The anthem that defines Roberta Lea and elevated her career is now a festival of the same name, debuting during Women’s History Month.
"I hate to disappoint you, by now you should understand
If I'm too much of a woman, boy, you're too little of a man'
The "Too Much of a Woman Festival" on Saturday, March 7, at The American Theatre in Hampton, is a day of workshops and panel discussions followed by an evening of music, capped by Lea’s taking the stage at 9 p.m.
The Black Opry, a national collective that showcases African American artists in country music, describes Lea as Hampton Roads’ best-kept secret. Her folksy flair, coupled with her sentimental sound, draws comparisons to Tina Turner, Shania Twain and Norah Jones.
The idea to start her own festival stemmed from conversations after she performed at a Suffolk house show.
“Too Much of a Woman' fest is something that people should attend because we want to celebrate what this particular demographic — women — have contributed not just to our community but in Virginia and beyond,” said Lea, a Norfolk native. “It’s a jam-packed day that is sure to set the tone for Women’s History Month.”
A year after “Too Much of a Woman” was released in 2022, Country Music Television named Lea to its class of Next Women in Country.
Her professional climb began after seven years of teaching Spanish at Lake Taylor and Booker T. Washington high schools. She made what she calls “the pandemic pivot” and pursued her dream of becoming a musical artist. A Kickstarter campaign raised more than $22,000, leading to the release of her first country EP, “Just a Taste.” Her album “Too Much of a Woman” followed.
The idea for the song came to her while flying home from a show in Houston. She heard the phrase "too much of a woman" while walking through the airport.
"As I started to fill in the blanks for the song, I remember thinking about my overall experiences as a young girl into womanhood that summarized that sentiment of keeping me in a box, keeping me in a cage, having these expectations and being afraid of who I was."
The little man in the song, she said, is a metaphor for the misogynistic perspective she has experienced too frequently throughout her life. Lea first sang the song in 2022 at Zeiders American Dream Theater in Virginia Beach.
"Too Much of a Woman" caught the attention of the Black Opry, with which she has toured up and down the East Coast, with stops in California and the Winnipeg Folk Festival in Canada. Her trajectory is far from traditional.
“I’m an older woman in her 30s with kids. I don’t have this machine of teams behind me,” she said.
Lea relies on a strong support system that starts with her husband, Nick Walters, a full-time student earning his master's. They juggle her travel with his college schedule. She’s faced familiar barriers during the journey — sexism, ageism and navigating the country music scene as a Black woman.
Those challenges and others will be part of the roundtable side of the festival. Panel discussions from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. will focus on women in community, arts and business.
“I didn’t want to narrow the festival to just music,” Lea said. “It will be a very intimate opportunity for women to connect, to network and to hear from the expertise of women leaders in the community.”
Panelists include Anna Heywood Green, CEO of Arts for Learning Virginia; Kate Powell, executive director of Tidewater Arts Outreach; and Terri Best, a retired administrator on the Newport News School Board.
“This sounds like a good time, first of all, but also it just sounds like an amazing happening in our community,” Heywood Green said. “We’re trying to amplify voices through the arts in any way, shape or form.”
Three hours of writers’ rounds will follow, with three groups of female artists performing original songs and sharing the stories behind them.
Neither the barriers that emerging artists face nor the divisiveness of the times daunts Lea from moving forward. She draws strength from the women in her family.
“When I became 18 years old, I could open my own bank account. My mother couldn’t do that,” she said.
Lea often reminds herself these days of a favorite quote: “There have always been times like this.”
In addition to Lea, headliners include Harrisonburg-based country singer Rebecca Porter and Hampton jazz artist Joselyn Best.
“We’re bringing all different genres together for one common goal,” Best said. “That’s to show the power and number of women coming together, uniting and sharing our hearts through music.”
Tickets are $53. Visit Too Much of a Woman Festival for tickets and more information.
