Written by: Niki Savage
Bluegrass Pride for me is all about visibility. Firstly recognizing and making visible the diversity that already exists within our bluegrass community, and also about making our community visible to new people. People get really excited when they hear bluegrass, and even more excited when they realize it's music that they can create themselves. I think demonstrating that it's an open, welcoming community based on passion for the music will help people see themselves as someone who could play bluegrass.
As a founding member of the Handsome Ladies, a nonprofit that encourages women to play bluegrass music, and a women in woman-majority band, I've had countless women tell me that they couldn't see themselves playing bluegrass music until they saw other women at jams or performing. Being able to see yourself in a community makes a huge difference in whether you actually become involved in that community, and as someone who cares deeply about bluegrass I want as many people to play and love this music as much as I do.