Hobart and William Smith Colleges

21 July 2010 Amos 11 Uses Her Right to Rock

A womens studies major and musician, Merrill Amos 11 found a perfect opportunity to celebrate both disciplines in the 9th Annual Womens Music Festival, Womens Rights to Rock (WR2R 2010) that was held in Seneca Falls, N.Y. She was among 30 performers to take part in the three-day event earlier this month and notes the event created a bridge between her two passions: feminism and music.

It doesnt get much better than that!

Amos contacted the festival back in April, in hopes that organizers would choose her to perform. She says she was thrilled to participate in a female-centric festival located in the birth place of womens rights.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges students and staff attended the concert in support of Amos, who performed songs off her recent album Cold Hands, Warm Heart, available on iTunes. The multi-talented singer and songwriter plays the piano, guitar, and as of more recently, the harmonica.

Last fall, Amos performed for an audience of about 200 at the HWS Parents Cabaret, her largest audience to date, and has appeared at other local events, such as Taste of Syracuse, The Great Chocolate Wreck, and as the opening act for SafetySuit at the Smith Opera House. She also fuses her passion for music with her involvement on campus. Amos serves as the music chair for CAB and the vice president for HWS Live.

The Womens Music Festival consists of concerts performed by bands that are comprised of female musicians and held during the annual celebration of Convention Days in recognition of the first Womens Rights Convention held in Seneca Falls, N.Y. in 1848. The WR2R event began with only four female fronted local acts on one night; within two years, it expanded to 12 bands in two days. Now, in its 9th year, there were 30 acts during three days, representing just about every music style and genre.