3 October: What She Said – celebrating pioneering women in music

Five of Bristol’s top female musicians, Sara Colman, Katya Gorrie, Ruth Hammond, Rebecca Nash and Tammy Payne, celebrate the women who helped forge the future they now inhabit.

From unknown women fundamental to the big band scene of the 30s, to renowned artists like Nina Simone, Alice Coltrane, Joni Mitchell and Bjork, What She Said pays tribute to these pioneering women. As female artists who haven’t felt limited by their gender, each musician explored their record collections and chose a work from a female composer from the last 100 years to translate through their own voice.

Expect brilliant new arrangements, from Ann Ronell’s Willow Weep for Me and Teena Marie’s Casanova Brown to the Eurythmics’ It’s Alright (Baby’s Coming Back) and Joni Mitchell’s Woodstock. Alongside this, each musician has written new music for this line up inspired by the women who have influenced them. What She Said brings together an incredible ensemble of singers and multi-instrumentalists, hand-picked to offer a diverse and subtle palette with which to explore this history.

Sara Colman –vocals

Katya Gorrie -vocals, percussion

Tammy Payne -vocals

Ruth Hammond -woodwind, keyboards, vocals

Rebecca Nash -piano, keyboards, vocals

Will Harris -double bass, trumpet

Steve Banks –guitars

Lizy Exell –drums