“She Shreds: From Sister Rosetta to St. Vincent” Exhibit at Indiana University
June 6, 2025
Izzy Fincher collaborates with curators for the Indiana University Collections’ “She Shreds” Exhibit, a groundbreaking showcase that highlights the profound influence of female guitarists and sheds light on their often-overlooked contributions.
Interview with the Classical Guitar Heroines Podcast (Series 1, Episode 6)
Listen to the full interview on Soundcloud or Apple Podcasts.
November 24, 2024
The Classical Guitar Heroines Podcast: Episode 6 features American guitarist and researcher Izzy Fincher, whose passion for uncovering the untold stories of women guitarists takes center stage.
The Erasure of Female Guitarists in the Media: Sister Rosetta Tharpe and the Forgotten Guitar Goddesses of Rock and Blues
Interview with Shesaid.so
July 9, 2024
What initially inspired you to focus your research on the representation of female guitarists in mainstream media? Has your own experience as a female guitarist and journalist influenced your research?
As a queer Japanese American woman, I am interested in researching the intersection of journalism, media and mass communication, feminism, racism, LGBTQIA+ rights, and popular music. The inspiration for this project, “Mainstream Media’s Treatment of Female Guitarists,” came from my personal experiences of the sexism and gender-based barriers faced by women in guitar and my passion for music journalism. As a young musician, I didn’t have any female role models in guitar and rarely saw women featured in male-dominated music magazines, such as Guitar World, Guitar Player, Acoustic Guitar, and Rolling Stone.
The Erasure of Female Guitarists in the Music Press
Guest blog for Loud Women
June 25, 2024
Ask the average person to name a famous guitarist, and the answer is often a man. Jimi Hendrix. Eric Clapton. Eddie Van Halen.
But, what about the guitar goddesses and heroines like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, “Godmother of Rock’n’Roll,” and Lady Bo, “The First Lady of Guitar”? Why have they and other influential women been erased from rock’n’roll history?
A recent study published in the Journal of Popular Music Studies examines how female guitarists have been marginalized and underrepresented in 10 mainstream news outlets from 1959 to 2023. The study features 43 influential women, including Memphis Minnie, Elizabeth Cotten, Poison Ivy, St. Vincent, Joan Jett, Bonnie Raitt, and Joni Mitchell.
“Going to see an all-girl rock group, one has to bring a mixture of condescension and paranoia. What if they are good?” New study reveals how female guitarists have been denied credibility in the music press for over 60 years
Guitar World Feature
April 19, 2024
Where are all the great female electric guitarists? Not in music magazines, according to new academic research published in the Journal of Popular Music Studies.
The study, conducted by guitarist and MA student Isabella Fincher, analyzes coverage of 43 influential female guitarists between 1959 and 2023 in 10 established American press outlets. It includes pioneering players like Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, St. Vincent, Joan Jett, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Memphis Minnie.
“An Examination of Mainstream Media’s Treatment of Female Guitarists” published in the Journal of Popular Music Studies
March 8, 2024
Izzy Fincher’s undergraduate honors thesis in journalism (summa cum laude), “An Examination of Mainstream Media’s Treatment of Female Guitarists,” has been published in the Journal of Popular Music Studies.
Izzy Fincher Named CMCI’s William W. White Outstanding Graduate
April 24, 2023
Izzy Fincher has been recognized as the College of Media, Communication and Information’s William W. White Outstanding Graduate. This award is bestowed to the student graduating with the highest GPA in CMCI.
“Graduating from college represents empowerment and self-determination through hard work, especially for women from diverse backgrounds,” Fincher said, who identifies as a mixed-race Japanese American.
Meet Izzy Fincher: Spring 2023 Outstanding Graduating Senior
April 20, 2023
Congratulations to Izzy Fincher—the College of Music’s Outstanding Graduating Senior this spring—who will graduate with a BM in classical guitar performance, a BA in journalism, a business minor with a Music Entrepreneurship Certificate and a Music Theory Certificate, exemplifying the College of Music’s universal musician mission.
Izzy Fincher Named Outstanding Junior for CU Boulder’s College of Music
May 6, 2021
Izzy Fincher—a junior working toward a Bachelor of Music in guitar, a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and the Certificate in Music Entrepreneurship—interned at Sharps and Flatirons, a Boulder-based classical music blog. “I had my first taste of professional music journalism and I loved it,” she says. “In the future, I hope to work part-time in the industry, when I’m not practicing and performing guitar.”
George Lynn Memorial Award Recipient
Feb. 18, 2020
The CU Boulder American Music Research Center selected Izzy Fincher as the recipient of the 2019 George Lynn Memorial Award. Read more about her transcription project and recordings for the award here.
Best and Brightest: Patience and practice define young Palmer High musician
April 20, 2018
If music is the universal language, Isabella “Izzy” Fincher is a master linguist.
She started playing piano when she was three or four, tried other instruments, picked up the guitar when she was six and discovered that was the one for her. “I think I literally played every instrument,” she says, including flute and drums. Her affinity for the guitar has its roots in practicality, though.
“I was good at it; it wasn’t frustrating for me,” she explains. “I believe it is what I was meant to be doing.”