We are proud to announce 12 more womxn-led bands on the LOUD WOMEN Fest 2021 line-up. Our message to all other festivals who insist on booking unequal lineups: your future headliners are right here!
The new additions to the LOUD WOMEN Fest 5 line-up are:
ARXX
Breakup Haircut
Bugeye
ĠENN
Hagar the Womb
Honey Joy
I, Doris
Jelly Cleaver
Lilith Ai
MIRI
Pink Lemonade
The Empty Page
BANG BANG ROMEO are set to headline the event, having played a 24 date stadium tour with Pink across the UK & Europe in 2019, as well as selling out their own UK headliners last year. They also collaborated with DJ/Producer Example on their single ‘Love Yourself’. The band’s debut album is out now and reached number 4 in the iTunes chart.
LOUD WOMEN’s Cassie Fox caught up with BBR’s awesome frontwoman Stars (Anastasia Walker) on Zoom – here’s a transcript of the video if you’d rather read!
Stars: It’s actually called ‘LOUD WOMEN Fest’? That’s the best festival name I’ve ever heard in my life. And I’m buzzing! I’m buzzing for it! There just isn’t enough females on festival line-ups. There isn’t enough variation. And whether that’s down to not enough women being seen or inspired, either way there needs to be more of it, and it’s a pleasure to be part of something that is going towards the cause of getting women playing guitars and getting seen on stages. It’s like a massive inspiration hotpot. The amount of women I’ve spoken to who might be an amazing bedroom bass player or something like that, but have never gone on to play in a band. A lot of the reason is because, well, you don’t really go anywhere do you? You don’t really get on any line-ups. And I think this is another brilliant way of inspiring – oh no, actually you can! But we’ve got to fight together to get on those line-ups and to get seen. You want to be able to see yourself, in the future, being able to do that. And if there’s not enough representation on current, everyday line-ups, then how are we supposed to inspire the next generation of women to pick up drum sticks, microphones, write songs, etcetera.
Cassie: I think we’ve got a great opportunity now, with lockdown as well this year. Like, nothing happening. It’s almost like the slate’s been completed wiped clean. Maybe all the festivals could look at their line-ups next year and think ‘OK, well maybe we won’t just book Oasis or whatever to play everything!
Stars: When it comes to massive acts, it’s like – they were free this year, but then they might not be available next year. That’s also a great reason for festivals, and event organisers and promotion companies to be like ‘right OK, let’s look at the up-and-coming female acts’. It’s like we’ve almost got a second chance here. Anyone of you guys listening, we’re inspired, and we’re hungry, and we’re ready … and this festival is going to prove that. So listen!
The fifth edition of LOUD WOMEN Fest will take place on 20 March 2021 at 229 The Venue in London. The volume will be turned up higher than ever at next year’s event with a boost from an Arts Council project grant.
BANG BANG ROMEO are set to headline LOUD WOMEN Fest 5, and LW’s founder Cassie Fox enthuses:
“I am super-excited that Bang Bang Romeo are coming to play LOUD WOMEN Fest 5 – they are just explosive live, and Stars is such a driven and inspiring frontwoman, with a phenomenal voice. The perfect headliner for a festival celebrating female musical power!”
Bang Bang Romeo are a four-piece rock band from Doncaster/Sheffield way. In Summer 2019 they played a 24 date stadium tour with Pink across the UK & Europe, as well as selling out their own UK headliners last year. They also collaborated with DJ/Producer Example on their single ‘Love Yourself’. The band’s debut album is out now and reached number 4 in the iTunes chart.
Earlybird tickets for LOUD WOMEN Fest are available now at a special price of £16. Over 20 more artists are set to be announced and the event will take place across two stages at 229.
Carers UK is the leading national charity for unpaid carers in the UK, supporting those who are looking after a loved one who is older, disabled or seriously ill. Research released recently during Carers Week, based on polling carried out by YouGov, found an estimated 4.5 million people have started providing unpaid care since the Coronavirus outbreak began. This is in addition to the estimated 9.1 million people already caring before the outbreak, bringing the total number of people estimated to be caring unpaid across the UK to 13.6 million – 26% of the UK adult population, that’s one in four of us. You can read the full Carers Week report here: https://www.carersuk.org/for-professionals/policy/policy-library/carers-week-2020-research-report
The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on what so many do every day to care for friends and family and Carers UK has been there to support unpaid carers across the UK so no one has to care alone by:
– Providing information and support through our helpline services and help and advice on our website – Connecting carers through our online community and our team of volunteers who reach and identify hidden carers in their local communities – Campaigning together for lasting change. We use our research to highlight carers’ concerns, to ensure carers’ voices reach decision-makers at the highest level and that carers are recognised for the contribution they make to families and communities by local and national government – Innovating to find new ways to reach and support carers. We created Jointly, a care coordination app which makes caring easier, less stressful and more organised
The support of Balcony Festival at this challenging time means so much to the carers we support across the UK. The impact of providing unpaid care on carers’ mental and physical health, employment, finances and relationships can be devastating even in normal times with one in eight carers reporting feeling lonely or isolated. Now with the coronavirus pandemic exacerbating these pressures almost all of us will be helping an elderly relative, be concerned about vulnerable family members or looking after those who are unwell.
Thank you for watching Balcony. Please consider making a donation to The Music Venue Trust’s #saveourvenues campaign by clicking here.Find out more about the campaign and the excellent work that they are doing to keep more than 550 independent venues afloat during the lockdown on their website. Approximate Stage Times:
This Saturday 23 May sees the 5th Balcony Festival – this time in aid of The Music Venue Trust‘s #saveourvenues campaign. The show will be free to view via a number of established independent UK blogs who have collaborated to create this event – including right here, LOUD WOMEN! We’ve partnered up with the best damn venue in the UK for the event, the awesome Le Pub in Newport, and we’ve got an exclusive lockdown set from the amazing drummer Eilis Frawley this Saturday.
Viewers are encouraged to make a donation to the charity if they can afford to do so.
Thank you for watching Balcony. Please consider making a donation to The Trussell Trust by clicking here. Find out more about the charity and the excellent work that they do supporting foodbanks around the UK on their website. Approximate Stage Times:
Balcony Online Festival Announces #4 Raising funds for Trussell Trust Saturday May 9, 1-5pm
Following the success of the ongoing Balcony Festival series, we bring you the you Balcony Festival #4. Named in tribute to the Italian musicians who sang from their windows during the early days of lockdown.
This week, May 9 announces the fresh wave of artists expect the beautiful dream-noise pop hue of Hurtling, to the electro industrial sounds of Lara Smiles, while Nadia Sheikh brings a splash of Spanish Indie rock of a quirky variety. Plus the infectious indie-pop sound of Foundlings, Nuha Ruby Ra, Keel Her, Berries, DSM IV and more to be announced.
The festival has been set-up by a collaboration of online outlets and promoters to raise funds for various charities over lockdown and is the perfect antidote to lockdown, giving gig-goers an opportunity to discover the latest in up and coming music talent. The festival series which saw exclusive sessions recorded by artists in lockdown has so far raised more than £3,500 for NHS Charities Together, Musicians Against Homelessness and Refuge.
May 9 will see raising funds for The Trussell Trust, who support over 1,200 food bank centres across the UK providing emergency food and support to people who are locked into poverty, while campaigning for change to end the need for food banks. They provide emergency food to people in crisis and aim to bring together communities to challenge the structural economic issues that lock people into poverty, as they campaign for change.
Balcony Festival is presented by Louise Schofield and brought to you from an association of online magazines and promoters: Joyzine, Louder Than War, GIITTV, LOUD WOMEN, GigSlutz, The Zine UK, Benumu, Crocroland, Sonic Tonic, The Bechedel Sound Test, Quarantini Virtual Bar.
The show will be free to view via this networked collaboration of online blogs who have teamed-up to bring you this online festival – streamed straight to your backyard.
We kick-off with Lara Smiles at 1pm this Saturday, May 9th
