Last year was tumultuous for gender politics, between the Women’s March, Tarana Burke’s #metoo movement, and the spectre of Trump’s Access Hollywood tape looming like an evil, creepy cloud. Thankfully, Girl Fest returns this week to recognize and celebrate the amazing women making music in the Pacific Northwest.
“Girl Fest was designed as a celebration, and a space where women’s voices are elevated,” says founder Madison Sturdevant, who started the mini-festival in 2014, when she was just 19. “I was a writer for a couple of blogs at the time, and I noticed a huge disconnect between how men and women were being booked and promoted in the city. I saw all these talented women, many of whom were missing the recognition they deserved, and decided that I just wanted to create an annual show that would spotlight them.”
Seattle blogger and hip-hop expert Miss Casey Carter will MC this year’s festival. “For someone like me who loves working with up-and-coming talent, this event already means a lot,” Carter says. “But to have it feature a lineup of all women? It speaks volumes and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of something so dope.”