When people ask what roots music is, it’s all too easy to name-check the greats: Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and so on. These foundational artists are often considered the anchor of this realm of roots music. But beyond them are Sara and Maybelle Carter, Elizabeth Cotten, Judy Collins, Big Mama Thornton, and countless other women whose stories have mostly been told through the lens of the men who accompanied or “discovered” them. For the Fall 2017 issue of No Depression, “Foremothers,” we dig into the stories of the women who influenced everything from a fledgling country music industry to the rise of rock and roll. Learn about this music from their perspective, and from the women
who owe them their careers.

Long Features

• A century of American music through the women of the Carter Family 
• Elizabeth Cotten’s folk revival 
• The untold story of Karen Dalton 
• Annie Oakley and the legacy of outlaw country 
• An oral history of ‘Trio’
• Big Mama Thornton 
• Alice Gerrard 
• Ruthie Foster 
• Sharon Van Etten on artists like Vashti Bunyon and Jackie DeShannon 
• Daniel Lanois on the making of Emmylou Harris’ Wrecking Ball 
• Mark Erelli on Catie Curtis, Lori McKenna, and Kris Delmhorst 
• Kaia Kater

Art/Photography

• Design by Marcus Amaker
• Cover art by Caitlin Cary
• Illustrations by Drew Christie, Jenny Ritter, and Howard Rains