Stage Talk with Rick Koster
Where every show has something to say.
Becky Bass is one of the two featured vocalists in SHE – Song. History. Energy. The Women of Music, an enlightening and exhilarating musical revue hitting the Garde on Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 8pm.
Utilizing the songs and biographies of groundbreaking artists from Aretha Franklin and Billie Holiday to Carole King and Gloria Estefan, SHE captures the struggle and triumphant persistence of women in an industry stubbornly dominated by men. In the production, Becky shares the stage with Sarah Martin and the Gold Label Groove Band.
Becky is a native of St. Croix, a virtuoso steel drummer, a graduate of Brown University and the Berkeley School of Music, an in-demand performer throughout New England — and these are just a few of the high points in her varied career.
Last week, Becky and Sarah each spoke with us about SHE for separate releases. Here’s our conversation with Becky.
THE GARDE: I have an odd question for you. My sainted mom and dad were torn: my father preferred Dinah Washington and my mother was a Billie Holiday fan. Inasmuch as you’ve wonderfully explored and performed the work of each of these artists, I now ask YOU: who was right? Mom or dad?
BECKY: Oh, man! What a way to start an interview! That’s … that’s just really tough. Honestly, like, both have such unique, positive qualities in their music. I mean, Billy, you can hear her pain through her singing. Oh, it just hooks you in. She was a songwriter, too.
And Dinah? I mean, just the sheer power! And, oh, man, did she have the blues! I mean, she was the queen of the blues. This is so hard. I’m going to need some time to stew on that, Rick.
GARDE: You came to SHE because you knew some of the folks who came up with the concept, right? Before Covid, you taught Sarah Martin at a Wheeler School jazz summer camp program, and Sarah’s father Sean is leader of the Gold Label Groove Band. And it’s interesting how things can randomly happen.
BECKY: Yes, I had the wonderful opportunity to mentor Sean’s daughters, Rebecca, and Sarah, at the Wheeler school. After the final student performance, he came up and introduced himself. It was so flattering because he said Sarah and Rebecca spoke so highly of me. That was the beginning of our relationship. And when the pandemic hit, Sean had the wonderful idea, because nothing was happening, of hosting live music at his house and he invited the neighbors to come listen. And so he invited me, and then I’d play with them when I could and after Covid, and we just got to know each other.
Then Sarah went to Berkeley and I’m now teaching at Berkeley, and Sean said it would be great to do something to support both of us in a way that was different. And that idea became SHE. It was a very natural coming together of like minds to show the world support of women, of female musicians, and really bring that to stages in a dynamic way.
GARDE: I’ve read Russian novels that are shorter than your resume! That means in part that you have an extensive and varied background not just in musical performance and education, but drama and film. And in the context of SHE, with its sort of narrative component, there’s an optimal overlap of disciplines to get to do all of that in one show. Is that accurate?
BECKY: Yeah, it definitely is. I mean, I’ve been involved with music and acting since I was a little girl, and they’ve always been a huge part of my life. Now that I’m older and I’ve gone through all these experiences and training and college, I relish the opportunity to be able to put all those things together on one stage.
And SHE is definitely a prime example of that. We get to engage with the audience and our fellow musicians — while we’re embodying some of these amazing, powerhouse females. These are artists we’ve loved over the years, but also Sarah and I get to use our own voices and interpretations to tell their stories. And it’s very meaningful to us because we, too, are female musicians finding our own way in the industry. So, it’s the realization of a dream to be able to do this.
GARDE: In that spirit, did you and Sarah specifically get together and discuss which of you would inhabit a specific artist or talk about certain artists you thought were absolutely necessary to the core of the show?
BECKY: I think it was sort of a natural process. At the beginning, I sent over my full musical repertoire. And there was a lot of overlap within the band in terms of stuff they already knew and loved to play at their own shows. And there was more I had that the band wanted to learn.
And I think that’s what happened with Sarah. She has her large repertoire, and we all just figured out which songs and artists would be great additions to the show. We cover a lot of genres, a lot of the greats through the years that people love and adore. (Laughs) and a lot of them are really grooving. They’re really dance-y. Like, let’s get out of our chairs and move!
GARDE: Last one: What song do you most enjoy hearing Sarah sing onstage during the show each night?
BECKY: Ooh, what a great question! But there are two. Is that OK? I love when she does the Whitney Houston’s “Saving All My Love,” and then Carole King’s “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” I LOVE Sarah’s voice. She can just rip, you know? But she can also do the heartfelt songs beautifully.