Rachel Lee Walsh

I recently returned from Nashville where I attended the 2009 Indiegrrl Women in the Arts Conference. It was an absolutely amazing experience. I played four showcases, including the Indiegrrl Main Stage, the Tryxo Entertainment Stage, the Women’s Radio Guerilla Room Showcase, and the Texas Women’s Guerilla Room Showcase. I attended some great workshops and panels. I also met many many fabulously talented performers, many of whom I’m looking forward to working with in the near future.

Opening Night Banquet

The opening night banquet, which included keynote addresses by David Llewellyn, 2008 winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and Karen E. Reynolds, the host and director of “The Writer’s Block” radio program, was a wonderful way to start the conference! One might normally expect keynote speakers at a music conference to focus on the business aspect of ways to succeed, but both Llewellyn and Reynolds talked a great deal on how important community is to our lives as musicians in our efforts to succeed. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place! Leave it to songwriters to speak eloquently and move everyone to tears!

Honorary Indiegrrl Members

Also at the banquet were the Honorary Indiegrrl Members who presented and performed at the conference. Pictured here is Rachael Sage, Karen E. Reynolds, Gilli Moon, and Sonya Heller, along with Vicki Blankenship, the founder and president of Indiegrrl Women in the Arts. Throughout the conference, I was able to attend panels, showcases, and performances led by each of these women, which were each absolutely astounding. It was so energizing and inspiring to hear each of these women’s stories, whether I heard it in the form of their advice about succeeding in the biz or I heard it in one of their quirky or beautiful songs!