Divas, Ingénues & Vixens Podcast

Three singer-songwriters. Three unique voices.

Amity Bryson welcomes Danielle Ate the Sandwich, Tracey Myers, and Maddie Lai to the podcast for a conversation about songwriting, storytelling, and the joy of sharing music with a live audience.

Catch them live March 19 in the Gospel Lounge at Knuckleheads Saloon as part of the Lyrical Belles series.

International Women’s Day is more than a celebration — it’s a call to build the systems that make women composers visible year-round.

Amity Bryson speaks with Angel Azzurra of the Boulanger Initiative about the organization’s work expanding access to repertoire through the Boulanger Initiative Database (20,000 works and counting), educational programs, Wikipedia edit-a-thons, and partnerships with orchestras.

Together they explore how programming, research, and advocacy can reshape the classical canon — one score, one stage, and one community at a time.

From the rehearsal room to the concert hall, this conversation asks a simple but powerful question:

What does it take not just to celebrate women composers… but to integrate them into the living fabric of music history?

Opening night of Porgy and Bess at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City did not disappoint. In this special ENCORE episode, I reflect on Michelle Bradley’s Bess debut, the remarkable sense of community onstage, and the devastating beauty of Gershwin’s American masterpiece. From the power of “Summertime” to the storm that changes everything, this production reminds us why opera endures: that heartbreak is part of the beauty.

What does it mean to witness a woman trying to survive?

In this episode, Amity turns her lens toward one of the most complex female roles in the American repertoire: Bess in Porgy and Bess. In conversation with acclaimed soprano Michelle Bradley, who brings Bess to life with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, this episode explores autonomy, embodiment, vulnerability, and presence under pressure.

Together, they unpack the musical and dramatic architecture of Gershwin’s score, from the fragile hope of “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” to the quiet devastation of the final act. Through a contemporary lens — touching on community care, harm reduction, and moral agency — this conversation asks not whether Bess is redeemable, but what she asks of us as witnesses.

Amity also guides listeners through key scenes that illuminate Bess’s development, offering context for opera newcomers and seasoned music lovers alike. Whether you love opera, musical theatre, or jazz, this episode reveals how Porgy and Bess continues to shape American sound — and why it resonates deeply in Kansas City in 2026.

This is not an episode about resolving Bess.

It’s about staying with her.

Special Edition: Preserving Women’s Legacy

In this special, follow up episode the focus shifts to the Women Religious Archives Collaborative and the vital work of preserving the stories of Catholic sisters in the United States.

Joined by Sr. Sue Durkin and historian Dr. Carol Coburn, we explore how women religious built the institutions that shaped American education, healthcare, and social justice — and why protecting their legacy matters now.

Because history survives when someone chooses to remember.