Article Contributed by IVPR
Published on 2026-07-10
Lindsay Lou shines a light on the long lineage of women in bluegrass with her new LP, Bluegrass Women, out August 14th. The album features Lou and the likes of Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, Aoife O’Donovan and Sarah Jarosz of I’m With Her, Laurie Lewis, and many more celebrating the genre’s oft-overlooked female songwriters.
Lou has also shared “All I Ever Loved Was You” today, and is set to make her Grand Ole Opry debut on July 31st.
“Just like having pickers like Molly Tuttle and Sierra Hull out there showing little girls that there is a place for them now in bluegrass, I want to show where there always has been,” says widely-beloved, multi-hyphenate musician Lindsay Lou of the origins of her new album, aptly titled, Bluegrass Women. Drawing from bluegrass’s timeless catalog, Lou has brought to life a collection of tunes penned by oft-overlooked female songwriters. And, possibly to the surprise of listeners, the tracklist reads like a greatest hits compilation of a genre traditionally dominated by male singers and musicians. Unsurprisingly, though, Lou’s cast of friends and road warrior compatriots filling up the liner notes of Bluegrass Women are not just the finest female pickers around, they’re at the top of their fields regardless of gender, comprised of multiple International Bluegrass Music Association Award-winners, GRAMMY Award-winners, Americana Music Award-winners, fellow perennial festival favorites, and trailblazing legends—the aforementioned Tuttle and Hull included.
Co-produced by Lou and Shani Ghandi, Bluegrass Women comes on the heels of Lou’s 2023 LP, Queen of Time, which honored her own maternal lineage—“Namely, the spirit my grandmother left with me,” she says. Bluegrass Women extends the honor to the mothers and daughters of American music. “Some of these songs I sang for many years before realizing they were penned by a wife/mother/female artist,” says Lou. “As a woman, it’s easy to feel like an outsider, or like you don’t belong, in a genre where there is a noticeable lack of representation of women among the forebears. To know that women’s voices made it into the traditional songs feels like a quiet win, and I want to draw more attention to it.”
Today, Lou premiered the first single from Bluegrass Woman: “All I Ever Loved Was You,” written by Dorothy Skaggs, mother of none other than Ricky Skaggs. “I’ll never forget hearing Ricky and Keith Whitley sing this duet in Ralph Stanley’s band,” says Lou. “The harmonies and the tenderness of it blew me away.” She recalls one time in particular singing it with Billy Strings in the kitchen at a party. Neither had an instrument in hand and there weren’t any around, so they just sang it. It’s such a strong harmony song it stands on its own. “Like many of these songs, I sang it for years before I knew who wrote it.”
On “All I Ever Loved Was You,” Lou was joined by Tatiana Hargreaves and Laurie Lewis—cross-generational icons in the string band world—on twin fiddles and tight harmonies. Hasee Ciaccio (bass) and Maddie Witler (mandolin) lay down a honky tonk-worthy, old-timey groove while banjo legend Alison Brown adds a rolling and poppy five-string accompaniment to round out the future classic album-opener.
Fans can stream or purchase “All I Ever Loved Was You,” today at this link and be sure to pre-order or pre-save Bluegrass Women ahead of its August 14th release via Work Of Bart Records / Soundly Music here. In the coming weeks, keep an eye out for the first of a four-part mini documentary on the making of Bluegrass Women. Watch the documentary trailer right here or below. For more information, please visit lindsayloumusic.com.
Additionally, Lindsay Lou will make her official debut at Nashville’s world famous Grand Ole Opry on July 31st. A full list of tour dates can be found below or at lindsayloumusic.com/tour-dates.
Bluegrass Women Tracklist:
All I Ever Loved Was You
Like A River
High On A Mountain
I Only Exist
I’ve Endured
Jubilee
Won’t You Come And Sing For Me
CC Rider
Freight Train
Your Lone Journey
Catch Lindsay Lou On Tour:
July 19-22 - Dinosaur, CO - RiverWonderWomen
July 31 - Nashville, TN - Grand Ole Opry
August 5 - Avon, CO - Avon Live Summer Concert Series
August 7 - Alta, WY - Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival
August 14 - Manchester, VT - Green Mountain Bluegrass Festival
August 22 - Cockeysville, MD - Hot August Music Festival
August 28-29 - Ionia, MI - Ionia Freak Fair
September 4 - Snowshoe, WV - Ballhooter Festival
September 6 - Mill Spring, NC - Earl Scruggs Music Festival
September 25 - Salida, CO - Smalltown Gathering
October 9-11 - Pelham, TN - CaveFest
October 17 - Grass Valley, CA - Strawberry Music Festival
