Arts / New ‘women powered’ music festival announced
A NEW music festival is being planned for September which aims to shine a light on women, girls and non-binary artists – a group which has traditionally been under-represented in the rock scene.
The festival, called Slippit, is scheduled to take place at the Lerwick Legion on 13 September, and it is set to raise money for local charities Shetland Women’s Aid and the Compass Centre.
It comes with the tagline “Shetland’s first women powered rock fest – weemin to the fore; aabody welcome”.
It is being organised by a group of local folk who have experience in creative arts, music and an interest in the promotion of social justice.
A key aim is to give women a platform and a safe space to increase their confidence, pursue creative opportunities and in turn develop a more diverse local music community.
There is also a call for men and boys of Shetland’s music scene to “get involved and get excited”.
“We don’t want to exclude anyone – just ensure that women, girls and other marginalised genders have an equal platform”.
One of the organisers, Carina Newell, said for a small community Shetland has a “vibrant rock and alternative music scene”.
However, it is obvious that the majority of these bands are male.
“When you attend local gigs or festivals, the underrepresentation of women, girls and non binary artists on-stage is starkly apparent,” Newell said.
“This is not because of the lack of musicians and performers who identify as women, but unfortunately Shetland is no different when it comes to the long standing, global issue of music being a male dominated industry.
“There are various reasons for this – it’s an issue that needs to be addressed, and we are hopeful that being creative and progressive in how we approach this will make a difference locally.
“By giving a specific platform in this way, we intend to offer a safe space that we hope will foster an environment that will build confidence, encourage networking and will allow women, girls and non binary artists to come together to explore creative talents.”
Newell said another important aspect is “friendship-building” – developing a music community for women and girls which promotes supporting one another.
“The founding group is made up girls and women aged 15-50 – when we first met and discussed experiences in the local music and gig scene, there were common themes that emerged,” she added.
“These included disregard of women and girls as credible artists, misogyny and experiences of sexual assault. The way to address this is through education, raising awareness and creating safe spaces.”
The current core team involved in the project also includes Ashlea Tulloch, Lindsey Manson, Yvette Cope, Lakota Clubb and Rhea Newell.
Carina Newell added that her personal hope for Slippit is that it is “much more than this one event”.
She highlighted there is a movement within the music industry, including in Scotland, of newly formed female and non-binary collectives who “shine a light on the importance of gender equality in music and representation of women”.
Newell pointed to the recent film Since Yesterday, a documentary shown in Mareel which told the story of Scottish girl bands and the struggles they endured over the decades in a male-dominated industry.
“Shetland has had some fantastic events over the years,” she added.
“Currently, there is a real thirst for live music, gigs and festivals. Slippit as a group is made up of a wide range of women, girls and non-binary individuals who have varying areas of interest in promoting safe and inclusive music events within the rock/alt scene.
“The plans moving forward include Girls Rock Schools and jamming sessions with a view to new bands being formed.
“We also have plans to offer opportunities for other creative workshops such as photography. Slippit as an event is an opportunity to showcase talented musicians and performers, promote safe gigs, and add more confident musicians and bands to the local music scene.”
Newell added that the idea has been under consideration since last year after she had a conversation with local musician Lisa Ward.
She said in addition to the core organising group, there is also a team of interested individuals who have signed up to help with the wider aspects of planning the event.
“We are especially delighted to have the team from the Shetland Young Promoters Group on board, as they are key to the future continuation of Slippit in all its forms,” Newell said.
In the future a form will become available to allow people to apply to be part of the event, and in the meantime folk can keep up to date on its social media.
“Slippit is an inclusive event that welcomes input and interest from all musicians that promote equality within the music industry,” Newell said.
“However, priority will be given to bands that are made up of women, girls and non-binary artists as musicians or fronting performers.”
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