Does a woman help you progress in music?

As festival season quickly approaches, we are constantly reminded of the persistent lack of diversity in our programming. With a recent study indicating that 86% of line-ups at 12 major music festivals last year, including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, and Creamfields, were male, it appears that decision-makers at the top are still reluctant to break the exclusive circle of men who make up our live music industry.

“Without music, life would be a mistake”.

This is not to say that diversity – and demand – is not present. With collectives such as SIREN and Discwoman championing female talent in the electronic music scene, and artists such as Björk, Grimes and Kesha speaking out for women’s rights in the industry, there has never been a had a more opportune moment to shake up our programming. One group that doesn’t want to wait for the industry as a whole to notice is the Sad Grrrls Club. Originally founded by Rachel Maria Cox as a record label and booking agency to support non-binary and female acts and challenge the male-dominated live music scene in Australia, Cox evolved the organization from its roots DIY to a full-fledged music festival that takes place in two cities.

Inspired by the Riot Grrrl movement as well as Audrey Wollen’s Sad Girl Theory, Sad Grrrls Fest highlights groups and musicians who have at least one female or non-binary member. But do all-female programming break the gender barrier or widen it even further? Below, we spoke with the festival’s founder to discuss safer space policies, reverse sexism, and the power of expressing our emotions.