Stephanie Vander Wel

Stephanie Vander Wel has served on the faculty at the University at Buffalo’s Department of Music since 2008 after receiving her Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her book “Hillbilly Maidens, Okies, and Cowgirls: Women’s Country Music, 1930-1960,” was published by University of Illinois Press in 2020.

The Kentucky native was a spokeswoman for working class women, especially those living in rural and suburban communities.
By Stephanie Vander Wel
Loretta Lynn and her band perform in 2011 at Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Third Coast Daily photo | CC BY 2.0)