She's Got the Blues

My biggest female fingerstyle influences

- SUE FOLEY

ON MY LATEST album, One Guitar Woman, I pay tribute to many of the female pioneers of the guitar, all of whom are among the biggest influences on my approach to playing the instrument. On the album, I cover material by Maybelle Carter, Elizabeth Cotten, Memphis Minnie, Sister Rostetta Tharpe, Ida Presti in classical guitar, and even Charro, to whom I dedicate a flamenco piece.

I learned a lot working on this album because I had to study many different techniques, which was fun but also challenging. I already had my hands around the Piedmont fingerpicking style, also often referred to as “East Coast" guitar, as it was popularized in a region known as the “Piedmont plateau,” which runs from Richmond, Virginia, to Atlanta. Some of the most well-known and influential Piedmont- style players are Elizabeth Cotten, Reverend Gary Davis and Blind Blake.