Rosie Flores Takes Pride In Being A Trailblazing Female Guitar Player-Singer-Songwriter

By John Roos

Lucinda Williams. Rosanne Cash. Emmylou Harris. Margo Price. Samara Joy. Courtney Barnett. These names bring some very real female star power to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 2025 lineup in Golden Gate Park this Friday-Sunday. Ladies, welcome to town.

Perhaps a bit lesser known but equally meritorious is Texas troubadour Rosie Flores, the singer-songwriter-guitarist who has delivered her unique brand of country, rockabilly, blues, roots-rock, cowpunk, and Texas swing for over 40 years now.

How accomplished is Flores? A 2024 NEA National Heritage Fellow, she accepted her gold medal award at the Library of Congress, appearing at the Kennedy Center as well as the White House, in September of last year. Flores additionally was spotlighted in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's recent exhibit in Nashville titled Western Edge: the Roots & Reverbations of Los Angeles Country Rock. (Flores lived for a time in Los Angeles beginning in the late-1970's.) And, back in October of 2012, Flores made a big splash performing at the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame's tribute to Chuck Berry with her country-infused renditions of his "No Particular Place to Go" and "You Never Can Tell."

Flores caught the music bug while growing up in San Diego. Her older brother taught her to play the guitar when she was 6 borrowing the lead licks from Chuck Berry's classic "Johnny B. Goode." The roots to her professional career were planted years later in 1968 with her high school band Penelope's Children, where the group practiced in the family garage and gigged at the nearby Marine base and private parties.

Flores grew up listening to a variety of music, including pop and jazz standards, country, country-rock, rockabilly, blues, and some folk music, with wide-ranging influences from Wanda Jackson, Gene Vincent, Buddy Holly and Little Richard to Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Nat King Cole to the Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco, Bob Dylan, Buffalo Springfield, and Jack Tempchin.

Flores spent time in a variety of bands, including Rosie and the Screamers, Screamin' Sirens, Las Super Tejanas, and Asleep at the Wheel before kicking off a solo career in 1987 with the release of her self-titled debut featuring her first single, "Crying Over You." Particularly noteworthy from her diverse recording catalog are 2012's Working Girl's Guitar and 1995's Rockabilly Filly, the latter featuring contributions from two of her musical heroes, Wanda Jackson and Janis Martin.

In fact, Flores was instrumental in bringing Martin--who RCA Records dubbed the female Elvis and Billboard named Most Promising Female Vocalist for 1956 - out of retirement by co-producing with Bobby Trimble her comeback album titled The Blanco Sessions. Sadly, Martin developed cancer a few months after the recordings and passed away in September 2007.

Then came more bad news. Flores would learn the discouraging business reality that no label wanted to release an album that no one could tour behind. Fortunately, the dedicated Flores pushed ahead and with the support of family, friends, and Kickstarter, The Blanco Sessions (Cow Island Music) was finally released on Sept. 18, 2012.

While the The Blanco Sessions experience was a challenging one, Flores looks back now with both reverence and fondness.

"I met her at a gig at the Belly Up Tavern (in Solana Beach) and we became really good friends," said Flores recently by phone from her home in Austin, Texas. "Janis hadn't done an album in years, so I was so honored that she agreed to let me produce a new record for her. Even though there were setbacks, and Janis wasn't able to see it get released, it was very rewarding to do. Her fans were so pleased. The songs are solid and Janis sounds great, so and I am very proud of what we were able to accomplish."

Yet Flores isn't just looking back. In fact, she is busier than ever these days. She spent a whirlwind of a week recently in Nashville doing promotional work and performing at the Americana Music Association's annual festival. She's also been playing live dates in Austin with her Blue Moon Jazz Quartet, which includes Flores on lead vocals, guitarists Jim Stringer and Lindsay Greene, and bassist Josh Flowers.

Furthermore, now available and highly recommended is her rockin' new recording with the Talismen titled Impossible Frontiers (Mule Kick Records). Although within musical traditions, the album pushes boundaries by mixing rockabilly, rock, country, and Americana styles into a seamless whole. Highlights include the bluesy "Just Another Fool," the romantic yearning of "Who's Lookin' for Me," and the acoustic-flavored look back to Flores' hometown of San Antonio titled "Bandera Highway."

In an industry dominated by male guitar players, Flores' exquisite lead guitar playing may not be receiving all the attention it deserves. Influenced greatly by Buddy Miller (Emmylou Harris), Jimmy Wilsey (Chris Isaak), Greg Leisz (Beck, Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen) and Kenny Vaughan (Marty Stuart, Lucinda Williams), Flores understands how technique and passion support one another equally to connect with an audience. Flores has the chops, whether playing with finesse or riffing with big, beefy solos on her classic Trussart SteeltopCaster.

"Initially, back in 1966, I was trying to emulate the technique of players like Jeff Beck, Keith Richards, Chet Atkins, Roger McGuinn, and Stephen Stills because they sounded fantastic," recalled Flores, who's been profiled in Guitar World, Premiere Guitar, and Guitar Player magazines. "But eventually, you just come up with your own style. If you play long enough, you find your own voice, tone, and style. To me, I feel like I'm still learning and do practice a lot. When I'm recording, you want to sound unique but always stay within the spirit and structure of the song. That's what tickles me."

"I do feel like I'm a trailblazer for women lead guitar players. There aren't that many of us. I've had female guitar players come up to me and say, 'You're the reason I'm playing the guitar.' I hope I'm good enough to keep on influencing and inspiring others, especially the girls out there who just need a little encouragement."

*Rosie Flores and the Talismen perform Saturday (1:05-1:55 pm, Rooster Stage) at Hardly Strictly Bluesgrass (HSB) 2025, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco; 415-406-9014. HSB runs Friday-Sunday. Free. All details, including stages and band show times, can be found at www.hardlystrictlybluesgrass.com.