Meet Rhonda Hitchcock-Mast and Pandy Raye of AZ Chicks With Picks

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rhonda Hitchcock-Mast and Pandy Raye.

AZ Chicks With Picks was started in 2007.

It started because Rhonda wanted to know where all the other female singers were in town. She had only met a few. She too is a singer/songwriter and felt it was rare to run into a fellow female singer. After meeting Pandy Raye (they both sat on the Arizona Music and Entertainment Hall Of Fame advisory board)… she found out.

Pandy said she knew a few girls and they could start a weekly showcase. And in one month, they had 12 girls signed up and in four months over 35 and their first music festival headliners were Jessi Colter Waylon Jennings wife) Kacey Jones. All held in Cave Creek, AZ.

The following year they held their second festival at Tempe Beach Park. There were over 75 local chicks and headliners Michelle Branch, Jessi Colter and Sarah Buxton gracing multiple stages.

The following years were a few more big shows called Chickstock(TM) with Jamie O’Neal, Sophie B. Hawkins, and Lucinda Williams.

In 2011, the organization felt it necessary to forms a non-profit 501c3 to help those in need through music.

Performing for fundraisers, Phoenix Children’s Hospital and holding their own fundraisers to help fellow musicians and more.

In 2016, Legendary Bonnie Raitt helped the foundation raise money by signing a guitar and auctioning it off with help from Danny Zelisko Presents.

The organization continues to book all around the valley and has approved a pilot chapter in Michigan called Michigan Chicks With Picks.

The goal is to continue to help the female-fronted solo, duo, trios, bands are heard.

Every week they hear from a new chick wanted to be booked or helped on the music business.

They have helped hundreds locally and have had a few out-of-staters come through town and get booked. And they continue to do bookings weekly throughout the valley. There is an Open Mic on Tuesday nights that is hosted by fellow Chick member Lisa Culbert and their guy pick Mike Assad. Pandy and Rhonda host on occasion. It’s become one of the most popular open mics in town.

A few chicks have gone on to be seen on The Voice, recently American Idol (still waiting to hear the details) and two chicks have been signed to songwriting deals.

Pandy and Rhonda are still very active in the music community in their own right. And basically Chicks With Picks both organization and foundation are still a passion. Some key team players behind the scenes throughout the years has been Jen Powelson, Misty Reynolds, and Mike Rosenthal.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The difficulty has mainly been getting the word out on a limited budget. And time to do more. In the beginning, we would be at every location to set up the equipment and tear down. We realized after a couple of years that we needed to grow and to do, so we couldn’t be at each location. Now, the chicks can handle their own setup and tear down. We started with no money and have built something pretty cool over the years! The talented Chicks in town are amazing and we enjoy helping them get heard.

Please tell us about AZ Chicks With Picks.
We are the “go to” for female singer-songwriters in town trying to get their footing and for private and public venues to hire local talent for their events. We help all genres and ages get heard!

Contact Info:

• Website: azchickswithpicks.com
• Phone: (480) 510-3127
• Email: rhondajo@azchickswithpicks.com
• Facebook: AZ Chicks With Picks
• Twitter: azcwp
• Other: pandyraye@azchickswithpick.com

Image Credit:
Realife Photography, Rhonda Hitchcock-Mast, Rhonda is the dark hair. Pandy is the blonde.

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