Tami Neilson’s show The F Word is a musical extravaganza that is also very political. Political you say? Yeah.
It was part concert, part lesson. Because Tami’s intention was to not only deliver great music but to make the point that the country music industry is full of sexism and prejudice. So each song was introduced by Dr Jada Watson from the University of Ottawa who has done extensive research on the issue of women’s representation in the country music world. And believe me it isn’t pretty. Women for decades have had fewer opportunities and in fact definite barriers put up to prevent them reaching the audience they deserve and earning the money they deserve. A prevailing attitude has been and still is ‘people just don’t want to hear women singing songs.’
Bizarre huh? Well Dr Watson provided the evidence and a bit of info about each female giant of the past 70 years and then Tami would sing one of their songs.
Now the lecture bit might sound a bit odd or preachy but in fact it was well done and really interesting. To find out what was going on behind the scenes and how much these women had to deal with was sobering.
And then of course there was the music. Tami, as I’m sure you know has a divine and powerful voice. Every single song was delivered exactly how it should be and with the right amount of humour or anger or sadness it deserved.
My favourite was The (then) Dixie Chick’s Not Ready to Make Nice which Tami delivered with breathtaking strength and defiance. Similarly the soaring and emotional deliver of Mickey Guyton’s What Are You Going to Tell Her was simply stunning. There were so many others covering the many decades and she paid tribute to, among others, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, K.D. Lang, and Dolly Parton.
What is obvious listening to these incredible songs delivered so fantastically is that the prejudice in the industry is just weird. Incidentally, if it’s been bad for white women, it’s been even worse for black women – their representation is even worse despite, as Dr Watson reminded us, the country music industry came from black culture.
When I left the venue I couldn’t help thinking that the biggest singer songwriter on the planet right now is Taylor Swift. Men and women across the spectrum love her.
Similarly Beyoncés Cowboy Carter album won Best Country Album at the Grammy Awards and has sold over 1 million copies yet didn’t get a single nomination at the Country Music Awards.
The idea that women can’t make sellable music is ridiculous so what else can it be but prejudice? So I’d like to thank Dr Watson and Tami Neilson for collaborating on The F Word – we got to listen to some great music while also being schooled – what’s not to love?