I’m delighted to announce that I’m finally launching my new podcast! Womenfolk tells the stories of women working in roots music, on stage and behind the scenes, and features in-depth interviews by Maria Wallace (that’s me) with some fascinating musicians, songwriters, organisers, educators and more. Hit play on the audio player below to check out Episode 1 (the trailer episode) for a taste of what to expect, and please subscribe to Womenfolk, which is available anywhere you get your podcasts! You can also visit the Womenfolk web page here to find out more.
Long time followers of True North Music will know that I’ve been talking about starting a podcast for ages! I’ve been lucky to get to work with and build friendships with so many fantastic and fascinating people (of all genders) over the years, and there’s never enough time at a gig to share much about their life stories. In Womenfolk, I’m hosting interviews with female artists, creatives and organisers across folk, bluegrass, Americana and old time music, providing a window into the lives of some of the most talented, fascinating, hardworking people I know, who are making fabulous and important art, making great events happen and generally bringing joy, thoughtfulness, delight and merriment to their local communities and to audiences far and wide.
The trailer episode of Womenfolk is out now and the first interview episode will be coming up in the next few days. Back in 2022 (as announced in this blog post) I was lucky enough to be awarded a Developing Your Creative Practice grant by Arts Council England, and they’ve allowed me to delay the project for a couple of years – partly because I was so busy putting together True North Music’s local live music programme. Over the last few months I’ve been able to devote much more time to this podcast project – learning about audio editing, podcast scripting and interviewing, and conducting my first few interviews remotely. It’s been a big learning curve to get to grips with the audio editing in particular, but I’m really pleased with how the episodes have turned out. Please listen, subscribe, download and share with your music loving friends! Follow and like our social media pages – Womenfolk on Facebook and @womenfolkpod on instagram.
Championing women in roots music has always been a key part of my mission, and I’ve worked hard to ensure a fair level of gender representation in True North Music’s events and booking roster. As I’m sure you’ll all agree, the quality of the music we present is of the highest calibre and I’ve had no issue in ensuring this whilst actively working to promote fair gender representation – we’ve presented incredible female artists/bands with women members including Sierra Hull, Liv Greene, Laura Cortese, Jaywalkers, Molly Tuttle, Front Country, Allison de Groot & Tatiana Hargreaves, The Small Glories, AJ Lee, Evie Ladin, Sophie Wellington and so many more.
for that soon! Copyright © and ℗ 2025 Maria Wallace. All rights reserved. I also want to thank Arts Council England, whose funding support helped me bring this podcast to fruition.