Linda Allen

Dr. Linda Allen is a songwriter, performer, and educator whose career spans more than five decades, focusing on women, history, and social justice through music and education. Allen has written more than 100 songs addressing topics such as the environment, women's rights, hope and healing, racial justice, peace, and history. Her performances blend storytelling and song, and she has built a following across the United States and internationally.

Allen graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a degree in education and began her singing career in the San Francisco area, performing in coffee houses, theaters, festivals, and on two USO tours of the Far East. She founded two folk centers—Sunny Side in Chehalis and Applejam in Olympia—before establishing herself as a prominent figure in Washington State's cultural landscape. Allen released her debut album, "Mama Wanted to Be a Rainbow Dancer," followed by "October Roses," "Women's Work," and "Washington Notebook," the latter a collection of historically themed songs honoring the state's centennial. She was named Washington State's Resident Songwriter, and her projects have included researching the role of music in Grange culture, leading songwriting workshops, and promoting the state's centennial.

Allen's commitment to history and women's issues has led her to work with organizations including the Washington Women's History Project, the Washington Centennial Commission, the Washington Women's History Consortium, the Inquiring Mind program of Humanities Washington, the Cultural Enrichment and Folklife Programs of the State Arts Commission, and the Folklife in the Schools program. She collected and edited songs for two songbooks: "The Rainy Day Songbook" and "Washington Songs and Lore." Allen received an Artist Trust Fellowship for her work as a composer and has been inducted into the Northwest Women's Hall of Fame.

Allen earned a Doctor of Ministry degree with a dissertation titled "The Bridge Between the Earth and Sky: The Spirituality of Voice." As an ordained interfaith minister, she has taught workshops and delivered keynote addresses at conferences, focusing on empowering others to find their physical and creative voices. As a certified clinical musician, Allen founded two choirs dedicated to singing at the bedside of those who are seriously ill or dying. She visited Israel and Palestine, recorded children's songs for the Peacebuilders program in Bethlehem, and developed a multi-media presentation based on her experiences titled "Pilgrimage: Journey to the Heart of Israel and Palestine."

Allen offers the multi-media presentation "Here's to the Women!" which explores the silencing and empowerment of women's voices in the struggle for the right to vote, featuring songs, images, stories, and readings. Her presentation "Daughters of Lilith" examines women's spirituality through new interpretations of stories of biblical women. Allen's body of work includes thirteen CDs of original songs, workshops, and presentations on women's work, history, spirituality, and social justice, with tours throughout the United States and internationally.