HARDIN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - February is Black History Month, and ONU is getting the month started early with a free blues concert.
On Friday night, Ohio Northern University will be hosting several musicians to perform the show Wild Women Don't Have the Blues. There will be four female singers, and one of them has been performing the blues for almost eighty years. Jazz and gospel work will also be played, since both genres have roots in blues music.
The concert will focus on the impact female composers and performers have had in American music. Black women in the 1920's helped the blues rise to popularity by turning the challenges they faced into art that others could enjoy. "These women were so empowered and so strong they sang unapologetically about all of the difficult issues of the day - sexism, racism, inequality, oppression, poverty, but they also spoke about empowerment and hope," said Dr. Dave Kosmyna, professor of music for Ohio Northern University. "The blues was one of those forms where there was just this visceral honesty."
Wild Women Don't Have the Blues will performed Friday night in ONU's Presser Hall at 8pm. The concert is free to the public.
