendations

If you see orange text, it is a link to another page or site. Click away!

Quick note: Herizon Music just paid almost $700 on annual production tools and music licensing fees. It’s a legal and moral commitment to the artists and businesses that provide Herizon Music what it needs to spotlight women in music and the issues that affect them. If you are able, any monetary gift is greatly appreciated!

• Become a paid subscriber: only $12 for 12 months!

• Drop $2 in the coffee can tip jar (or more!)

• Buy a gift sub for a friend

• Sign up for Qobuz using this link (HM earns a small commission)

• Ask Thea about sponsoring the podcast or showcases

BHM 2026: Release The Fire Horses Already!

HM embraces Black women’s contributions to modern music as we enter not only Black History Month (BHM), but also the Chinese zodiac Year of The Fire Horse on February 17th.

Last year was Year of The Snake, the sixth zodiac sign. “The Year of the Snake is far more than just one of the twelve zodiac signs. Its symbolism of ‘rebirth and renewal’ and ‘bearing fruit’ connects it to profound cultural, spiritual, and historical significance. The snake’s ability to shed its skin and grow reminds us of the importance of embracing new challenges and changes without fear.” - Yukari Yamano, Events Coordinator at the Seattle Japanese Garden.

Doesn’t that sound quaint. I’ll give Yamano this, there was definitely a lot of renewal and upheaval in 2025. Metaphorically, it felt like we were yanked from a warm womb by sterile rubber-clad hands into an cold fluorescent room, dangled upside down by the ankle and smacked on the ass until we screamed in pain for an audience of masked strangers.

Birth is a miracle, but romantic or safe or peaceful it is not.

As the Snake year progressed, it culminated into widespread violence, fear, and sadness for too many of our sisters and brothers. It sucked and continues to suck. The sloughed off scales can rot in the cellar’s darkest corner where they belong as far as I’m concerned.

If we view our raw newborn skin as a beginning, the scientific Theory of Chaos counter-balances the woo-woo astrology transition effortlessly. Jump to Wikipedia for the rabbit hole, but this statement stands out:

Think: The Butterfly Effect. For our sporting friends, it’s a golf swing where a one-millimeter stroke differential can mean the difference between a sand trap or a hole in one, all other things considered equal.

Enter The Fire Horse

This is where hope springs eternal for unexpected trajectories. Each Chinese zodiac animal has five elements (fire, earth, metal, water, and wood) so there are in fact five horses mixed with other animal signs within the 60-year zodiac calendar span. February 17th ushers in the Year of The Fire Horse (Hinoe Uma), the first since 1966. People, especially women, born that year were deemed “bad personalities,” according to writer Aonghas Crowe, who elaborates:

“The superstition is even less flattering for women born in that year: the Japanese believe that women born in the Year of the Fire Horse are so headstrong that they will end up driving their husbands to an early grave, a concern widespread enough that the birth rate actually plummeted in Japan in 1966.”

The fear. The loathing. The utter bullshit.

If there has ever been a need for Fire Horse women, it is NOW. Not to send men’s egos to early graves. We need our Fire Horses to blaze a more wild yet compassionate trajectory for us all— escaping the tightening bridle of systemic fear and control on our greatest form of freedom: self-expression through music and art.

This month, Herizon Music celebrates the American demographic that historically personifies the Fire Horse spirit. Black women in music. A short but mighty Fire Horse list:

Harriett Tubman used coded gospel music to help free slaves.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe’s guitar thundered like a freedom train through Northern and Southern emancipation.

Josephine Baker’s singing career and fame in Paris enabled her to gather information from German, Italian, and Japanese officials at social gatherings and report it to the French Resistance and London’s M16 during WWII. (Thanks to Nick Cascino for suggesting Baker for this list.)

Nina Simone’s unapologetic songwriting and fashion statements fueled civil rights leaders who faced beatings and murder. Read here about Simone finding purpose in her music.

Beyoncé stood up to corporate and societal winds to reclaim Black women’s disappearing country and Americana musical heritage.

This shortlist doesn’t do women’s work nearly enough justice, but the list grows daily. Modern women’s recordings, Substacks, stage productions, awards speeches, nonprofits, and financial investments are the backbone of today’s American Gothic reckoning.

Black women do all of this knowing that the system is rigged against them. That everything and everyone they love can be snatched away in a heartbeat. They step up anyway. These women are FIRE and inspire others to light their inner sparks.

JUST IN: NEW FIRE HORSE TEE & JOURNAL

In honor of our Fire Horses, Herizon Music just launched a limited-time exclusive Fire Horse t-shirt and journal for unbridled inspiration. “Together We Ride” is the motto, based on Herizon Music’s motto “Together We Rise.”

SHOP FIRE HORSES

Freedom Songs 2.026

Listen here with Qobuz.
Rather than call this Qobuz playlist Protest Songs, I chose Freedom Songs to show what we stand FOR rather than against. The 50+ songs span multiple genres, eras, and female artists of all ages and colors. Share your suggestions in the comments! New to Qobuz? Click here for a 30-day trial. If you decide to sign up, Herizon Music earns a commission that goes toward production costs. Thanks in advance 🙏🏻

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Music Stackers Recommendations

While Herizon Music has a broad recommendations list, this short list introduces you to music Substackers of color who spotlight women in music. It’s far from complete (apologies to writers whom I unwittingly missed in my haste), so please add your suggestions and Substack links in the comments for other readers.

• Danyel Smith, Shine Brightly HQ

• Harmony Holiday, Black Music & Muses

• Aisha, Black Music Be Everywhere

• Carmelia, The Coldest Truth

• Stanley C., If You’re Ever Listening

• Natelegé Whaley, Scene Serene

• Shanté, Things I Collected

BHM Music Reading Recommendations

I love a good learning moment! Here are recent music stacks that capture 2026 BHM’s musical spirit and recognize the contributions black women have and continue to make in music history.

Black Music and Black Muses

To the Music Industry in Crisis

Watching the 2026 Grammys was not unlike watching one of the many pseudo-intellectual race-horror films of the post Get Out era, except the victims of this script were already dead and the gore came in the form of “tribute.” As the Bible instructs, let the dead bury the dead…

Read more

3 months ago · 145 likes · 25 comments · Harmony Holiday

Black Music Be Everywhere

Do The Thing Anyway: The Journey of an Artist

Part 1 On a chilly night in December, a friend and I attended a Black Nerd Mafia event in my hometown of Columbia, South Carolina. Black Nerd Mafia creates events that center the creative and educational experiences of Black folks. Their events are gathering spaces for authors, …

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3 months ago · 3 likes · 2 comments · Aisha

wordsworthesq

Roberta Flack and the uncanny magic of First Take

In the summer of 1968, Roberta Flack approached the Washington, D.C., board of education with a request: Could she take a second job…

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3 months ago · 29 likes · 13 comments · wordsworthesq

DANYEL'S SHINE BRIGHT HQ

strange fruit is in season

It’s hot-hot in Los Angeles and on the Central California coast this week. After the long recent rains when the damp set in and kept me sleepy and swaddled, the sun is breathing life back into my bones. This week you can smell the strawberries turning red. Feel your skin browning and your hair going coppery or blonde. Farmworkers brave brutal raids so we can eat berries and guacamole. They’re in bandanas and ball caps, straw hats and sweatbands, listening to…

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3 months ago · 18 likes · 2 comments · Danyel Smith

Rare Groove Productions

A Beautiful Noise

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3 months ago · 27 likes · 12 comments · Tamara Casey

The Music History Club

The Sunday Round-Up: 2nd-8th Feb (Looking Back on TLC's 'No Scrubs')

Looking Back on TLC’s ‘No Scrubs’ (released on 2nd February 1999…

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3 months ago · 13 likes · 1 comment · The Music History Club

Best Music of All Time

“Control” by Janet Jackson

This album review celebrates the 40th anniversary of one of R&B and hip-hop’s most enduring influences…

Read more

3 months ago · 24 likes · 8 comments · Matt Fish

Let’s all join forces and collectively swing open the fence gates so Fire Horses (of all colors, genders, ages) can blaze a new trail. Black History Month is a great time to get on board. A few “Good Trouble” starters to get your inner Fire Horse dancing are listed here. If you like what you see and hear, please support Herizon Music in one of the following ways:

• Become a paid subscriber: only $12 for 12 months!

• Drop $2 in the coffee can tip jar

• Buy a gift sub for a friend

• Sign up for Qobuz using this link (HM earns a small commission)

• Ask about sponsoring an upcoming podcast or showcase

Thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars!
❤️🧡💛

It’s a wrap,
Thea 🎶

If you use this link to sign up, Herizon Music will receive a nominal fee that helps keep the newsletter and podcast in production. You’ll get a FREE 30-day trial and four membership plans to choose from with no long-term commitment.

Try Qobuz for FREE

New Music: Bear Ryan

Single, “Mississippi Mornings” (swampy delta blues)

This is the second single from Bear Ryan’s upcoming LP Low & Slow releasing February 17, 2026. Backed by The Delta Snakes, “Mississippi Mornings” is a stripped down delta blues tune that belies her usual swamp rock and Texas outlaw influences. Though she assures fans that the LP delivers a pace that will rattle your snake cage a bit. Bear’s live video performance of the LP’s first single “I Am The Weather” at Austin’s acclaimed Saxon Pub showcases Bear’s high energy, boot-tappin’ signature sound. See the video below. 👇🏻

I’ve closely followed Bear’s social posts sampling snippets of the LP’s recording sessions scheduled between her Clarksdale barbershop shifts. You know, the place where locals gather and casually pull out an instrument between stories to strum through the thick Mississippi morning air… exchanging nods as a #2 clipper buzzes along with the ever-present cicada choir. The traditional hub of neighborhood culture dating back to the blues’ infancy. Bear Ryan ditched the Austin, Texas manic music hustle to live and wax poetic in Clarksdale. It was a stroke of creative enrichment if her new music is the litmus test.

Bear’s band The Delta Snakes are guitarist and partner Ryan Robertson, guitarist Guitar Frenchie, and drummer “BE.” Robertson is Delta Avenue Guitars’ luthier who builds Bear’s stringed instruments, with a heavy emphasis on cigar box guitars.

Cigar boxes are packaging popularized by need in 1862 due to a U.S. government excise tax on tobacco that required stamped and sealed boxes to prove a retailer paid the required fee. Professionally constructed instruments were far too expensive for musicians (especially Black artists) at the time, so ingenuity resulted in repurposing these “trash” cedar boxes for guitars, banjos, ukeleles, and violins. Here’s a more detailed history if you’d like to take a deep dive.

When you look up cigar box guitar legends, listings don’t include women, as referenced here, but consistently list Blind Willie Johnson, Bo Diddley, and Lightning Hopkins as pioneers. If Google search results are any indication, the most recognized female cigar box guitarist is Kansas City native Samantha Fish who started playing one publicly in ~2012. That’s a lot of cigar box guitar history with little public female recognition. There must be more who deserve credit. If you know of female pioneers from the 19th and 20th centuries, leave their names and helpful links/videos in the comments so I can update this post!

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Back to “Mississippi Mornings” and why Bear’s stylistic adaptation is more relevant than meets the ear. Bear’s cigar box guitar picking and steady yet cutting vocals drop you squarely into the deep south’s spiritual crossroads. Her contemplative yet simple lyrics dusted in struggles of reconciling inner demons, desires, generational traditions, and God’s undisclosed game plan. The stripped down production mirrors modern American Gothic and southern pop culture spiritual phenoms like the award-winning 2025 horror movie Sinners (which raked in over 60 award nominations), my own guilty pleasure series “Supernatural” that ran for 15 seasons on The WB, and 2021’s creepy Netflix mini-series “Midnight Mass.”

Akin to these themes, Americans nationwide now find ourselves in a real-world American Gothic reckoning. Forcing our collective hands to stand strong and face the wind, or timidly spectate from the sidelines, or get the hell outta Dodge. No matter your choice, forces at work will incite social and spiritual upheaval.

So, what’s a woman to do when dawn brings the taxman, temptation, guilt, oppression, or a sense of nothing left to lose? When you’re in the “buckle of the Bible Belt” with a monkey on your back, you may just haul ass before the sun rises. With your cigar box guitar locked and loaded in the backseat.

Just announced: “Mississippi Mornings” landed Bear Ryan 2nd place in the New Orleans International Cigar Box Guitar Playoffs. Here is a link to her submission video.

Visit BearRyanMusic.com for upcoming show dates and music sales.

Follow Bear Ryan on Qobuz.

Scroll down for more music videos, podcast episodes, and articles.

Thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars!

Thea 🎶
❤️🧡💛🚺

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This is my first publication of 2026. It’s been hard to find my voice and organize my thoughts when friends, family, and neighbors suffer and fear for their safety. With personal health issues and family loss in 2025, it feels like I’m emotionally pulled in 10 directions simultaneously.

This morning I woke up and realized that PURPOSE is the antidote for feeling stuck or hopeless or overwhelmed or angry. Who is feeling all that right now? Am I alone here?!?

Enter the power of music. Poetic tales, thundering rhythms, celestial harmonies, and soaring solos can convey what’s in your heart in a way that you may not be able to express. We need our Freedom Songs now more than ever. My purpose today is to pay tribute to past and current artists who have put purpose above greed, peer pressure, security, and adoration. For this white suburban GenExer, that starts with Nina Simone.

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Herizon Music is produced by Thea Wood Productions, LLC, an Amazon Associate that earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Nina Simone: “Voice of The Civil Rights Movement”

Musicians have always played a role in anti-establishment movements through song. Nina Simone, aka The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement, opened my eyes in so many ways to the struggles and history of oppression in our country when I read her autobiography I Put A Spell On You while researching my upcoming activity and coloring book First Ladies of Music.

Below is an excerpt from my book, so the words are fashioned for teen readers (but music lovers of all ages can appreciate the message). It is based on what I learned about Miss Nina’s unexpected introduction to and eventual public role in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and her friendships with Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders is a shining example of how music helps movements gain traction and incite change.

Birth name: Eunice Waymon

Born: 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina

The Girl: A child prodigy who often felt lonely

The Woman: The Voice of the Civil Rights Movement

Super Power

By age three, Miss Nina could play songs on the piano just by hearing them. This is called absolute or perfect pitch.

HerStory

Miss Nina spent all her time practicing piano and studying at school so she could become a professional concert pianist. This left little time to make friends, especially because other kids didn’t share or understand her super power. Even after becoming a world-famous singer/musician with a husband and child, Miss Nina still didn’t feel like she fit in or that her music served a purpose.

Life Changer

Performer and international activist Miriam Makeba introduced Nina to the Civil Rights Movement. Miss Nina began fusing her classical/jazz/folk songs with soulful lyrics that reflected the times and struggles of women and African Americans. Not only did she form a strong circle of friends with a shared purpose, Miss Nina became known as “The Voice of The Civil Rights Movement.” One of those friends was Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Why? (The King of Love is Dead)” was written by bassist Gene Taylor and was first performed on stage three days after MLK’s death.

Scroll down for music videos covering Simone’s music from Brittany Howard, Lauren Hill, Berklee Black Lives Matter, Cynthia Erivo, Molly (and guests) and Debo Ray that you do not want to miss!

You can learn more about the hardships Miss Nina faced personally and professionally as a black woman and artist in this Hidden Tracks article.

Read More Here

What Is Your Favorite Freedom Song?

Help Herizon Music build its new “Freedom Songs 2.026” playlist on Qobuz. List the female or female-fronted act’s name and the freedom/civil rights song title in the comments, and I’ll add it to the list. Rock, country, gospel, jazz, blues, R&B, hip hop, punk, techno, pop… all genres are welcomed.

Here is a link to the playlist to get your creative juices and suggestions flowing. Your song suggestions can help others (including me!) cope with the emotional toll of social unrest and find renewed purpose, starting today. Add your faves to the comments, my goal is 50 songs.

Leave a comment

If you haven’t tried Qobuz yet, I highly recommend it. I love it so much I applied to be an affiliate and they approved Herizon Music. With this link, you can get a 30-day trial. If you decide to sign up, Herizon Music earns a nominal fee. It helps keep our mission on track: spotlighting women’s contributions to music and promoting gender equity.

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Feeling inspired? I am, thank the music gods. Please invite others to join our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars. Together, we RISE!

❤️🧡💛
Thea 🎶

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Inside This Issue

• Giving Season for Music Fans

• Thea’s Tune Tag Challenge

• B-bye Spotify, Hello Qobuz!

• ICYMI

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If the spirit moves you, please help Herizon Music continue to share the stories of women in music and the issues that affect them. Enjoy our special discount offer of only $12 for 12 months for an upgraded subscription! Or drop us a holiday tip starting at $2. Any and all gifts are greatly appreciated. 💛🧡❤️

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Giving Tuesday for Music Fans

Your inbox may be flooded with solicitations from charities on this Giving Tuesday 2025. Giving Tuesday was created in the spirit of everyone choosing a charity that is near and dear to their hearts (or discovering a new one!) and donating money to the cause.

If you’re a music lover and haven’t already donated to an organization, here are music-related nonprofits that Herizon Music supports. IMHO, these causes deliver the most bang for their buck to music makers who need it most. Your donations are appreciated any time of year, but especially now as orgs budget for 2026.

MusiCares

MusiCares provides a safety net of critical health and welfare services to the music community. Founded by the Recording Academy in 1989, MusiCares safeguards the well-being of ALL music people through direct financial grant programs, networks of support resources, and tailored crisis relief efforts.

I personally know musicians who have directly benefitted from their services — from displaced victims of the California wildfires to guitarists who needed hand surgery. As a member of the Recording Academy, part of Herizon Music’s dues go toward the cause. Recipients do not need to be Recording Academy members to qualify.

For more information please visit: www.musicares.org

DONATE TO MUSICARES

Girls Rock Camp Alliance

Girls Rock Camp Alliance programs are located in cities worldwide with year-long programming. Their mission: fostering creative expression, positive self-esteem and community awareness for girls, women, gender expansive, and transgender youth and adults through social justice and music education, activism, and performance. Kids 8 - 17 years in age consider this a life-changing program. Herizon Music has partnered with and fundraised for these camps before. See a Girls Rock concert and you’ll get why my heart grew three sizes that year. Here is a 2019 video featuring Izzy Jane from when Herizon Music (then a foundation) fundraised for Girls Rock.

This year, I’m donating to the Girls Rock Detroit chapter as my local charity choice. Find a city that has special meaning for you and donate today!

DONATE TO GIRLS ROCK

Soundgirls.org

This international nonprofit was founded in 2013 by veteran live sound engineers Karrie Keyes (Pearl Jam, Sound Garden, Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Neil Young) and Michelle Sabolchick Pettinato (Indigo Girls, Jewel, Gwen Stefani, Ke$ha, Mr. Big, Melissa Etheridge, Goo Goo Dolls). Their mission: to create a supportive community for women in audio and music production, providing the tools, knowledge, and support to further their careers.

What I love about this group is that women of all ages and backgrounds benefit from networking, educational programs, and big discounts on industry products and services. Only three to five percent of working audio engineers are women, so let’s give them a leg up!

DONATE TO SOUNDGIRLS.ORG

TUNE TAG CHALLENGE!

Musicstacker Brad Kyle of FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE challenged me to a game of Tune Tag. It’s like one-degree of separation between songs, each of us had to name a song that was somehow linked to the previous song. Of course, ours featured a lot of women and unexpectedly turned into a duet theme. The music videos are amazeballs! Brad has hosted gads of these and the reviews are in for ours, the 120th tune tag:

✨@Mark Nash said: “Wow, what an absolutely BRILLIANT Tune Tag this was! Some stunning and legendary female voices included here.”

✨@Andres chimed in with, “I don’t exaggerate when I say this is probably my favourite Tune Tag. Ever.”

✨@Tamara Casey echoed, “I just knew this was going to be amazing and it did not disappoint.”

✨@Chris Bro added, “So so good. Might be my favorite!🎸🤘👊”

✨@Kristin DeMarr sang her praises: “The duets!! Incredible! This was such a great Tune Tag!! Thea is a treasure!”

✨ @NickS (WA) was wowed: “I knew it would be good, but I wasn’t sure that it would be transcendent. But it completely won me over!”

Front Row & Backstage

Tune Tag #120 with Thea Wood of Herizon Music: Sonny & Cher, Maxine Weldon, Rita Coolidge, Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, Karen Carpenter, Delaney & Bonnie, Al Jarreau

Well, somebody’s got the Tune Tag zoomies…

Read more

5 months ago · 46 likes · 83 comments · Brad Kyle and Thea Wood

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B-bye Spotify, Hello Qobuz!

Herizon Music made the decision to ditch Spotify as its streaming service for a number of reasons.

If YOU want to make a change and want to help Herizon Music, consider French streaming service Qobuz. We’ve become a fan and an affiliate (meaning Herizon Music gets a small commission if you use our link).

PCMagazine gave some great reasons to try Qobuz here. They state that offering only paid subs was a “con,” but I consider it a pro for people who really love music and want to support artists. Artists get paid more than Apple Music and the sound quality is superior. They heavily promote original editorial content and human-generated playlists. That’s a win in my book.

There are Solo, Duo, Family, and Student rates available. This link also gets you one FREE month to try the service. So… why not give it a shot?

TRY QOBUZ

ICYMI

🎧 The Kalamazoo Gals’ Almost Forgotten Story

🤓 Uncharted Territory: Book Preview and Sexism in Music By The Numbers

🎸 Is It Power Pop? Thea’s Top Picks (as contributing author to Remember The Lightning)

Like what you see? Subscribe for FREE or upgrade to a paid sub. Only $12 for 12 months! You can also drop a holiday cheer tip starting at $2!

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Thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars!
💛🧡❤️

It’s a wrap!
Thea 🎶

As talented and innovative and exhilarating as Ozzy was as a heavy metal entertainer and songwriter, we have to give credit where credit is due.

Sharon Osbourne made Ozzy, The Prince of Darkness, a household name.

Hidden Tracks: Sharon Osbourne

This Hidden Track reveals the lengths to which Sharon was willing to go to ensure all of us would know The Great Ozz. After reading her first autobiography Extreme (2006), I venture to say there is no other person on this planet who would have invested or endured so much for what many might call a broken soul.

The book is a fast and fascinating read. Sharon’s king-maker story will be met with claims that Ozzy’s talent alone would have made him a superstar. Maybe this hidden track will broaden that perception as we explore some examples of Sharon’s faith, grit, and business sense took Ozzy to metal stardom and beyond.

BUY IT NOW

This writing includes accounts of domestic violence, addiction, and death. If you live in an unsafe situation or struggle with addiction or mental illness, contact one of these organizations today. Yes, today.

RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Admin

Some Background on Sharon Osbourne

Let’s start with Sharon’s background story to set the scene.

Sharon is the daughter of famous (or infamous depending on your outlook) music manager/agent Don Arden. He represented Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Move, Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra, and more. Arden cheated most of his clients and associates out of earnings and got his way in the industry through intimidation and outright violence. Example: Arden hired mobsters to attend business meetings to scare the shit out of people.

Arden wasn’t much different at home. If Sharon or her brother misbehaved as kids, punishment was severe and often violent. One example from her book: “Bad days were when I’d be put in the coalhole, which was like a horrible underground cupboard off Nigel’s bedroom. Coal still got stored in there—delivered down a chute from the street—and whenever my brother or I misbehaved, my parents would lock us in there for what seemed like forever, but was probably only an hour or an hour and a half. ” Arden’s mean streak made Sharon not only extremely conscious of how to interact with him and other adults, but also made her tough and not afraid of a fight as an adult.

Sharon signed personal and professional financial contracts for her father per his demands. If a loan or deal went belly up, she was on the hook for it instead of Arden. As a result she found herself in debt quite frequently because her dad was a business man who lost money hand over fist. This held her financially hostage to her father for many years. Even after she disassociated herself from him. The silver lining is that she learned how to communicate with and handle bankers, businessmen, managers, artists, etc.

At age 17, Sharon worked at Arden’s office where she first met his prospective clients Black Sabbath. Neither Sharon or Ozzy paid much attention to each other. The band signed with Arden in 1979. That’s where this hidden track begins.

Shortly after signing with Arden, Black Sabbath kicked Ozzy out of the band due to…

Keep reading! Hidden Tracks are available for paid subscribers. Get a 12-month sub for only $12. Or subscribe monthly for only $2 for access. Thank you for supporting Herizon Music and its mission to celebrate women’s contributions to music on stage, on air, and behind the scenes.

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John Thomas: The Kalamazoo Gals’ Almost Forgotten Story

This is an historic episode of Herizon Music. For the first time since launching in 2019, I am interviewing a MAN on the podcast. And I cannot think of any other man I would rather have than today’s guest.

We met at an “off” SXSW event hosted by Texchromosome in 2022. He held a World War II era acoustic Gibson guitar and was talking about his new book Kalamazoo Gals. Come to find out, he has unearthed an incredible almost-forgotten history about the women who stepped in and crafted Gibson guitars while the men in their lives were at war. These guitars are considered some of the finest ever made by Gibson.

It was a five-year journey of research, conversations, and travel. The story is so remarkable, it’s become a documentary that won Best Short Documentary awards at the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival and Red Dirt Film Festival. And there are more festivals screening the film in 2025.

He’s an author, a musician, an attorney, a law professor, an avid cyclist, and a champion of women in music.

Meet John Thomas! (Documentary trailer below)

In This Episode

• How John Thomas stumbled upon the photo that revealed Gibson’s female workforce during WWII.

• The scientific proof that these “Banner” wartime guitars were the finest craftsmanship that Gibson has produced and why.

• The stories of three surviving Gibson workers whom John interviewed for the book and new documentary.

• How Gibson’s reaction to the book has evolved over the years (a rollercoaster ride).

Plus, John’s answers to the Shakedown Questions!

This episode was recorded in April 2025.

Disclaimer: Opinions of Herizon Music show guests are not necessarily those of Thea Wood Productions, LLC or its employees, volunteers, advisors, or contractors.

Herizon Music is produced by Thea Wood Productions, LLC, an Amazon Associate that earns from qualifying purchases. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Guest Links

If you don’t see these links (or embedded videos!) on your podcast platform, get the full experience at HerizonMusic.com.

Buy John Thomas’s Kalamazoo Gals here on Amazon.

Kalamazoo Gals Website & Social Links

Documentary Trailer

Credits

Guest: John Thomas
Host: Thea Wood
Production: Thea Wood

Listen to other episodes of Herizon Music: The Podcast.

Support This Podcast

There are 3 ways you can support women in music and Herizon Music: The Podcast:

1. Opt into a paid subscription. Upgrade here.

2. Sponsor a podcast episode! You or your business can reach our dreamers, rule breakers and rockstars in the most positive way possible! It’s super affordable to sponsor this evergreen content that includes a midroll after The Shakedown questions and logo/link in the Show Notes. Email me for a rate card.

3. Sponsor an issue (or two or three!) of the Herizon Music Newsletter. It costs time and money to publish the exposés, news, and interviews that over a thousand subscribers and 3,000 social media followers read. Email me for a rate card for this and other marketing opportunities.

If you’d like to reproduce this podcast or a portion of the podcast or associated content, you must obtain prior approval in writing from Thea Wood Productions, LLC. Email herizonmusic@substack.com.

Uncharted Territory: Book Preview and Sexism in Music By The Numbers

Chris Dalla Riva’s new book Uncharted Territory: What Numbers Tell Us about the Biggest Hit Songs and Ourselves (Bloomsbury Publishing) officially launches November 13, 2025. Music geeks are already pre-ordering the book and buying tickets for the book’s launch party in Hoboken, NJ. You can do both right here.

Chris gave me a sneak peek at some chart trends for women in music. This infographic immediately caught my eye and served as the springboard for our short but info-packed Q&A. Let’s dive in…

THEA: Motown Records was the driving force behind Black artists achieving more #1 hits than any other time previous to the 1960s. Half of Motown’s chart-topping acts at the time were women. I don’t know of any other label today that can make that claim. What was Motown’s secret sauce for churning out #1 female acts?

CHRIS: I think part of it was the times and part of it was Motown itself. Leading up to the early 1960s, girl groups were having a huge moment. (Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz detail this in their incredible book, But Will You Love Me Tomorrow? An Oral History of the ’60s Girl Groups.) Of course, vocal groups made up entirely of women were not new (e.g, The Andrews Sisters, The Chordettes), but this was a distinct phenomenon that melded close harmonies with rhythm and blues arrangements, as demonstrated by groups like The Bobbettes and The Chantels. Berry Gordy, the ever astute businessman, was very much following this trend.

At the same time, for an industry dominated by men, Motown had a large group of women making decisions from the outset. As I noted in my book, “[Gordy’s] four sisters and then-wife worked in notable roles at the company, and certain departments—like quality control, the department that selected which recordings to release—were headed by women.” I believe that the inclusion of women in decision-making roles helped foster women’s careers behind the microphone at Motown.

THEA: I’m also convinced that the label’s “Finishing School” expert Maxine Powell played a significant role in women’s success during the ‘60s. Television appearances were becoming a big boon for rising stars and having the right style, grooming, and communication skills made great first impressions on national broadcasts. MTV took it to another level when it launched. Do you see visual technological shifts contributing to women’s success when you look at the charts and trends?

CHRIS: I think you are onto something as Motown was especially cognizant of image. In fact, you’ll notice that some early Motown covers don’t even show the artists for fear that white Americans wouldn’t listen if they knew the artists were Black.

Image became more important with the proliferation of television. That importance only grew with the rise of MTV. I wouldn’t go so far as to claim that women only found chart success because image was more important. But we certainly see women pushing their art visually in the second half of the 20th century in ways that were not feasible in the first half.

THEA: What is a “topliner” and why do women get siloed into this role vs. other creative roles like music production or composition?

CHRIS: Historically, songwriting duos divided their labor between music and lyrics. Someone wrote the chords and the melody. Another person set that melody to words. This describes many duos in the early- to mid-20th century, including George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin, Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and Burt Bacharach and various lyricists.

This setup slowly broke down during the last few decades of the 20th century and eventually gave way to something called “track-and-hook.” Under this paradigm, you had a producer making chords and beats. Then a topliner would come in to do the vocal melody and lyrics. In the contemporary songwriting process, you are more likely to see women in toplining roles rather than producer roles. In fact, when I spoke to Bonnie McKee last year, she noted, “I’m producing now, but there is still an assumption that because I’m a woman that I’m only there to write a topline.”

In Chapter 11 of my book, I trace this to long-running stereotypes that deem women fit to interpret songs but not create them. Over the last few hundred years, “interpreting” usually meant singing. While toplining does involve composing, it is largely focused on vocal melodies. Thus, it makes sense that women are often siloed to the roles given how historically they were often siloed to singing roles.

THEA: In your book, you mention Kesha’s decade-long legal battles with producer Dr. Luke for alleged sexual assault and verbal abuse. Numbers vary depending on the source, but a 2018 survey by the Music Industry Research Association revealed that nearly 70% of women in the industry had experienced some form of sexual harassment; almost 50% do not report it and many who do say they are ignored or black listed. In your opinion, how can we make music-related careers safer for women?

CHRIS: Obviously, this issue is not exclusive to the music industry, so solving it in music likely requires larger systemic changes. Still, I feel like one of music’s issues is that it operates outside the strictures of normal 9-to-5 employment. Hours are not only irregular, but you learn your craft more in an apprentice model. Because the field was historically dominated by men, many of those mentor roles are still held by men. I think generational turnover is going to do much good for the industry as more women have slowly come into power. If you are a young woman, you will likely have the option to work with and learn from women going forward. I think having more women present in studios will lead to safer spaces.

Of course, that likely isn’t enough to correct all abuses. And I sadly don’t have a panacea to resolve everything. In the book, I am mostly highlighting an issue that I saw appear in the data rather than prescribing a solution. That felt a bit outside my area of expertise. But I think the last decade has shown that men can suffer consequences for their actions. My hope is that seeing those consequences inspires women to keep speaking up and teaches young men that that behavior is unacceptable. Clearly, there’s still a lot of work to be done.

Buy your copy of Uncharted Territory here.

Thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars!

Until next time, it’s a wrap! 🎶

Thea Wood and Chris Dalla Riva

If you like podcasts, take a listen to Herizon Music’s Podcast!

• Poll: Do You Watch Live-Streaming Videos?

• New Releases: September 2025

• Share-Worthy Headlines from Music Stackers

• Submit Your New Release For Consideration

Want to help Herizon Music succeed where traditional media fails in covering women’s contributions to the music industry and the issues that affect them and their fans? Three easy ways are right here! Thank you 🙏🏻 for your support.

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Poll: Do You Watch Live-Streaming Videos?

Substack launched a live video-streaming feature where hosts share video blogs, interview guests, how-to videos, live entertainment, and other engaging content. Hosts can pre-promote these live videos so you can add them to your calendar and interact in real time with them.

Do YOU watch live streams on Substack or elsewhere? Please take the poll!

Have more to say? Share your opinion in the comments.

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Herizon Music’s New Releases: September 2025

Steel Gemini, Texas

“Legendary Man” (single, synth pop)

Synth-pop artist Steel Gemini’s (Joy Baldwin) new album Legendary is a heartfelt tribute to Austin icons The Reivers’ 1985 album Translate Slowly. Baldwin’s version does the music proud with her modern interpretation. The love song “Legendary Man” hints at psychotic tendencies with thoughts of drowning and strangling their object of affection. Maybe it’s a fine-line parasocial song like The Police’s “Every Breath You Take.” Draw your own conclusions. That said, the promotional pink cassette tape is a conversation starter and pays homage to the ‘80s Pretty-In-Pink vibe. OMG, is Duckie the legendary man?!?

Katie McTigue, California

Pacing (album, pop culture punk)

Pop-culture humor mixed with low-tech punk sensibilities make Katie McTigue’s Pl*net F*tness project a worthy track-flicking romp. I suspect McTigue is a lyrical genius impersonating an everyday Jo(sephine). The short “disclaimer” may be the most revealing and tempting opening track ever recorded in 1 minute and 10 seconds. The whole album is icing on the cake.

Abigayle Oakley, Las Vegas/Nashville

“Hazel Eyed Lover in Patagonia” feat. jed and the valentine (single, folk)

Calling all you campers, hikers and tired rockstars! Abigayle Oakley’s self-released single is a folk ditty that kisses ‘90s indie college station DJ’s. This is the get-back-to-nature anthem for Gen Z’s who are ready for a more meaningful connection with people and nature than an app could ever simulate.

Eva Pagán, New York City

“Til I Die” (single, electro-pop)

Switching the channel for all you Spanglish electronic fans. Eva Pagàn released a club banger about love at first sight with “Til I Die.” Jaded chicks like me know that new relationship fireworks fizzle out before the Grim Reaper comes knocking, but I sure do love the electrified optimism!

Estani, Texas

“Para Que Recordar” (single, conjunto)

Wavemakers Women In Music grant winner Estani Frizell covers just about every Latin genre you can think of. The traditional single “Para Que Recordar” pays homage to her conjunto songstress grandmother. Estani’s new album Tu De Mi Te Acordarás (You Will Remember Me) even features short narratives from her abuela about each song. It’s a 5-margarita rating!

Trousdale, California

Growing Pains, (album, pop)

The Trousdale trio includes SoCal composers/singers Georgia Greene (pianist), Lauren Jones (singer/songwriter), and Quinn D'Andrea (classical pianist)
Ever break up with someone because they just couldn’t get their shit together? Then a miracle occurs and he/she is bragging about how they’re living their best life, achieving all their goals, and blissfully happy and attractive to everyone? I just learned these confused people are called fantasists, and “Over and Over” is for them.

Share-Worthy Headlines from Music Stackers

Herizon Music hosts the newsletter and podcast on Substack, a platform designed for writers. The music writers (a.k.a. music stackers) have nurtured a strong and growing community of writers AND fans that is unmatched in how they support each other. Their expertise, essays, discoveries, and opinions cross my feed daily. Here are some noteworthy headlines.

New Bands for Old Heads

The Musician vs. The Fan

Nobody is immune to parasocial relationships…

Read more

8 months ago · 62 likes · 18 comments · Gabbie and Queen Kwong

Letter from Laurel Canyon

'No Head, No Backstage Pass'

From Starship to limo to hotel suite, when you’re a 1970s rock star, all the world’s your personal backstage. Which, as day follows night, gives rise to the backstage pass, ending whatever pretext of…

Read more

8 months ago · 25 likes · 8 comments · Letter from Laurel Canyon

Media Room - The Arts in Real Life

Live Interview With Buffalo Philharmonic Music Director JoAnn Falletta

Thank you to JoAnn Falletta and everyone who tuned into my live video…

Listen now

8 months ago · 2 likes · 2 comments · Frank Housh and JoAnn Falletta

Remember The Lightning

Is It Power Pop?!

This is a guest post series about power pop featuring some of my favorite music writers. We’ll be sharing a new installment every few weeks or so (while supplies last). Full series here…

Read more

8 months ago · 39 likes · 31 comments

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Peace, love, and happiness to all you dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars. Thank you for life rich beyond compare.

Together, we rise! ❤️🧡💛

Submit Your New Release

Are you a female or female-fronted act who is releasing new music? Direct Message the following information. Be sure to use the “direct” tab.

• Artist Name

• Contact Name (if different)

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All submissions are considered but listings are not guaranteed. You will be tagged on issues featuring your music. Please plan to promote the feature on your social media, newsletter, and website. Cross-promotion and link juice create a win-win for us all with those blasted AI and SEO algorithms!

Tits Out: Kesha Waves Her Freedom Flag

Kesha’s Tits Out tour hit North America this year in support of her new album .(Period). It’s the first release on her own Kesha Records label, and she’s celebrating a new sense of freedom given her decade-long legal trouble with her former label and producer.

You’d have to be pretty distanced from pop music to not know Kesha or heard her chart-topping hits like “Tik Tok,” “Praying,” and “Take It Off.” She’s been on my radar for years, but I’m unfamiliar with most of her work. Scroll to the bottom for music videos for her new music.

This is not a concert review, as I feel unqualified to write one. It’s a herald to the message behind the music and the tour.

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The Scissor Sisters Reunited

So, why was I chomping at the bit for tickets for Kesha’s show? Because one of my favorite acts, The Scissor Sisters, reunited to share the bill. The sisters broke up, or took a hiatus depending on the interview and source, in 2012 after “Let’s Have A Kiki” hit #1 on Billboard’s Dance charts and 10 years of recording and touring. The band decided to end on a high note.

The last time I saw them was 2011 at Stubb’s outdoor stage in Austin, TX on a rare headlining gig right after they opened for Lady Gaga’s tour. Their brand of rainbow pop rock (is that a genre yet? if not, I’m coining it), costuming, high energy, and sheer joy set the tone for an extended dance party. The crowd shook their asses off, and when the band asked everyone to put their phones away and live in the moment for just a few minutes, everyone miraculously complied.

Today, my GBF Dan and I both agreed that we were so blessed to catch this electric musical experience before they hung up their microphones.

I never dreamed they would get back together again.

So here I was 14 years later with husband in tow, ready to relive the glory at Pine Knob Music Theater in Michigan. And they didn’t disappoint. The trio Jake Shears, Baby Daddy and Del Marquis are the band’s heart and soul, with drummers Connor Irias and Randy Schrager, and powerhouse vocalists/dancers Amber Martin and Bridget Barkin rounding out the cast of characters. The set dazzled with risqué costuming and campy theatrics (giant boobs were tits out!), high energy dance moves, and colorful humor deeper than an ocean of Skittles.

They scratched my itch with two faves “Don’t Feel Like Dancin’” and Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb.”

My emotions got the better of me when they busted out George Michael’s “Freedom” with singers Martin and Bridget joining Shears. My phone cam is crap but I caught some of it here on the jumbo screen while wiping tears from my face.

The song hits home in today’s political climate, where individuality is suffocating under political ideology. In fact, we saw a masked man standing defiantly at Pine Knob’s entrance waving a “Trump” flag - a symbol of oppression for many Kesha fans. His tiny flag paled in comparison to the night’s in-your-face symbolism of freedom and joy.

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6 Ways Kesha Heralds Her New Freedom

Which leads us to the main attraction: Kesha and the tour’s “Freedom” theme. There is a lot for the 38-year-old singer/songwriter to celebrate, and she’s making sure her independence is clear. Her message resonates with fans if the packed venue and record sales are any indication.

1. Her new album .(Period) was released on July 4th, 2025. Independence Day, baby! It debuted at No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Vinyl Albums & Top Dance Albums charts, per Billboard. This gives hope for other artists considering a switch from major label to indie status.

2. “Tits Out” as a tour theme is about sexual freedom and self-expression. “The most political thing we can do right now is love. Love ourselves and love each other,” Kesha wrote in a press release. “Americans need to have more safe, consensual sex. Our administration is so disembodied and disconnected. I’m going TITS OUT this summer to bring as much safety, fun, acceptance, love, connection, and celebration to this country because we are just as much the fabric of this FREE nation as anyone else.”

3. The album was released on her own Kesha Records label. She was the executive producer with the freedom to write and record without being forced to release music for a label that employed her accused abuser.

Kesha spent the better part of a decade pretty miserable as she battled for her freedom from Kemosabe Records’ contract. Here is a link to NPR’s summary of their legal battle centered around sexual and emotional abuse charges against her former producer Lukasz Gottwald, a.k.a. Dr. Luke. He also employed the moniker Tyson Trax, as Doja Cat's producer on "Say So” in 2019.

Finally free from Kemosabe Records' contract forcing her to work under the same roof (and sometimes same studio) with Dr. Luke during litigation, Kesha is once again an indie artist who released .(Period) on her own label. If the full house at Pine Knob was any indication, successfully touring as an indie artist is 100% feasible. That’s good news for all of us. 

You can buy her digital album here for only $7.99 and CD here for $13.98.

4. The album’s opening track is titled “Freedom” with the opening lyrics:

Freedom
I've been waiting for you
Everything's changed now
We haven't talked for a while

5. Kesha is taking a cue from Taylor Swift’s playbook and is re-recording songs produced by Dr. Luke from her first two albums. She announced that she is performing them for the first time in 13 years on this tour.

6. The decapitated mannequin head. Kesha opened the show with her biggest hit “Tik Tok” carrying a bloody head by the hair that resembled herself from 2010. Throwing away the head by the song’s end effectively symbolized the messy cutting of ties with her past. The visual was jarring and creepy, as her battle with the label and producer must have felt like for so many years.

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Kesha’s New Music Videos

Let’s wrap this up with new music videos.

Thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars!

Thea ❤️🧡💛🎶

• Chris Bro’s Shaped By Sound & Thea’s “Everlasting Love” story

• New Music From Women We Love: July 2025

• Special Offer from JV Agency for Music Makers

• New Music submission Directions for Music Makers

Before jumping into Herizon Music’s first new music listing of Summer 2025, I’m sharing my recent guest post for Chris Bro’s Shaped By Sound on Substack. He asked that I tell “My Life In Music” story as part of a new series. I chose my life in LIVE music, starting with my first concert and “everlasting love” story. Music videos included!

Andy Gibb at Pine Knob, Clarkston, (June 16, 1978)

Newly baptized and joyfully singing a cappella at Sunday services, I begged my mother to take my Sunday school BF’s to see the youngest Gibb brother, Andy Gibb. “Everlasting Love,” “Shadow Dancing,” and “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” were a 1970s radio gold. It was my first proper concert and us girls were positively giddy. Those screams of joy turned to wails of despair when my mom dragged us out during the encore to avoid parking lot gridlock. At least that was the excuse— part of it may have been the joints and cocaine bullets most likely passing through the crowd. What I knew for sure is that this was the single greatest day of my tween life. My passion for concerts was born.

READ ON to find out which band changed my life in 1988.

New Music From Women We Love: July 2025

July’s new music listings unintentionally landed in folk/roots rock, blues, and country genres with themes of truth telling and setting personal boundaries. Perhaps the current political and social chaos served with a mouth-puckering dose of “misinformation” is awakening a force in our songwriters that calls for a kinder, deeper connection with each other.

Next New Music listing is in August. If you’re a female/female-fronted act who would like to submit a new release, scroll down for submission info.

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Emma Swift, Nashville by way of Australia

“No Happy Endings” (single, folk pop)

This is the first single released from Emma Swift’s upcoming album Resurrection Game, her first album in 5 years. While this singer-songwriter’s music is often described as folk rock, “No Happy Endings” feels more pop influenced, flavored with melancholy and a splash of enduring hope. I anticipate a similar sound from the full album come September 2025, stay tuned to find out. You can subscribe to her Substack, too!

Aliza Hava, Oregon

“The Only Way Out is Through” (single, folk rock)

Aliza Hava and I met at the GRAMMYS in January 2025. It was like fate brought us together as this release is a comfort to me in the aftermath of my father’s passing and deadly Texas floods devastating Camp Mystic (a place and family dear to my heart). The full album, Into The Light, releases September 2025 and is already charting #1 on the Top 50 Folk Albums per The Roots Music Report. If you like a Melissa Etheridge’s vocal stylings and anthemic crescendos, you’ll dig Aliza.

Reese Goode, Texas

“Take It Back” (single, country rock)

Reese Goode is 17 years old and already writing songs that draw relationship boundaries with grit usually penned by more experienced artists like Miranda Lambert. “Take It Back” is the first single from her forthcoming EP Truth, which takes a match to the crappy things people say and do to you. The second single “Truth” follows the same rockin’ vein of self-preservation. We will watch Reese’s career with great interest.

Carolyn Wonderland, Texas

Truth Is (album, blues and roots rock)

I’m convinced that Carolyn Wonderland is the most-wanted guitarist in the blues scene. She has performed/recorded with so many blues icons in the past and on this album that I’m deferring to Blues Blast Magazine’s comprehensive list. The title track showcases not only her nimble finger-picking (cultivated because her parents forbade practicing with a pick) but also her dynamic vocal range. The whole album is a self-contained playlist for your Sunday morning back-porch church. Or a Friday night sunset bonfire. Try both!

Annahstasia, California/New York

Tether (album, R&B and folk)

Annahstasia’s timbre and musings invoke a visceral response that can only be matched by Joan Armatrading circa 1976-77. Every track on her debut album Tether is a lullaby for the soul. There is a purism in the delivery and recording that mirror the call for a kinder, more honest connection between two human beings. I’m a believer. The single “Believer” will make you one, too.

Haute & Freddy, California

Shy Girl, (single, new wave synth pop)

Haute & Freddy (Michelle Buzz and Lance Shipp) are the freaky sideshow act in this month’s listing, and we love them for it. This TikTok-incubated duo mashes 18th-century baroque carnival aesthetics with 1980s-influenced synth pop + a 2025 cotton-candy twist. “Shy Girl” conjures dreams of Bjork and New Order conceiving a love child at your favorite Renaissance Faire. They play ACL Music Fest in October, so grab a turkey leg, eyeliner, and your favorite ren fen garb. Here is a great guide for choosing the perfect faire costume for kicks and giggles.

Hannah Cohen, New York

Earthstar Mountain (album, R&B + psych folk)

My musical radar must have a glitch b/c there is no other reason why Hannah Cohen hasn’t tripped major blips since her debut album in 2012. Which is why I’m late spotlighting her latest album Earthstar Mountain that released in March 2025. The collection is a celestial swirl of ‘70s-influenced R&B like “Summer Sweat” (think DJ Venus Flytrap’s late-night show on WKRP in Cincinnati) and the hippie chick magnet “Draggin’” — both of which were recorded at her studio in the Catskill Mountains. It’s shaping up to be in my 2025 top albums short list. Fairy Godmother Wish: Hannah Cohen and Boy Golden touring together, pretty please.

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Peace, love, and happiness to all you dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars. Thank you for life rich beyond compare.

Together, we rise! ❤️🧡💛

Submit Your New Release

Are you a female or female-fronted act who is releasing new music? Direct Message the following information. Be sure to use the “direct” tab.

• Artist Name

• Contact Name (if different)

• Contact email address

• Link to YouTube video for the single or single from album; audio-only videos are fine

• Link to website

All submissions are considered but listings are not guaranteed. You will be tagged on issues featuring your music. Please plan to promote the feature on your social media, newsletter, and website. Cross-promotion and link juice create a win-win for us all with those blasted AI and SEO algorithms!

Originally, I saw the film for a SheSpark Magazine feature article. The e-mag covered style, beauty, and wellness for women over 40 and featured interviews from high-achieving women like actress and breast cancer survivor and activist Fran Drescher, to health and fitness coach and athlete Jenna Wolfe, to body-positivity guru and image consultant Dr. Carol Parker Walsh. Jett’s rock and roll edge fit perfectly with the modern woman 40+ who is bold and self-aware.

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Preface

This article is a revisit of the first article. I planned to post it three weeks ago but was sidelined due to a reasons outlined in “Mourning, Music and Writing.”

Updated based on the times, I hope this serves as a reminder that we need women in music representing all walks of life, of all ages, all colors, all socio-economic backgrounds to give us encouragement. To provide comfort and understanding when family or community fall woefully short or are downright cruel. One line from a song or a speech could make the difference between a person moving forward or giving up.

PRIDE month embodies that spirit. I am a Gen X hetero woman who celebrates diversity, including our LGBTQIA sisters and brothers, because it makes us all better humans and spiritual beings. And loving and respecting your neighbor is the right thing to do. Hard stop.

PRIDE reminds people that love and freedom to love transcends the chains of oppression. Some people use religious scripture to condemn the PRIDE movement as a showcase of the deadly sin. To them, I ask: Who are you to judge others based on a sense of moral superiority? That mentality is the definition of sinful pride. PRIDE month destroys sinful pride in a colorful celebration of equality and individuality.

Where does destructive pride END and self-worth and pride in your merit BEGIN?

I found this article “The Deadly Sin of Pride” by Paul Sands (Associate Professor of Theology, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University) to be thought-provoking.

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Joan Jett's Life Lessons For Stirring Up Good Trouble

Joan Jett has carved out her reputation in the gay rights, women’s rights, and animal rights community. Rather than give lip service to the media or shine the spotlight on her personal relationships, she simply does the work.

Coincidentally, Jett recently launched her Youtube music video “Real Wild Child (Wild One),” written by Australian Johnny O'Keefe, with Johnny Greenan and Dave Owens. The song was released in 1958; Jett recorded it for 1998’s re-issued album Flashback. Iggy Pop’s version (1986) was my college alarm clock wake-up song.

Lesson One: “Stick-to-it-iveness”

My dad came up with this commitment humdinger to describe my son’s work ethic, and it’s with pure joy that I use it here. Jett sets her sights on a goal or a passion and sticks with it. Shining example of her Stick-to-it-iveness:

The breakup of Joan’s first band, The Runaways, in 1979 broke her heart. Literally. She spent six weeks in the hospital with heart valve infection and pneumonia. She could not imagine a world where she wasn’t playing rock and roll. After recovering, she committed to a rock and roll life. She formed The Blackhearts and started her journey as a lead-female act who has not stopped performing and recording since. Jett is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee (2019) and is dubbed the Godmother of Punk.

Can you imagine performing for an audience after musicians you look up to demean you backstage? Here is a quote from an interview with Loudersound.com: “One time, The Runaways opened for Rush, I think in Detroit,” she recalls. “I remember those guys standing at the side of the stage laughing at us. And, you know, if I was Rush I wouldn’t be laughing at me. Then there was Molly Hatchet. The guys said: ‘I can’t believe we’re opening for a bitch.’ And then Scorpions were mad because they were a German band and we were bigger in Germany than they were. People just don’t want to see girls doing things they don’t think girls should do.”

Lesson 2: Don’t Take No For An Answer

At age 13, Jett picked up her first guitar and signed up immediately for guitar lessons. Her guitar teacher’s response when she said she wanted to learn rock songs: “Girls don’t play rock and roll.” She quit the lessons but committed to teaching herself how to play hard, loud, rockin’ electric guitar.

She was quoted in a 2021 Forbe’s article: “I knew what he meant, and I knew he was wrong… He meant rock ’n roll was sexual, and girls can’t sing about sex because nobody is comfortable with it. He wasn’t telling me I couldn’t play acoustic guitar or folk music; he was saying I couldn’t play rock music specifically, because it was sexual.”

After forming her band The Blackhearts, Jett and her best friend and business partner Kenny Laguna pounded the pavement looking for a record deal. They were rejected by 23 labels despite her prior success with The Runaways. Taking matters into their own hands, they funded and built indie label Blackhearts Records in 1980 and recorded, printed, and marketed the music themselves - initially selling albums from the trunk of their car. She also produced albums for other bands like The Germs’ album (GI). The strategy became a leading model for other artists/indie labels. The first single from the first fully-recorded Blackhearts album was the title track, "I Love Rock 'n' Roll,”which was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks in a row in 1982.

Check out the artists Blackheart supports now.

Lesson 3: Uplift Others

It’s harder to stand up FOR people and causes than it is to fight against what makes you angry. Many of Jett’s interviews include raw stories of she and other women’s horrible treatment in the music industry. By not sugarcoating or making excuses for male chauvinism and discrimination (“it was a different time” or “boys will be boys”), she leads by example in moving forward in spite of the shitty things people say and do along the way. Lift yourself up, surround yourself with people who lift you up, and uplift others along the way.

Jett speaks out for animal rights saying, “We are all sisters under the skin,” as she advocates for ethical treatment of animals, especially in the food manufacturing industry.

And, of course there is PRIDE.

In 2012, artist Laura Jane Grace came out as transgender in Rolling Stone. Jett reached out to offer Grace career advice and support. Here is what Grace had to say about the experience.

Jett and Miley Cyrus then uplifted Grace in the most effective way artists can by taking it to the stage. Here is a cover of The Replacements’ “Androgynous.”

Most importantly, Jett sees rock music as more than just entertainment. In her RRHOF acceptance speech, Jett said,

“Rock n’ Roll means more than music, more than fashion, more than a good pose. It’s the language of a subculture that’s made eternal teenagers out of all who follow it. It’s a subculture of integrity, rebellion, frustration, alienation – and the glue that set generations free of unnatural suppression. Rock’n’roll is political. It’s a meaningful way to express dissent, stir up revolution and fight for human rights.”

That’s what the late congressman John Lewis called “Good Trouble.” Let’s be like Joan Jett and stir up some good trouble, sisters and brothers!

Peace, love, and happiness to all you dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars. Thank you for making my life rich beyond compare.

Together, we rise! ❤️🧡💛🏳️‍🌈

Thea🎶

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On June 7, 2025, my mother, step brother and I were by my step father’s side as he crossed over to his next adventure.

I drafted this article about my feelings five days ago, but sat on it. The sentiment is off brand from Herizon Music’s mission statement, so hesitation abounded. This morning, I read the Substack post titled “Fragments and Voices” about her thoughts on writing, life changes, and personal loss. Upon further reflection, I found the courage to hit the publish button.

** Thank you to my mother for blessing this article and helping me find my words while she still grieves. Love you, mom. **

Mourning

The signs of emotional trauma and mourning appear in subtle forms. This intimate familial death experience was so profound and heartbreaking that I am overwhelmed and find myself frequently at a loss for words or where I am physically located. Finding myself in rooms without remembering how I got there or why. Getting lost on my way to familiar places, like the local coffee shop. My iPhone’s Notes app checklist suddenly a necessary daily tool for handling the dozens of tasks associated with this turn of events. Memory alone cannot be trusted.

We were not prepared for David’s passing as he had recovered from surgery and had friends and family calling and visiting him at a physical therapy facility for his birthday the day before his death. The 84-year-old outperformed PT expectations (throwing 20 bean bags consecutively into a pan 12’ away), and he planned to come home just two days later. David was always a high achiever: Captain and U.S. Naval Academy graduate, automotive executive, 4-Star LEED home builder, four-degreed engineer, home chef, multi-linguist, and afterlife donor… the list is long. He never stopped learning and creating. His latest hobby? Designing and constructing a model train system for which he invented tools that cut the foundation material and tracks for perfectly efficient assembly and flow.

David happily lent a hand with family and friend’s projects and “fix it” requests with no expectations of public praise or reciprocity. I cannot begin to count the number of projects he worked on with his grandchildren over the years, with immense impact on their character development and own achievements.

The drawback of living with such a vibrant man for 40+ years is that you cultivate a false sense of permanence, invincibility. At least that’s what I did. Perhaps that is why the shock feels so extreme. The timing hit especially hard as my son’s high school graduation ceremony and party was June 8th, the day after his passing. In keeping with David and my mother’s wishes that attention stayed focus on my son, we did not share David’s passing with our kids and then guests until graduation day’s end. Expressing joy for my son while holding back the pain for two days drained me. David and my son were thick as thieves throughout his childhood. How does a mom tell her son that is best friend died? ((deep sigh))

Music - Time Passages

For days, music could not comfort me. Nothing sounded… worthy. Frantic channel flipping and manic search/play/stop/repeat streaming patterns ensued in my quest for some kind of release.

Thankfully, the Universe stepped in with a spark. Al Stewart’s “Time Passages” came on Sirius XM’s ‘70s On 7 channel when I was running errands. That one song opened up the emotional and memory flood gates and a spiritual connection materialized. I had to pull the car over.

In 1990 (or maybe ‘91?), David and my mom arranged for us to meet in NYC to attend Cats on Broadway. My mom had to work, so David and I were on our own for a night. We strolled through streets searching for a non-touristy destination. When it started raining, we ducked into a small club with music wafting up from its sub-sidewalk neon-lit entrance.

I was 20 years old, but David ordered me a cocktail without a second glance from our waiter. I felt worldly sipping it in the smoke-filled dark room and was thrilled that the stage in front of us was set up for an acoustic act.

An unassuming man walked on stage, sat down, said a few words and started strumming. Wait, I recognized that name. I knew that tune. I knew that voice. I couldn’t believe my eyes or ears. Al Stewart was performing on stage not 15 feet away! It was like a private show just for David and me. Not only did I adore Stewart’s instrumental and lyrical prowess, so did David. We were floored by this amazing stroke of luck. This was a once-in-a-lifetime musical miracle. Sharing such a bond in our relationship imprinted on me so deeply that the following night’s Cats show pales in comparison to that magical memory shared just between us.

It was special. It was ours. And it went completely undocumented until today. I was scared as hell that writing about it would make it less meaningful. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

The music floodgates opened after that. Driving back and forth to my parents’ house, funeral home, airports, grocery stores, etc., Sirius XM channels landed squarely on

• 70’s on 7, channel 7

• The Bridge, channel 27

• Willie’s Roadhouse, channel 61 (David loved Austin and radio country classics)

• Symphony Hall, channel 78 (Tchaikovsky was David’s favorite composer and he dreamed of seeing The Bolshoi Ballet perform Swan Lake in Moscow)

At home, I listened to Joan Armatrading and Bob Dylan and Al Stewart. With a broken heart, brain fog, insomnia, and supporting my mom the best way I can, music now offers brief respites. The music therapy continues to evolve and will for a long time to come.

Writing

Forgive me for abandoning Herizon Music since May 29th without emailing an explanation. I drafted a PRIDE article and was awaiting image permissions to publish when everything went upside down. That article is coming out shortly:

“Three Things Joan Jett Taught Me.”

I rescheduled podcast interviews and episode launches/production, too. Reading, commenting, and sharing other Substack writers’ posts has kept me engaged without busting my sanity budget. These writers are kindred spirits.

With exception of this article and Jett’s feature this week, Herizon Music will not be deadline driven over the summer. At first I felt guilty, now I feel necessity. After insecure fits and starts (some online comments had to be deleted or edited post-haste), there is a somber resolve in slowing down and acting mindful and intentional about what I put out into the world. It’s not about rapid fire output; it’s about having something worthwhile to share together in the precious time we all have on this planet. David taught me to focus, do the job, and do it to the best of my ability. In honoring him, this is how I strive to move forward.

Herizon Music may evolve as clarity comes to light. While celebrating women in music is my passion, we shall see what contemplation reveals when a “mission statement” is not part of the equation. The product manager in me is freaking out about this unorthodox approach, but it’s a healthy experiment.

As a side note, I’m keeping the discounted anniversary subscription rates indefinitely ($12/annually and $1 monthly). They are only available on this page, which bypasses Substack’s pricing minimums.

Upgrade $12 Annually

If a free subscription with an option to donate a few bucks on the fly is up your alley, here is a new “Buy Me A Coffee” link. It’s like a virtual tip jar for indie creators. Donations go toward Herizon Music’s podcast and newsletter production. Your time and engagement are by far the greatest gifts.

Buy Me A Coffee

Thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars.

Peace be with you always.

❤️🧡💛 Together We Rise ❤️🧡💛

Thea 🎶

Five-Year Anniversary Subscription Discount Is Here!

OOPS! THE SPECIAL OFFER LINKS IN THE FIRST EMAIL WENT TO THE WRONG PAGE. THEY ARE NOW UPDATED. THE CORRECT LINK IS HERE.

In May 2019, I launched the first four episodes of Herizon Music’s podcast. Back then it was called Backstage Chats with Women in Music, named after the Austin-based nonprofit that produced it. We’ve come a long way and I want to celebrate by offering a huge discount to you.

Lesson Learned: Adapting Is Not Failure

About 9 months after we launched, the pandemic hit and our board of directors had to make some tough decisions. Our business plan was based on raising money at live music events (festivals, nonprofit events, industry events, etc.). What a kick in the head when all events went dark. And for good reason— I lost two family members to COVID early on and didn’t want anyone else to suffer.

We introduced programs that would directly help indie female acts during their time of need.

• Paid them to appear on live online shows.

• Featured indie artists in 20-minute Facebook streamed “meet and greets” where we chatted and they played a couple of songs, expanding their audiences (they were paid, of course).

• Offered the Rising Star Awards grants to three teens between 13-19 to help them move forward in their aspiring careers. Thank you Nicole B. Tate for making this grant possible.

• Continued our podcast interviews.

• Continued recruiting interns so they can get a leg up when they enter the workforce— we’ve seen 14 college students graduate through 2024. And yes, they get class credits for their work.

Most of our money was raised through hundreds of friends/family campaigns, local live music fundraisers, and online auctions with signed instruments and swag donated from Gibson Guitars, Joan Jett, Kathy Valentine, Linda Perry, Melissa Etheridge, Reba McEntire, even Daryl Hall & John Oates (before their fallout). That is how important our mission for gender equity and helping women during and post-COVID was to industry A-Listers. We changed the foundation and podcast name to Herizon Music because we became so much more than just interviews.

Unfortunately, running a board, paying a director a competitive salary, and the legal expenses of soliciting donations across state lines was still more than we could handle as the live music industry was still recovering. The board voted to sunset the foundation and sign over the rights to the brand and all content to me in 2023.

What felt like failure was, in fact, adaption that opened a door to success.

The first few months was about changing my mindset, setting up Thea Wood Productions, LLC, researching the market, and contemplating a paired down approach to promoting gender equity as a one-woman act. I recognized that men still get more music media coverage than women. A music journalist at heart, it seemed best to fill the void in the way I knew best with one bold move: moving the podcast and newsletter to Substack.

It turned out to be the best decision for Herizon Music.

What We Achieved Since 2023

Look where we started and look where we are now! This is because of YOU!

In 2025, Herizon Music was a FINALIST in the the journalism and media category for the Women Changing The World Global Awards, founded by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; Dr. Tererai Trent, Oprah’s “favorite guest”; and Peace Mitchell & Katy Garner, co-founders of AusMumpreneur, the Women's Business School, and WCW Press. The podcast was ranked #15 in Feedspot’s “Top 45 Women In Music Podcasts.” Our mission to promote gender equity in the music industry and music media is WORKING and getting recognition.

The “F” Word

Financials are trickier now that Herizon Music is no longer a nonprofit where donations are a tax write-off. The “F” word is hard to talk about, but it’s necessary to survive and thrive.

That’s where I need your help. If half of our free subs and followers bought a 12-month paid subscription today for only $12, all of Herizon Music’s operating expenses would be covered for the year, and I could hire audio engineers for podcast post production replacing my slower self-trained methods. Plus, I could pay myself enough to cover a few personal bills. You will get access to premium content like “Hidden Tracks” featuring music trailblazers and the sometimes shocking challenges they faced along the way. Plus discounts on live events and merch, which are in the planning/design phase.

Ready to upgrade for $12 annually or $2 monthly? CLICK HERE.

I don’t have an expiration date in mind yet for this discount offer. I’m just throwing caution to the wind and putting faith in the Universe that this offer will help reach my goal while saving you money. Thank you for taking the time to read this and consider upgrading. And thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars!

Rock on,
Thea 🎶

PS: Remember the 15% discount that JV Agency is offering musicians for their digital marketing services. Subscribing to Herizon Music has its perks!

Five-Year Anniversary Subscription Discount Is Here!

OOPS! THE SPECIAL OFFER LINKS IN THE FIRST EMAIL WENT TO THE WRONG PAGE. THEY ARE NOW UPDATED. THE CORRECT LINK IS HERE.

In May 2019, I launched the first four episodes of Herizon Music’s podcast. Back then it was called Backstage Chats with Women in Music, named after the Austin-based nonprofit that produced it. We’ve come a long way and I want to celebrate by offering a huge discount to you.

Lesson Learned: Adapting Is Not Failure

About 9 months after we launched, the pandemic hit and our board of directors had to make some tough decisions. Our business plan was based on raising money at live music events (festivals, nonprofit events, industry events, etc.). What a kick in the head when all events went dark. And for good reason— I lost two family members to COVID early on and didn’t want anyone else to suffer.

We introduced programs that would directly help indie female acts during their time of need.

• Paid them to appear on live online shows.

• Featured indie artists in 20-minute Facebook streamed “meet and greets” where we chatted and they played a couple of songs, expanding their audiences (they were paid, of course).

• Offered the Rising Star Awards grants to three teens between 13-19 to help them move forward in their aspiring careers. Thank you Nicole B. Tate for making this grant possible.

• Continued our podcast interviews.

• Continued recruiting interns so they can get a leg up when they enter the workforce— we’ve seen 14 college students graduate through 2024. And yes, they get class credits for their work.

Most of our money was raised through hundreds of friends/family campaigns, local live music fundraisers, and online auctions with signed instruments and swag donated from Gibson Guitars, Joan Jett, Kathy Valentine, Linda Perry, Melissa Etheridge, Reba McEntire, even Daryl Hall & John Oates (before their fallout). That is how important our mission for gender equity and helping women during and post-COVID was to industry A-Listers. We changed the foundation and podcast name to Herizon Music because we became so much more than just interviews.

Unfortunately, running a board, paying a director a competitive salary, and the legal expenses of soliciting donations across state lines was still more than we could handle as the live music industry was still recovering. The board voted to sunset the foundation and sign over the rights to the brand and all content to me in 2023.

What felt like failure was, in fact, adaption that opened a door to success.

The first few months was about changing my mindset, setting up Thea Wood Productions, LLC, researching the market, and contemplating a paired down approach to promoting gender equity as a one-woman act. I recognized that men still get more music media coverage than women. A music journalist at heart, it seemed best to fill the void in the way I knew best with one bold move: moving the podcast and newsletter to Substack.

It turned out to be the best decision for Herizon Music.

What We Achieved Since 2023

Look where we started and look where we are now! This is because of YOU!

In 2025, Herizon Music was a FINALIST in the the journalism and media category for the Women Changing The World Global Awards, founded by Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; Dr. Tererai Trent, Oprah’s “favorite guest”; and Peace Mitchell & Katy Garner, co-founders of AusMumpreneur, the Women's Business School, and WCW Press. The podcast was ranked #15 in Feedspot’s “Top 45 Women In Music Podcasts.” Our mission to promote gender equity in the music industry and music media is WORKING and getting recognition.

The “F” Word

Financials are trickier now that Herizon Music is no longer a nonprofit where donations are a tax write-off. The “F” word is hard to talk about, but it’s necessary to survive and thrive.

That’s where I need your help. If half of our free subs and followers bought a 12-month paid subscription today for only $12, all of Herizon Music’s operating expenses would be covered for the year, and I could hire audio engineers for podcast post production replacing my slower self-trained methods. Plus, I could pay myself enough to cover a few personal bills. You will get access to premium content like “Hidden Tracks” featuring music trailblazers and the sometimes shocking challenges they faced along the way. Plus discounts on live events and merch, which are in the planning/design phase.

Ready to upgrade for $12 annually or $2 monthly? CLICK HERE.

I don’t have an expiration date in mind yet for this discount offer. I’m just throwing caution to the wind and putting faith in the Universe that this offer will help reach my goal while saving you money. Thank you for taking the time to read this and consider upgrading. And thank you for joining our band of dreamers, rule breakers, and rockstars!

Rock on,
Thea 🎶

PS: Remember the 15% discount that JV Agency is offering musicians for their digital marketing services. Subscribing to Herizon Music has its perks!

TIPS: How Women In Music Network For Success

Local Detroit music scene leaders hosted a mixer on Sunday, May 18th that sparked conversations about nurturing community and current challenges in today’s local music scene.

Before getting into the meat of this article, I’d like to thank singer/songwriter Jennifer Westwood for organizing this top-notch mixer. She leads by example in fostering community and was most-frequently called a “powerhouse” by attendees with whom I spoke. Her energy and commitment to the scene are boundless. And thank you to Guitar Hi-Fi for opening their doors to this crowd of creatives.

Musicians, radio stations, nonprofits, A&R reps, event ticketing companies, venue owners and others enthusiastically introduced themselves, upcoming events, and initiatives. The overall vibe was “we are in this together.” Here are a list of supporting groups and pics.

Where Are Our Sisters?

I’ve attended and sponsored more music community events hosted by and for female artists than I can count. They are motivating, educational, and truly a lot of fun. That said, the benefits of attending co-ed industry events are more powerful in promoting gender equity in music. While women represented different roles in the music industry at Sunday’s mixer, the number of male attendees far outnumbered the women.

Full disclosure, I had to leave after two hours because I’m recovering from a medical procedure and have to take it easy. But unless a tour bus full of women pulled up after I left, I’d say 80% plus or minus of attendees were men.

There is no way I’m going to point fingers or shame women who can’t make some of these events. Women are the primary caregivers in a family and many work multiple jobs to make ends meet (they only get about 20% of local music venue bookings and earn 15-30% less per show if they get paid). What I do know is that when we show up to community events, we effectively shut down a lot of arguments that work against us in promoting equitable treatment in the industry. These arguments include:

Venue owners: “There just aren’t enough female artists to book half my dates.”

Male musicians ISO: “If I knew any female musicians, I would ask them to audition.”

General feedback: “Women want special treatment.”

When women and men show up in the same spaces, these arguments disappear. Introductions foster professional opportunities. Seeing faces replaces anonymity that makes women easily dismissible. Relationships expose talent that deserves equal opportunity, not special treatment. When women and men show up to meet, exchange knowledge, and collaborate, a stronger local scene emerges for everyone.

Because inequity continues to exist, the need to meet with and assist sister music industry professionals remains critical to get ahead. There are A-listers who start nonprofits and professional organizations loaded with resources and opportunities. GRAMMY-winning music producer and songwriter Linda Perry started EqualizeHer to train emerging talent on the creative and technical sides of music. In 2022, the organization hosted a panel during SXSW discussing the issues that she and other female music professionals face in the industry. One moment stood out.

Perry said she has a hard time getting women to apply for programs or jobs she offers. She expressed frustration and confusion as to why women aren’t showing up for these opportunities. It’s a tough topic. One woman in the audience raised her hand and asked Perry if she wasn’t perpetrating misogynistic norms by “accusing” women of not stepping up. Whoa! I couldn’t believe it. Linda handled her response professionally, but I spent the next two minutes pretty miffed. We can no longer question women’s motives or lack of motive? If we don’t question motives, how do we improve communications and results? In retrospect, the question was probably posed to be inflammatory versus productive.

Why Women Show Up — Or Not

An often-quoted study that came from an internal Hewlett Packard report stated that “Men apply for a job when they meet only 60% of the qualifications, but women apply only if they meet 100% of them.” It was assumed that women lack confidence in themselves and their abilities.

Harvard Business Review published an article by Tara Sophia Mohr found that wasn’t the case. Instead, it appears that women who didn’t meet all the listed qualifications in a job description a) were less likely to waste time and energy if lacking 100% of qualifications would result in failure to get a call, and b) were more likely to look at the qualifications like rules that need to be followed. The words “fear of failure” are mentioned in the takeaways. My interpretation? We’re conserving our time and energy for a better match, and we tend to follow rules more than men. Shocking, I know.

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TIP: Be like Dolly. If men respond when they only meet 60% of qualifications, then it’s worth it for us to do it as well.

In a male-dominated industry scarcity is a constant threat. You may recall Kalie Shore’s interview when she recalls a label telling her she won’t get a deal because they have too many women signed already while yet another man was inking a deal in the next room. Or the lopsided industry statistics that haunt women on a daily basis. This leads to competition in a system that dictates one successful woman must be 86’d (no one is killed) to make room for another instead of expanding the talent pool or replacing a male colleague.

So, we may shy away from all-female events thinking it won’t do any good in boosting our careers. Per the above study, we aren’t ones to waste our precious time! Yet, collaboration beats competition— a Herizon Music core value since 2019. Kellogg Insight reveals a study about networking and career advancement in male-dominated industries. “Beers with the boys” and being highly connected in that network isn’t enough. Kellogg states that the “most successful women often had a tight-knit circle of female colleagues as well.”

Fostering a relationship with friends who have friends in high places provides public market information (like the booking agent’s name/info at a new club), which is enough for men to get the job. Women require that plus additional *private* information like internal culture and politics or other insider tips and sensitive information to get the job. Women provide each other with this private info. The result: women with both highly connected networks and close ties with female peers had an average job ranking 2.5 times higher than women whose networks lacked those two elements.

This is where Austin, Texas musicians excel. They have a plethora of co-ed and women-centric nonprofits and associations that promote those bonds and create a strong local music scene. Texchromosome, Wavemakers 40+, Guitar Girl, Women In Music, Harmony Sisters, Girls Rock Austin, and more that support women. Plus co-ed groups like Black Fret, Austin Music Foundation, The Texas Music Office (government) and the Texas chapter of the Recording Academy provide networking and career development.

TIP: Research and find one all-female group and one co-ed group that speak to what YOU need to advance your career (as a musician, audio tech, producer, songwriter, any role!). Introduce yourself, attend meetings, and build relationships. Don’t start with an “ask,” just get to know other members. The rest will come organically. If you don’t gel with one group, find a replacement that does.

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“Marketing Starts At Home”

These are the wise words of Jazmine Valencia of JV Agency in L.A. She provides both public and private information in our podcast chat about successfully marketing your music and brand. Networking is part of home-grown success.

How do you expect strangers to buy tickets and music if your local circles are not? That’s why a group of Michigan-based music professionals volunteered to start a campaign petitioning the Recording Academy to launch a regional chapter. Many people still think that the Academy simply hosts the GRAMMYS, but it offers so much more by way of career development resources, political and legal advocacy, grants, mentorships, and more. If you’re based in Michigan and want to be a part of this initiative, please contact me.

Meanwhile, Jazmine announced, “The JVA team is pleased to offer Herizon Music newsletter subscribers a special 15% discount on their digital marketing services. Please email herizon@jvagency.co, and mention "Herizon15" in the email to receive the discount.”

Email them and see if it’s for you, no obligation!I f it is for you, you’ll get the discount and Herizon Music gets a referral fee that helps keep our newsletter and podcast up and running.

It’s a wrap!
Thea 🎶

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