Robin Flower and Libby McLaren pioneered a fresh strain of progressive bluegrass by merging Irish, Cajun, bluegrass, and Western swing elements. Their lyrics explore longing for connection across many guises, from she-wolves and distant women to grandmothers, those who interrupt patterns of harm, activists confronting wider political struggles, and intimate partners.
Early notices in The Village Voice, Frets, and Billboard greeted Flower’s work with strong praise. McLaren had already brought her full-bodied keyboards, lucid vocals, and sensitivity to instrumental textures to sessions, productions, and support roles for the Roches, Ronnie Gilbert, and Holly Near. Alongside flatpicker Nancy Vogl, Flower issued her debut album More Than Friends on Spaniel in 1979. Flying Fish followed with Green Sneakers in 1982, then First Dibs in 1984—honored by NAIRD as Best String Band Jazz—and Babies With Glasses in 1987, named Best Women’s Music Album by the same organization.
By the late 1980s Flower had joined forces with McLaren, whose pop sensibility tempered Flower’s intricate, technically demanding style. The pair discovered they shared an exacting work ethic, a commitment to rigorous rehearsal, and a readiness to shape every instrumental and vocal line together; this intensity prompted their departure from Vogl, with whom they had once planned to perform as a trio. Several skilled Bay Area players supported them over time, among them fiddler-vocalist Crystal Reeves, harpist Michelle Sell, and guitarist-singer Teresa Chandler.
Through the early years of the partnership they performed folk sets—frequently judged too progressive or electric by traditionalists—alongside mainstream and women’s-music programs for wide-ranging crowds. Their first recording, Angel of Change, appeared on Little Cat Records at 2468 Hearst Avenue, Oakland, CA 94602.
