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Holly Rabalais's avatar

Fascinating! I have never heard of this group or the fact that Mississippi has the Piney Woods Country Life School (still in operation!)--which led me down a rabbit hole this morning. Such rich history here, and wow! These ladies can turn it out!

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Charles in San Francisco's avatar

Happy that this piqued your interest in a local institution. What is Piney Woods' mission today? The social context is obviously hugely different from a century ago. Re. The Sweethearts: They mostly played all-Black venues and were not covered by the mainstream (white) press. Segregation forced Blacks to create a parallel universe of art and culture that eventually gave us blues and jazz. Being women just added another level of complexity!

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