On Barbara Dane:

"She's a badass!!" - Simon Kilmurry, AMPAS governor

"The world needs more people like Barbara, someone who's willing to follow her conscience. She is, if the term must be used, a hero." — Bob Dylan (Barbara Dane on Bob Dylan: "He was an endearing scalawag.")

On THE 9 LIVES OF BARBARA DANE:

“Must see!” —Pam Grady, SF Chronicle

“THE 9 LIVES OF BARBARA DANE is superb – a striking film…Anything but another formulaic music doc. 9 LIVES is the real deal!” — Garth Cartwright (The Guardian)

“Yakety Yak: Homage to an American Hero”

“(Dane's) life is staggering, and Gosling presents it in a ravishing cascade of imagery and music, Dane’s soulful, velvety voice floating above it all.” — Bernard Boo, MARIN MAGAZINE

“(A) lovable renegade, captured with great authenticity and breathtaking performances.”

—Randy Myers, Piedmont Exedra

"Salt Springers loved, loved, LOVED your film. People couldn’t stop talking about it!" - Salt Springs Film Festival programmer; Audience Award for Best Music Film

Barbara Dane: Pete Seeger mentored her, Bob Dylan peddled his songs to her, Louis Armstrong discovered her, Count Basie was a big supporter, Bonnie Raitt was inspired by her. She launched the career of the Chambers Brothers, jammed with Lightnin’ Hopkins and Muddy Waters, shaped Jane Fonda’s politics, became the first American performer to break the post-revolution embargo with Cuba – why isn’t Barbara Dane a household name? THE 9 LIVES OF BARBARA DANE uncovers the surprisingly overlooked story of a trailblazing woman who chose conscience over fame, turning setbacks into opportunities, paving her own way with her art. Standing strong with her singular confidence, Dane emanated the people-powered connectivity of folk, the defiance of blues and the elemental cool of jazz while participating in and influencing international peace and social justice movements. As Maureen Gosling's (*co-director, BURDEN OF DREAMS) celebratory film reveals, Dane’s early solidarity with those suffering racial and economic injustice sparked her passion to use (her bone-deep, dusky alto?) her talent to uplift marginalized communities. Her boldness and tenacity cut through commercial artifice and earned her a 5” thick FBI file. THE 9 LIVES OF BARBARA DANE is more than a music doc. It is a long-overdue tribute and a radical act of historical recovery. Through the lens of her recent concert tour, we see an outspoken and tireless artist who still speaks truth to power and calls out BS into her mid-90s, whose dedication to music and social justice embodies the energy and spirit of American dissent. For the dynamic activist artists of today, Dane and her co-conspirators provide a warm, familiar link to the past and a sense of continuity. The story of this singer, activist, feminist, mother of three, record producer, and committed troublemaker features Bonnie Raitt, Jane Fonda, Gary Giddins, James Early and many more along with Dane’s performances with the Chambers Brothers, Tammy Hall, Pablo Menéndez and Louis Armstrong.

In Her Own Words.

“Because I have chosen to live my life against the grain, loving our still imperfect Constitution too much to believe in the tropes of professional patriots; because I reject the idea that any nation is ‘number one’; because I admit to either all gods or none; because my idea of being a woman does not include big hair and plastic tits, tight dresses and dangerous shoes; because I can’t bend low enough to kiss asses; because of all this and more, I’ve arrived at my old age with a clean conscience.” — Barbara Dane (1927-2024)