After the pandemic turned our lives upside down, it’s heartwarming to see so many musicians back at it – sharing their music and bringing much needed joy back to the world. It feels like the collective grief we’ve all experienced – some affected much more negatively than others –has given way to a new normal. And gigs, shows and concerts in the Pacific Northwest have started up again!

For musicians who earned their living performing and touring, the pandemic has been devastating. But whether one makes their living solely through music or not, a 16 month unwanted break from gigging is a recipe for depression, anxiety, identity crises and a host of other challenges. Musicians need to play their music in order to feel whole and connected to themselves and others. I’ve always been a live performer who thrives from the energy the audience brings to a show – it’s just not the same live streaming music from my house and wondering if anyone is listening. I’ve missed playing guitar with my blues sisters in Canada and the US. And I’ve missed playing guitar and performing original roots and blues at venues and festivals around WA.

It was great to be invited to play at an all ages, outdoor 4^th of July show at a beautiful farm setting complete with virtual fireworks. As someone who cares deeply about encouraging our youth to play music, especially girls, it meant a lot to see tweens singing and drumming along and asking me questions about my electric guitars. I’m hoping they’ll be inspired to play music. The show was a lot of fun, the weather beautiful and the homemade beer and rhubarb ice cream was the best I’ve had. It was the best possible re-entry into playing live music again.

This weekend, Saturday July 28^th I’m looking forward to being part of the Heart of Anacortes and performing with the Badd Dog Blues Society. It’s a great feeling to be playing live music again!

I’m celebrating my favorite season, fall, with some great upcoming shows in BC and Washington featuring the power of women in the blues:

I’m kicking things off on Saturday Nov. 2nd at a benefit for the WISH Foundation at the Fairview Pub in Vancouver, BC with a line up of all women players on all instruments for a great cause. Then it’s the Blues Women’s turn to shine for our third appearance at the Wolf Bar in Maple Ridge. The Blues Women features Pam Dominelli, bass, vocals; Cathy Barrington, drums, vocals; Kathryn Baird, keys and I’ll be supplying the slide and lead riffs on my electric guitars.

The Washington Blues Society knows how to party in style and the Snohomish Blues Invasion is always a great party with 25+ of the best blues bands in the Pacific Northwest. We’ll be taking over Snohomish all day on November 17^th from 1pm-9pm. My band plays the Picadilly Circus at 1:15pm – an all ages show.

And for something completely different on Saturday November 23rd, I’ll be returning to Anelia’s Kitchen & Stage in La Conner with Bellingham based keyboardist and RnB singer, Margaret Wilder. Looking forward to a music filled, adventurous November on both sides of the border.

I often write about the difficulty women musicians, face being shut out of opportunities in favor of guys or how women are unfairly judged based on looks and other factors that have nothing to do with the caliber of their playing. A female bassist who I’ve played a number of shows with recently made a Facebook post about sexism in music and after a few hours there had been hundreds of comments. I shared my story of an experience going to a jam session in a community where I didn’t know the host or the players. I told them I play professionally as a lead guitarist and that I don’t need any additional guitar support. Unless I’m playing with other professional caliber players who listen, I find the music sounds better when I stick with my trio format, guitar, bass and drums. So, the host ignored my request and said I think I’ll just put my guitar player up with you “for support”. I can’t imagine a male player receiving the same response, but I got up anyways and played as hard as I could. In fairness, the “support guitarist” was a real pro and a decent guy and once he saw that I know what I’m doing, he completely backed off and let me do my thing. I got the usual surprised and enthusiastic reaction from the audience and clearly showed that I didn’t need any support from another guitarist. The jam host eagerly invited me to drop by any time and I suspect that if I do, I won’t be given a backup guitarist.

I posted this story on FB and I got a very encouraging reaction from some of the best Washington based female players – “you go girl” and other types of comments were common. Some of the guys really do get this issue and also liked my comments. But one comment from a touring musician/acquaintance really bothered me. He said, perhaps it was the way I introduced myself and asked to play that needs to change. Perhaps if I didn’t use the term “lead guitarist”, that might suggest I just play a few lead notes, the host would have allowed me onstage without additional guitar support. After pondering this response and calming myself down to write something thoughtful – I let this guy know that the issue of sexism in music isn’t about how women ask to be included, it’s about guys changing their mindset and recognizing the disparities that women face. It’s about guys and women who have the privilege of booking acts, running jams and festivals recognizing that women instrumentalists don’t get as much opportunity to perform especially at festivals and other big events. In a world filled with conflict and chaos, this may not seem like an important issue. But it is important, for future generations who love playing music that we create more opportunities for women to shine!

Being invited to perform at a guitar extravaganza with two of Washington’s most popular and award winning guitarists is a great way to start the New Year. I’ll be featured as one of three electric guitarists at the Unbound Blues, Hot Blues Saturday night show with CD Woodbury and Cory Vincent. It’s encouraging to have promoters like Unbound (Paul and Willow) recognize that women musicians don’t always get included and to take steps to change that.

Here’s hoping that 2019 brings more opportunities for women in music. The Hot Blues show is Saturday February 2^nd at the Madison Avenue Pub in Everett, downbeat is 7:30pm!

I’m reminded of what a beautiful part of the world we live in after my most recent show at the Eaglemont Golf Course. The restaurant and patio are set high on top of a hillside in a lush, woodsy area of Mount Vernon. We arrived for our Saturday early evening blues show with our usual carloads of PA equipment and gear. I travel with three guitars; my Danelectro which I use exclusively for slide, my Gibson which is my main axe because the fret board makes string bending easier than on most Fenders and my reclaimed redwood telecaster for those times that only a Telecaster will do.

As I began busily tuning my guitars, I turned away briefly to take in the view – and was in awe. From our tiny stage area set high above the valley, I saw a golf course surrounded by thick groves of evergreen trees that enveloped the steep rolling hills and in the distance was Puget Sound framed by the Olympic Mountains. We had a great show, with a lively and responsive crowd who were all too happy to listen to my eclectic, original songs while taking in a truly stunning view. At the end of the show as the sun began to set, we loaded our gear back into our cars – and I returned to the empty stage, to catch one more glimpse of the sun setting over the valley below. There’s nothing better than the Saturday night blues with a view.

There’s something about sharing a performance with other women artists who I admire that inspires me to keep playing, singing and writing my own music.

We’ll be rocking Seattle’s Highway 99 Blues Club on Thursday May 31^st

with KellyVanCamp, drums, harmonica & Melanie Owen, bass, vocals and featuring our special guest, Bellingham based keyboardist, RnB singer Margaret Wilder. Show starts at 8pm.

On Saturday June 16^{th ,} I’ll be playing in the Ladies Lead the Band show at the Madison Avenue Pub in Everett. Performances by Michele D’Amour and Margaret Wilder. These women know how to sing, write great songs and rock the house. Show starts at 7:30pm. More details coming soon!

It was a routine trip to my local music store – one I have made many times before to buy strings, rent PA equipment or simply to look longingly at the vintage Telecasters hanging far above the reach of customers. Most of the staff at this music store know me on sight and for the most part they treat me the same as the guys.

On this trip, I was simply looking to add a boost pedal to my pedal rack to enable me to play solos on my electric guitar without adding additional distortion or muddying my sound. I walked up to the counter and there was a new guy on staff who had recently arrived from London. I was dressed in my part time day job clothing with nice dress pants and blouse, most likely looking more like a parent seeking music lessons for my child than a professional guitarist. The new guy was friendly enough as I asked him about boost pedals, but I recognized that familiar response – the one that I’m sure many woman experience when they negotiate buying a car. It’s that unspoken assumption that we really don’t understand and shouldn’t really trouble ourselves with the details. It’s a talking down to rather than a conversation with and coming from nice guys it’s often quite subtle. After years of going into music stores and being ignored while the guy accompanying me gets asked what he needs, I recognize this feeling.

The best part of my story is what happened next. At my music store, I have a great connection with one of the staff. He’s a very tall bearded hipster who is soft-spoken, introspective and shares almost the exact taste in music and guitars as I do. We’ve spent quite a few lunch hours simply talking – about our mutual preferences for telecasters and older Gibson’s over anything Strat-like, about weird guitar modifications and the players we most admire. He listens well, has heard me play and really gets me. So as I talked to the young British clerk, my buddy on staff walked over to the counter and said listen to Jill – she’s a seriously good blues guitarist – “she’s ridiculous”.

Now, not being a hipster, I’m not entirely sure what he meant by “ridiculous”, but I think it was a huge compliment. He was telling this well-meaning clerk to take me seriously as much as he would any other player – he was demanding respect for me. I returned to my part time day job beaming – not because of the compliment about my playing, but because after all these years of struggling to be respected as a player, a fellow guitarist stepped up and softly affirmed my credibility and requested that I be given respect. In that moment, I felt proud and had the thought that maybe things are shifting – maybe women players are starting to be taken more seriously and I just hadn’t noticed.

Whether or not things are getting better, we need guys like my buddy in the music store who realize that women players deserve the same respect as the guys. Not only does it make a difference, but it just might just show upcoming female players that they too can be seen as “ridiculous”.