What an awesome day we had yesterday at the Matchwomen Festival. LOUD WOMEN was honoured to be part of the event, helping to put together the evening’s music, following a day of truly inspiring women speakers. Highlights of the day, for me, included Diane Abbott and Shami Chakrabarti, both such warm and engaging women; and Nina Malik from the Freedom Programme, gave a heartbreakingly personal account of survival from abuse.
The music from our LOUD WOMEN kicked off with Gaptooth, aka Hannah Lucy, who gave an explosive performance of her biting feminist keytar pop. Her songs are dancy and clever and funny and endearing. Really excited that this talented woman is joining us for LOUD WOMEN Fest in September.
Next up was The Menstrual Cramps, who were playing their second ever gig (their first being LOUD WOMEN on International Women’s Day this year). This awesome band of young feminist punks are just so exciting – they’ve grown hugely in confidence during the last few months, and gave a slick performance which won them a room full of devoted new fans. Catch them next at Who Run the World’s birthday party on 13 August at the Fiddler’s Elbow.
Next up was Thunder on the Left. Agonisingly, we never got to see this awesome band play last night, due to horrendous technical problems caused by the venue (more on that later, but suffice to say for now we would not be recommending anyone book the London Irish Centre for live music events in future!). We apologise profusely to the band and the people who’d come to see them. We’ll get Thunder on the Left back on a LOUD WOMEN bill very soon – watch this space.
Finally, we were treated to a mesmerising set from Ms. Mohammed. She opened with her stunning hit ‘Alibi’, which had become the anthem for the Matchwomen Festival. Watching this exquisitely polished new popstar close up felt like a very special treat – can’t wait to see what’s next from her.
Big thanks so Louise Raw for getting us involved with her brilliant festival!
LOUD WOMEN 