Wonder Woman of the Week: Gillian Welch

This week's singing Wonder Woman comes from a long line of vocalists of Americana, Bluegrass, and American folk music. Gillian Welch got her start with fellow musician David Rawlings as a duo act after growing up with the folk revival scene in New York City in the 60's and 70's. Welch moved far across the country though to attend high school in California and her life of traveling across the American continent brought inspiration to her music.

Gillian Welch broke into the scene with her partner David Rawlings with their first album Revival in 1996. The album combined hauntingly dark melodies with the sounds of Americana and Bluegrass to develop a sound that challenged the positive romanticism of American folk music with the haunting reality of a Depression-Era struggle. That unique sound earned the musicians heavy praise and launched their music into the mainstream. Four years later, Welch collaborated on a project to create the soundtrack to a new Coen Brothers musical film that would become famous for its soundtrack- O Brother Where Art Thou?.

Once again, Welch challenged a romanticised version of history by helping create an upbeat soundtrack about depressing times in American history to showcase the struggle of everyday characters doing incredible things in difficult times- constantly searching for happiness in an economic depression. Awards stormed in for the musicians and composers who collaborated on the project- including Welch. Following the film's release, Welch went on to produce several more albums and cement her name in the annals of Americana music history. In 2015, Welch and longtime musical partner David Rawlings earned a lifetime award for music composition.