AMERICA’S FAVORITE POOR GAL
From Preservation Hall to the Dew Drop Jazz & Social Hall, from Tulane University to the Jazz & Heritage Foundation Academy, from WWOZ Radio to the Louisiana Music Factory, from atop the riverboat Natchez to a sidewalk outside Willie Mae’s restaurant, from a second line parade to the murals, streets, and orange cats of the Seventh Ward: our production team captured music performances, interviews, and iconic images of New Orleans — all in the name of a certain poor gal, “Lil Liza Jane.”
We began our New Orleans production filming with a simple premise: take the earliest reported lyrics in the city’s history and situate them in current performance. Then, for four days in early November 2025, we conducted 11 film shoots, featuring more than 35 musicians who ranged in age from 8 to 76 years old, whose collective instrumentation included banjo, bones, calliope, cigar box guitar, drums, guitar, keyboard, piano, saxophone, tambourine, trombone, trumpet, tuba, voice, and washboard, and who performed more than 20 versions of “Liza Jane.” The joint was jumpin’.
This is the passion project of a lifetime. Together with my colleagues Emily Cohen and The American Songster Dom Flemons (pictured above left) I am producing, directing, and writing a documentary film about a folk song that has made an unprecedented integration into American culture. With NOLA production behind us, next up is post-production fundraising and editing, and, eventually, release and screenings, which we hope to accomplish by fall 2026. “Lil Liza Jane” touches people from many sides of the American experience and could be America’s folk national anthem. Please visit our project website for more information on the film’s story and team, and for ways to donate via our fiscal sponsor Women in Film & Video.
DC SESsions trailer & poor gal (the book)
Watch the trailer from our DC Sessions, featuring Phil Wiggins on harmonica and contextual interviews with Prof. Faye Moskowitz, Bobby Hill, and Elena Day. [I am saddened to note that both Phil and Faye have since passed away. Their wisdom, energy, good humor — and singing — shone through for all to see and I hope this trailer will be a monument to their memories.]
For those who want to engage more with the story of “Lil Liza Jane,” please see my book Poor Gal: The Cultural History of Little Liza Jane from University Press of Mississippi. You can visit the Poor Gal page of my website or the publisher’s page for more information.