Women who rock.
March 19, 2019 9:07 AM

Please recommend female singer-songwriters who play a mean guitar. For example Meg Myers, Emma Ruth Rundle, St. Vincent…

I mean 'mean' both in the technically proficient sense and in the bad-tempered sense.
Extra points if they tend dark.
Extra extra points if the guitar is a Telecaster.
posted by signal to Media & Arts (45 answers total) 31 users marked this as a favorite
Christina Billotte
posted by cwarmy at 9:16 AM on March 19, 2019


Sue Foley?
posted by jacquilynne at 9:16 AM on March 19, 2019


Mary Timony. Her Helium work is wizardry, and Ex Hex rocks out.
posted by whuppy at 9:16 AM on March 19, 2019


Courtney Barnett.
posted by Capt. Renault at 9:18 AM on March 19, 2019


Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney, Wild Flag, etc. plays a custom Thinline Telecaster as well as a Gibson SG. Sleater-Kinneys's whole rig.
posted by muddgirl at 9:18 AM on March 19, 2019


Kim Shattuck of the Muffs! (And the Pandoras!)
posted by whuppy at 9:21 AM on March 19, 2019


Anna Calvi
posted by crush at 9:22 AM on March 19, 2019


Michelle Malone!!
posted by pearlybob at 9:22 AM on March 19, 2019


Did you mean Jenny Lewis?
posted by humboldt32 at 9:25 AM on March 19, 2019


Brittany Howard is the lead singer and lead guitarist of Alabama Shakes plus has some solo albums - no extra credit for the Telecaster I'm afraid.
posted by muddgirl at 9:29 AM on March 19, 2019


Kristin Hersh is best known for Throwing Muses, but her other band, 50 Foot Wave, is fast and furious.
posted by whuppy at 9:34 AM on March 19, 2019


PJ Harvey
posted by MundaneNoodle at 9:37 AM on March 19, 2019


Louise Post and Nina Gordon of Veruca Salt can still rock. See "The Gospel According to Saint Me."
posted by whuppy at 9:38 AM on March 19, 2019


Laura Jane Grace.
posted by General Malaise at 9:43 AM on March 19, 2019


Hamilton, Ontario's Terra Lightfoot! No relation to Gordon.
posted by there's no crying in espionage at 9:47 AM on March 19, 2019


You might enjoy Jessica Boudreaux and Summer Cannibals from Portland. The first 30 seconds of Full of It are good fun. Their first album was called “No Makeup” and their most recent album has got a lot of healthy anger.
posted by bluedaisy at 9:47 AM on March 19, 2019


Erica Freas, a singer/songwriter in her own right, also plays in RVIVR, and apparently does also play a Telecaster.
posted by General Malaise at 9:54 AM on March 19, 2019


Seconding Mary Timony and Ex Hex.
posted by jwhite1979 at 10:25 AM on March 19, 2019


Beverly Watkins (she mainly plays a Strat these days, and is still playing - she was born in 1939). I made this post about her a while back. Here she is playing a Jagmaster.

Susan Tedeschi often plays a Tele.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 10:29 AM on March 19, 2019


Bonnie Raitt
posted by Justin Case at 10:35 AM on March 19, 2019


seconding Susan Tedeschi

Marissa Paternoster of Screaming Females - she playes a G&L Strat. I think she was on the Rolling Stones list of 100 best guitarists of all time, or something like that.

Oh! Julien Baker plays a Tele. Not sure how mean she is, though.

And the lead guitarist often playing with Worriers plays a Thinline Tele.

Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! sometimes plays a Tele.
posted by entropone at 11:10 AM on March 19, 2019




Samantha Fish
posted by flabdablet at 11:20 AM on March 19, 2019


Not a singer-songwriter but Teri Gender Bender of Le Butcherettes is probably the most commanding live performer I've ever seen and plays a Tele (or at least a T-type, can't quite tell in this video)

Chelsea Wolfe isn't exactly a shredder and doesn't always play guitar live, but her music is incredible and also super fucking dark.

Yvette Young is an absolute beast on the guitar; she fronts a math-rock band called Covet but has this excellent singer-songwriter track called "A Map, A String, A Light"

Angel Olsen's "Forgiven/Forgotten" rules

Lost track of Heliotropes after their first record but it was a very good record

Finally, a couple that don't fit your criteria beyond featuring women who rock, but there's just no way I can resist linking Boris and Svalbard if they are even tangentially relevant
posted by sinfony at 11:36 AM on March 19, 2019


Laura Mary Carter of Blood Red Shoes (Telecaster bonus!).
posted by srednivashtar at 11:37 AM on March 19, 2019


Adalita Srsen
posted by flabdablet at 11:37 AM on March 19, 2019


Mitski!!!

Japanese Breakfast

posted by icy_latte at 12:01 PM on March 19, 2019


Me
posted by nikaspark at 12:05 PM on March 19, 2019


Julia Jacklin is a new(ish)ie and goodie.
posted by ominous_paws at 12:06 PM on March 19, 2019


Brody Dalle of the Distillers plays dark punk songs like "Die on a Rope" on a Telecaster according to Google
posted by salvia at 12:08 PM on March 19, 2019


Tammy Ealom (Dressy Bessy)
posted by ApathyGirl at 12:29 PM on March 19, 2019


Cheryl Crow, the Wilson sisters from Heart, Patti Smith, Chrissy Hynde from The Pretenders, Deborah Harry from Blondie,
posted by Oyéah at 12:35 PM on March 19, 2019






Thanks, you're all winners!
posted by signal at 1:51 PM on March 19, 2019


As much as I love Patti Smith and Debbie Harry, they're not really known to slap an axe.

I'll just nth Annie Clark.
posted by artdrectr at 1:55 PM on March 19, 2019


Erika Wennerstrom of Heartless Bastards--looks like she has a new solo album out, too, which I have not yet listened to!
posted by stellaluna at 2:08 PM on March 19, 2019


KT Tunstall
posted by farlukar at 2:53 PM on March 19, 2019


Mia Dyson
posted by deadwax at 2:56 PM on March 19, 2019


Patti Scialfa, also known as Bruce Springsteen's wife.
posted by fuse theorem at 5:36 PM on March 19, 2019


Mary Ramirez of The Detroit Cobras
posted by dgeiser13 at 6:18 PM on March 19, 2019


Let's be sure to give Poison Ivy her props.
posted by whuppy at 6:57 PM on March 19, 2019


Seconding Samantha Fish, though mostly covers I think.

Alynda Lee Segarra has gone electric in recent years though maybe not truly the lead guitarist she does write the songs.

Sharon Silva when not being folky, e.g. a little angry here

Courtney Barnett perhaps.

Hayley Hendrickx (not really "mean", I guess.)

Brandi Carlile (acoustic though but can be mean)

H.E.R.

Big Thief
posted by Rumple at 7:43 PM on March 19, 2019


Courtney Love
posted by doctord at 8:41 PM on March 19, 2019


So many of my favorite musicians mentioned here, but let me mention my old fave Kim Deal of the Breeders and my new fave Clementine Creevy of Cherry Glazerr.
posted by ejs at 11:19 PM on March 19, 2019


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