For the last year and a half, Girl Fest founder/curator Madison Sturdevantās day job has been production manager at the Doug Fir Lounge (AKA everyoneās favorite venue). Although she may seem like sheās got it all togetherāsheās the founder and curator of Girl Fest, a yearly all-ages showcase for women and nonbinary artists from the Pacific Northwest region thatās going strong into its sixth year, and two weeks before our interview, she was promoted to Doug Firās booking coordinatorāshe went through a period of not knowing what the hell she was doing with her life.
Before starting Girl Fest, Sturdevant spent two years studying communications at a ātiny little Christian college in the middle of nowhere in Kansas,ā something she describes as āa bizarre experienceā where she was just going through the motions.
āI was like āIām this little liberal girl from the Northwest and somehow Iām in this alternate universe,ā and then I quickly came back,ā says Sturdevant.
Born and raised in Newberg, Sturdevant started writing for Seattle-based blog Respect My Region as a way to stay connected to the Pacific Northwestās bubbling pool of musical talent while away at school. Sheād listen to Northwest hip-hop and write about it, researching and obsessing over all the releases and shows she couldnāt attend.
āI was under 21 at the time,ā she says, āso even when I got home [from college], writing about music was my way of being a part of a community I couldnāt really participate in yet.
āAnd then when I got back, I didnāt actually graduate college, so I was kind of chillinā, livinā the life, and trying to figure out what on earth I wanted to do. And the only thing I was drawn to were shows and being a part of that world. I wasnāt sure how to get in and get involved, so I decided āWhy not start my own thing?ā I was 19 at the time. I didnāt know what I was doing.
āThat was kind of where the whole thing started: being 19, obsessed with local music, and having nowhere to go, and thinking, āWe need more events that are accessible to all ages and support women.ā That was the baseline for the idea.ā
The first Girl Fest was a summer event held during the first weekend in August 2014 at Lolaās Room. āThe very first year was Blossomāit was her first show,ā Sturdevant says of her debut lineup, which also included sets from Little Warrior, Neka & Kahlo, Daughters of the Dead Sea, and Bed.
āIt was the same weekend as Pickathon. And we still had an awesome turnout,ā she says.
āI noticed thereās a real lack of events going on in January, but thereās also a little less competition.... Itās like: āKick off the New Year!ā I love that energy and playing on that.ā
So while Portlandās live music calendar is notoriously dry in January, for the last few years, Girl Fest has been holding it down.
Fueled by her passion for live music and a determination to support women artists to the fullest, Sturdevant decided to set out on her own rather than find someone established to show her the ropes. The event has welcomed the likes of Dodgr, Seattle soul siren Parisalexa, illustrious Emerald City MC Gifted Gab, as well as singer/songwriter Haley Heynderickx, and experimental pop artist Coco Columbia.
When asked about how Girl Fest has adjusted to include not just women and girls but also nonbinary artists, Sturdevant says itās something sheās become very conscious of.
āIn the last year or two this was something thatās been updated on pretty much everything Girl Fest-relatedājust to take that extra step of inclusivity.ā
Now in its sixth year, Girl Fest will once again lure us from the warmth of our sofas into the cold winter night to see another heavenly and diverse bill of talent. Sturdevant says she doesnāt have any particular method for curating her lineups. She discovered this yearās headliner, Seattle producer/multi-instrumentalist Chong the Nomad, via the artistās manager; experimental hip-hop artist Guayaba (also from Washington) caught Sturdevantās attention at a 2019 Doug Fir show. The 2020 lineup also promises appearances from synth-pop outfit Dan Dan, Portland indie rockers Pool Boys, dreamy electronic pop artist Basil Strawberry, and No Manches of the Noche Libre DJ collective.
If it seems like past Girl Fest lineups have tended to lean on high-energy hip-hop and groovy R&B for its headliners, youāre not just imagining it. Thatās an intentional choice by Sturdevant, which also has something to do with why Girl Fest is diversifying its program this year, by hosting two additional events that will precede the showcase.
āItās always been kind of complicated ācause Girl Fest kind of ends in hip-hop, but thereās also a lot of pop influences, as well as a little bit of rock. Itās always been really hard to incorporate singer/songwriters because the lineups seem to be a bit more high-energyāmore party vibes. So even though Iād heard from all these awesome singer/songwriters, Iāve never really known how to incorporate them into Girl Fest, the main event.ā
For the new decade, Sturdevant has introduced a trio of new components: a songwriters luncheon (with Robin Bacior, Clara Baker, and Tara Velarde) and a comedy happy hour on January 11, as well as a benefit brunch on January 12 featuring DJ Kween Kay$h at Blackheart.
āIāve always wanted there to be some kind of comedy element. And Iāve always wanted Girl Fest to branch out from music. Weāve always supported women in music, but Portland comedians deserve to be involved as well.ā
Because of the time-consuming nature of planning and promoting Girl Fest, Sturdevant says that (other than help from the extra supportive folks at Holocene) sheās basically a one-woman show: She books and organizes all of it months in advance and then does all the promoting and managing of Girl Festās online presence.
āI 100 percent know thatās probably my weakest spot,ā she says.
In the future, Sturdevant says sheād love to be able to delegate some duties, and specifically bring in some support for social media.
Still, Girl Fest shows no signs of slowing down. In 2018, Girl Fest launched a series of smaller showcases called She | Divine that happened every three months. Sturdevant says sheād once again like to organize some intermittent shows throughout the year, but on a less structured timeline.
āI just want Girl Fest to keep growing,ā she says. āI mean, every year Iām so happy with who I have. Iāve never been not happy with the lineup. But I would love to keep getting bigger.ā
Sturdevant says itās also a dream to do a Girl Fest event in Seattle one day, in addition to the regular Portland showcase.
When asked if there have been any challenges of putting on such an outwardly feminist event over the last six years, Sturdevant says itās been pretty well received.
āIāve definitely had the occasional angry email from a woman whoās upset that some of the bands have men performing with them,ā she says. āThe name āgirlā has been an issue. So Iāve been really careful how I word things in the last couple years, just trying to mitigate that drama... but for the most part the reception has been very positive. And Iāve worked really hard to make the vision really clear so that people understand: This isnāt an event where Iām just trying to put female artists on display or take advantage of female artists or anything like thatāthis is solely to support the women in Portland who are making music, and to get them on stage and get them noticed. I think most folks are able to see that.ā