In 2018, one of the most welcome trends in Boston was an uptick in showcases of women and gender nonconforming artists. Local Behavior Music Festival sprouted to spotlight women and non-binary musicians at City Winery. Bust Out Boston stretched a similar mission across five days at The Burren. A performance series entitled Femme Fatale even maintained the momentum of the representation for an entire summer.
Then a virus and subsequent global shutdown thwarted that forward momentum (in person, at least). All Female Front helps reignite the trend this Saturday (January 20) at The Sinclair, with one key difference — the show was born of close female friendships, rather than an active search for representation. You might even call it a “friendships to the front” situation
“All Female Front never really started as a concept,” performer and Somerville blues artist Julie Rhodes (pictured above) tells Vanyaland. “It was just friends wanting to put a great bill together and play music with each other. The ‘female’ aspect was a coincidence that we thought was worth showcasing.”
In addition to Rhodes and her band The Electric Co., the event brings The Devil’s Twins, The Wolff Sisters, Mary McAvoy, and Mary-Elaine Jenkins to Cambridge this weekend, marking the second edition of the showcase after its 2023 Newport debut. Michael Panico, who books for Providence venue Askew, helped organize both events under the moniker Spring Street Productions.
“Spring Street Productions came out of a house we rent every year during Newport Folk Fest on Spring Street in Newport,” Panico says, recalling the founding friendships of All Female Front. “In that house, we have some amazing musicians and artists who stay with us, and over the years we have had them jam at the fire pit. Eventually, we all just decided to have everyone combine forces and put on this party to share those magical nights with the world. It just worked out that all the artists were female-fronted, and we thought that was a great idea to get behind.”
Even though the women-fronted aspect of the show is pure coincidence, the effect of such a robust showcase isn’t lost on Panico. A blatant lack of gender diversity at shows and festivals remains an issue in music scenes across the world, partially due to an erroneous notion that women and gender-nonconforming acts can’t move as many tickets as men. It’s a fear that Panico is well aware of, and hopes All Female Front can topple by example.
“There is still that old-school pull on the other side, with male artists still headlining most festivals and dominating a lot the headlining space at venues,” Panico tells Vanyaland. “I think the more that these events happen and the bigger the crowds get for them, the better it is for the industry overall. I think it will influence other booking agents, promoters, and venues to be open to these kinds of events and it will become more of a norm to have all female-led acts or gender-nonconforming acts on a bill on any given night.”
ALL FEMALE FRONT :: Saturday, January 20 at The Sinclair, 52 Church St. in Cambridge, MA :: 7 p.m., all ages, $20 in advance and $25 day of show :: Advance tickets :: Facebook event page
