She Rocks Awards host Vicki Peterson previews the 2026 ceremony: ‘I know we’re going to have a good time’ - Yahoo! Entertainment

Since their founding in 2012, the She Rocks Awards have celebrated women across all facets of the music industry, from music makers to music educators. And because it’s not driven by fashion or sales, it’s able to draw attention to accomplished professional of all strips and create a sense of community among them. The 14th edition takes place on Jan. 23 in Anaheim, Calif., during the NAMM Show — another annual industry event hosted by the National Association of Music Merchants. (You can stream the show on AXS TV via YouTube or the AXS TV app.)

“It's not based on your record sales, and it's not based on any craziness,” bassist Rhonda Smith says of the She Rocks Awards. And Smith would know — she’s a 2026 honoree for her prior days recording and touring with the likes of Prince and Jeff Beck and her current gigs as part of Jimmy Kimmel’s house band, as well as the new supergroup The Power of Three with guitarist Orianthi and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana. “The whole record business is crazy these days, so it's absolutely wonderful — especially for females — to be acknowledged for what they love to do,” notes Smith. “It's refreshing.”

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The Bangles and Action Skulls guitarist Vicki Peterson will be hosting this year’s ceremony along with Mixi Demner, frontwoman for Stitched Up Heart. Peterson was honored back in 2015, and this time she’ll help bestow accolades to others. “I think the cohosting job will be way more immersive,” Peterson tells Gold Derby. “I'll get to really be a part of the ceremony, meet all of the honorees and hang out a bit. I'm looking forward to it.”

Besides Smith, this year’s honorees include performers Margaret Glaspy, Kay Hanley, Judith Hill, Michelle Lewis, Rachel Platten, and Carnie Wilson. Other facets of the industry are represented by guitarist and educator Sophie Burrell; TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson; Roland global product marketing innovator Reina Ichihashi; Full Compass Systems CEO Susan Lipp; Yamaha marketing executive and Women of NAMM leader Lisa MacDonald; music technology attorney Heather Dembert Rafter; and iHeartMedia SVP Lisa Worden.

“[For] women in audio tech, the association with NAMM is really huge,” says singer-songwriter Lewis, honored this year alongside Hanley, her songwriting, producing and management partner, as well as the frontwoman for Letters to Cleo. “I didn't realize how important it was until I went to NAMM and saw how dude-ish it is. Then I realized, ‘Oh, this is ingenious — making that audio tech nerd connection with women.’ It felt like a stretch at first, but there are really amazing women doing amazing things in the space.”

Lewis and Hanley’s collaboration dates back over two decades and has yielded such successes as the Peabody Award-winning Disney Jr. animated show Kindergarten: The Musical, as well as the songs and theme music for the Emmy-winning Disney Jr. animated series Doc McStuffins. The duo also formed the band The Dilettantes in the mid-2000s and cofounded the Songwriters of North America (SONA) organization in 2015 as a way to protect songwriters’ rights and ensure they receive their fair share of digital royalties.

“If the music business is a war of attrition, we have survived a very long time,” Hanley says. “As women in our fifties who have been in the game since we were in our late teens, I feel like I'm just getting started. Our careers are really encouraging to other women about how you can switch hats and own your own path.”

As a veteran rocker, Peterson similarly serves as a role model for She Rocks attendees and enjoys getting to know them via the “table to table schmoozing” that happens during the ceremony. “I'm thrilled that it has endured the way it has,” the Bangles guitarist says. “It's an opportunity not just for us to honor extraordinary women in their field, but also to introduce some to each other who may not be familiar with what they've done. There are a lot of artists on the roster this year, but we also have women from other aspects of the industry. I know we're going to have a good time.”

“[There will be] some very powerful women there, some very established women there,” Smith echoes. “I'm excited to mingle and honored to be amongst them. And it's on my birthday! It's amazing when you get honored for doing something that you would do anyway.”

The celebration and community building that are big parts of She Rocks matters now more than ever. Lewis stresses that while women in the industry have made great strides since she got her start in the ‘90s, there’s still work to be done.

“If you go to the She Rocks Awards, you would think it's fine,” she notes. “There are all these honorees… and it's so diverse and widespread. But we’re in a time where there's a backlash to that effort. People want to be in their bubble. To put your effort into a diverse community and new voices takes time and effort, and we're in a time where that time and effort is not just not appreciated, but also discouraged.”

Through SONA, Lewis and Hanley have organized their own annual ceremony, the Warrior Awards, which honors people advocating to improve the livelihoods of songwriters and musicians. But at She Rocks, they’ll be able to flip the script and accept their own prizes. “I thought I was going to go my whole career without ever having to write an acceptance speech,” Hanley muses. “Now I finally get to give an acceptance speech!”