We Are The Highwomen - A Musical Tribute

Celebrate the powerhouse voices of the female singer-songwriter movement! This special musical event showcases the incredible songwriting and artistry of modern legends including Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Natalie Hemby, and Maren Morris. Experience an evening dedicated to the soulful storytelling and folk-country roots of these trailblazers.

The following singer songwriters will be performing for the We Are The Highwomen - A Musical Tribute:

Molly Jean Walburn is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter based in Chicago! Originally from Omaha, Molly graduated from Columbia College with a BA in Music and Theater. Molly was a founding member of the Chicago-born band The Fruit Flies, with whom she recorded two studio albums and performed across dozens of venues in Chicago and later in Los Angeles. In LA, Molly served as the Music Director of Brella, where she performed for hundreds of families in the LA area and recorded two volumes of original family-friendly music. After moving back to Chicago, Molly has performed in multiple venues including Epiphany Center for the Arts and the Wicker Park Farmers Market. At this show, you’ll catch her on more than just drums!

Liz Bagby is the lead singer and songwriter for Liz + the Baguettes (currently recording their third album with ButterBean Records), as well as the bassist for the Unswept. She has written and arranged music for productions including Ballad of R&J (American Myth Center), The Three Faces of Dr. Crippen (Strange Tree/Steppenwolf Garage), Shakespeare's King Phycus (Strange Tree), Ballad of the Sad Café (Signal Ensemble), Chalk (Right Brain), and Practical Anatomy (Sansculottes). Her writing and art have appeared in a lot of places, most recently The ABCs of Rock (Randy Diderrich/Nico 11 Press). Bagby bites her thumb at Liesl Downey, who knows what she did.

Julie Jurgens is a multi-instrumentalist singer/songwriter, storyteller, and opinionated loudmouth. She performs solo and with rotating band members as Julie&, with her partner Charlie Crane as folk duo ButterBean, and as a baguette in the band Liz + the Baguettes she covers backing vocals, hand percussion, and all things random. Learn more about her work at juliejurgens.com

Alexis Gabriel is a singer-songwriter based in Chicago. She has performed, toured and recorded with various artists over her career and also currently works as a vocal teacher.

Singer-songwriter Liesl Downey is back after a years-long hiatus from performing in front of real live people, armed with a guitar her friends taught her to play and an attitude problem. With theater in her blood and music in her bones, she’s performed everywhere from intimate wedding ceremonies to post-Flag Day mattress sales events. As part of the American Arsonists, she opened for the Avett Brothers back when they were driving a beat up van from Raleigh. She’s shared the stages with her mortal enemy Liz Bagby— proving that good music transcends personal vendettas and questionable retail holiday celebrations.

Cheryl Lynn Tomblin, also known by her project moniker PIPES, is a singer, songwriter and multiinstrumentalist from the Chicagoland area. She has released two PIPES EPs – Allow Me the Pleasure (BobDog Studios) and Those Ramblings on the Wall (Wire Records) – as well as one full-length solo album, Mockingbird (Sound Vault Studios). The common thread between all her music: dark musings and contemplative desires layered on thick with her smoky vocals, pulling from musical influences such as PJ Harvey, Chris Cornell, John Lee Hooker, Cassandra Wilson, Alice in Chains, Nick Drake, Radiohead, Morphine, Mazzy Star, and Monique Ortiz.

Tomblin began playing piano when she was 7 years old, violin when she was 10, and at age 17, was given her first guitar. Over the years she has learned and played a variety of other instruments -cello, viola, ukulele –but her performance mainstay is guitar. Though most of her adolescent years were spent listening to all the 90s grunge giants, she began the deeper dive into other genres like industrial, trip-hop, indie/alternative, blues and folk to cultivate her musical palette, soon leading her to start writing her own songs. With a B.A. in creative writing from Carnegie Mellon University, Tomblin has worked hard to sharpen her songwriting skills over the years, allowing her to play at various venues throughout the Chicagoland area such as Uncommon Ground, The Friendly Community Sketchbook Brewery, Fitzgerald’s, The Outta Space, Montrose Saloon, and Val’s Halla Record Store. She has also guested on Chicago’s WLUW with the release of Allow Me the Pleasure and has made the airwaves with her song “Weight in Gold” on Tom Jackson’s Saturday segment Somebody Else’s Troubles. She also had two of her songs, “Weight in Gold” and “Pawn” become part of Aldora Britain’s compilation series Amazing Production Sounds which can be found on Bandcamp. When not performing, Tomblin is a music instructor in the Berwyn/Oak Park area and mother to an amazing girl – and future musician, named Beverly.

From Tom Jackson, WLUW 88.7 "Someone Else's Troubles"

"It would be simple to put Cheryl Lynn Tomblin’s music and her debut album “Mockingbird” into the singer/songwriter category, but don’t take that easy step. The album does contain well-written songs and nice production, but it’s Cheryl’s vocals, the baritone sax and guitar flourishes that makes these songs come alive.”