Very often, in many areas, men have taken the credit for women’s work, and reaped the financial benefit as a result. The music world is not any different. But at least some obscure women writing from the 1920s to about the 1960s have Mari-Trees (Marie-Thérèse) to champion their musical contributions. This is not a History, it’s Her Story – of the blues.
“The Blues” substantially contributed to other styles, including Rock ‘n Roll. Using an old blues song, When the Levee Breaks (by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929), subsequently reworked by Led Zeppelin, was a good way to make this point early on.
Across the hour, Mari-Trees would excavate tunes from many more female artists, who tended to be black, or queer, or both, and give us snippets from their lives. This made for an educational hour, but we did cover a lot of unfamiliar singers and song writers. (The show’s levee fairly overflowed with info.) It might have been useful to give us a little more depth on fewer of these examples, giving us more to hang on to afterwards.
Mari-Trees accompanied herself on keyboard or guitar, and we got the depth of feeling you would hope for in a show featuring The Blues. Information on artists’ lives (and usually destitute later years) was provided on a screen to accompany the renditions of songs. When the information was shown across the screen, our performer tended to obscure this. However, text presented as vertical blocks near the screen edges was far easier to read.
Some of the lower notes could be harder to hear above an instrument, but the sound improved from some early difficulties. If it is necessary to include some rap, would be good for this to be closer in quality to the blues offerings.
Stories accompanying songs were often amusing or inspiring. It was nice to hear that not everyone was cheated out of earning from their work.
Despite the smallish crowd in a new and off-the-main-Fringe-drag venue, the energy levels stayed high. This may have been assisted by audience participation and the quick costume changes, timed to fit with some historical detail about the performers.
Her Story – of the blues
Trainscendence – The Limo-Scene, 6/48 Easey Street, Collingwood
Performance: Sunday 12 October 2025 – 6:15pm
Season: 8 – 12 October 2025 (ended)
Information and Bookings: www.melbournefringe.com.au
Image: Mari-Trees (Marie-Thérèse) – photo by Joanna McInerney
Review: Jason Whyte