The Mother List
A list of artist-mothers in music + some book recs
Last Sunday was Mother’s Day and I posted a list on instagram of 61 women’s names who make music and are also mothers. In the one week since I posted it, the list has doubled in size and it’s a beauty to behold. I wanted to share it here as a living document, if you want to add in any badass Moms in Music please do so here.
Be warned, it’s not formatted in any special way, just listed alphabetically by first name, so please add in the name where it should go.
Before I had kids I often wondered if it was possible to be both a musician and a mother. Most of my songwriting idols were childless troubadours… Lucinda Williams, Dolly Parton, Gillian Welch, Joni Mitchell. I started compiling a list a few years ago after some conversations with fellow mother-musicians Courtney Hartman and Micheala Anne. We were starving for examples.
To take a page from my closest most brilliant friend Danica Novgorodoff….
Yep.
I did really believe that once. But looking at this list, how can you deny the ferocity of BJORK?! Cat Power? Kim Gordon? Roseanne Cash? Beyoncé!? High art priestesses ALL in my opinion. And the art they’ve made after becoming mothers is so rich and deep. I especially love Black Lake by Bjork and Beyonce’s Homecoming film on Netflix documenting her legendary Coachella performance 10 months after giving birth to twins!
The list gives me hope and I hope it keeps growing.
I thought I’d share some books I really loved when contemplating art and motherhood. Oh, and have you heard my new song yet? It’s called Happy Baby and can be found on Bandcamp or wherever you listen to music! You can also pre-order my new EP too (coming out June 12).
Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott- she’s one of my favorite writers. It’s a sad and beautiful portrait of a tough year she spent grieving the loss of her friend and welcoming her son to the world.
Immediate Family by Sally Mann. These stunning B & W photos of her kids made me think it might just be possible to make cool art as a mom. I also love both of her memoirs. Interesting fact, Danica Novgorodoff was her assistant one summer and I got to tag along one weekend.
The Art of Waiting is by Belle Boggs, who’s substack I love. This chronicles the 5 years she spent trying to have a child and grapples with all kinds of things - fertility, identity…
From Here to Maternity was published in 1991 by Carol Weston and it taught me a few things about early parenting and staying sane. Set in NYC which I love + Carol is a friend.
A frozen woman by Annie Erneaux shocked me when I read it as a 20 something. I remember it reading as a warning. Motherhood is hard and societal norms don’t help. And yet, here we are…
The Mother Code by Ruthie Ackerman came out last year and weaves her own fertility journey with a history on genetics and motherhood. Ruthie is married to Rob Ackerman who is a wonderful human & drummer that I’ve played music with over the years.