In 2010, the Northfield and Cannon Falls Area League of Women Voters celebrated Women’s Equality Day. Part of the celebration was a performance by a local group of women singing songs from the years of struggle to achieve the right of women to vote. The movement ended in 1920 with the final ratification of the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution, but the songs and the inspiration of their words live on.

During the Music & Democracy program on Friday, July 31 at VBF 2026, a newly formed group of local women will join us to revive the songs of the suffragists once more. Listen for the following tunes:

Let Woman Choose her Sphere (Tune: Auld Lang Syne)

Oh, Dear, What Can the Matter Be?

The Taxation Tyranny (Tune: Colombia, the Gem of the Ocean)

The New America (Tune: My Country ‘Tis of Thee)

The group has been organized by Bonnie Jean Flom, a Vintage Band Festival board member. Accompanying the singers on piano will be Mary Davis.