You’ve read it in the headlines and heard it belted by frontwomen - female artists are standing up for their rights to equal representation on festival stages and in the music industry.
There’s some absolute rockstar women out there, but still the airwaves are full of the divine and yet too-deep voices of all too many male artists, and we keep hearing the excuse that there are just ‘more’ of them.
Now, I know you’ve all been listening to ‘How to Socialise & Make Friends’ and ‘I Haven’t Been Taking Care of Myself’ on repeat like I have - and if not, why not?! - but for the sake of diversity, here are just a few of the other femme favourites that should be blasting through your earbuds.
G FLIP - Melbourne-born drummer-turned-solo-artist Georgia Flipo is the coolest of cats. She’s queer and a badass and playing her unique brand of dancy electro-pop at the Lansdowne in September - and you can guarantee I’ll be in the front row.
JANNAH BETH- Keen to deliver a mixture of smooth rap, soulful melody and experimental beats, Sydney-sider Jannah uses her music to deliver powerful messages of fempowerment and acceptance. Wanna see her IRL? Hit her new single launch in Surry Hills this Saturday night (11th Aug) at the tried-and-true 505.
MOJO JUJU- Born Mojo Ruiz de Luzuriaga, queer Filipino/Indigenous artist Mojo Juju is determined to let you know she’s here and taking up space. Complete with a kickass video, this single advocates the self-determination of one’s ethnic identity - we’re not 50% this and 50% that, but 100% everything.
WILLOW BEATS - The out-there electro beats of the uncle-niece partnership of Narayana Johnson and Kalyani Mumtaz are guaranteed to take you on a wild ride. The duo have recently decided to take a break from performing, but if you were lucky enough to catch their last show at Oxford Arts (like me) then you’d know their back catalog is well worth a listen.
Song pick: Be Kind To Yourself
RACHEL MARIA COX - While not identifying as female, it would be a mistake to leave Newcastle’s favourite non-binary rocker off this list, because RMC is making serious waves in the music industry. Determined to bring awareness to the complexities of gender and sexuality, their achievements in founding the Sad Grrrls Club record label and organising the Sad Grrrls Festival nation-wide are second only to their rockin vibes.
EMMA LOUISE - One for the chill Sunday afternoons, Emma Louise hand-delivers Sarah Blasko feels with her sweeping melodies and entrancing voice. The smooth beats and harmonies will have you wanting to raise your lighter in the air and sway in the breeze…
SPORTSBRA - With a sick pop-rock sound, Sydney based queer quartet Sportsbra proves that a whole truly is more than the sum of its parts. Delivering important messages of inclusion along with their indie pop-punk injections of radio gold - these grrrrls are ones to watch. Want to check them out? Head for Waywards in Newtown this Friday August 10th!
HAIKU HANDS- If you’re feeling a bit more dancy, hit up Haiku Hands for some fast-talking electro vibes. Not only is their music sick, but if you’re lucky enough to catch them live, they’ll overload your senses with a visual art performance that you won’t be able to look away from.
SAMPA THE GREAT - She bewitched us with her black girl magik at Groovin the Moo, and Sampa has certainly got that one right - she is truly GREAT. Her rap is poetry, her music is smooth-jazz-cross-hip-hop, and she’s a WOC all about uplift, empowerment, and inspiring positive change.
ELLI INGRAM - With a cute vibe that’s somewhere between Adele and Eliza Doolittle, Elli Ingram has an impressive voice and a great sound to showcase it. This song is an anthem for those JOMO quiet nights in, and a great reminder that the only person you have to live with is yourself.
And that’s barely even skimmed the surface. In the words of Camp Cope - “Yeah tell us again how there just aren’t that many girls in the music scene?!”
