Penobsquis, New Brunswick is a curious little place. It’s home is to a potash mine, the quasi-notorious ‘Animaland Park’ – a defunct roadside oddity that might have been pulled from the imagination of Tim Burton, and an old homestead which hosts a handful of music festivals throughout the summer. One of the festivals that calls the location home (or at least a landing pad of sorts) is The Backroad Ball, an annual women-only motorcycle campout.
“We had an incredible weekend for The Backroad Ball in 2016, but we wanted to make our second year bigger and better,” says co-founder and organizer Kristin Munro.
“We sent out a survey to our registered participants from last year to see what they wanted more of this year and the responses were unanimous – more rock ‘n roll!”
The Backroad Ball have not clarified whether ‘more rock ‘n roll’ was intended as a quality or a quantity. Rather than there being more bands featured on the bill, the festival seem to chosen to simply rock harder by headlining the festival with The Rocket Queens. The New York-based band pays tribute to Guns ‘N Roses, all while rocking some 6-inch heels.
“When we set out looking for a killer headliner for this year, The Rocket Queens were at the top of our list,” says other co-founder and organizer Heather d’Entremont.
“Thanks to the great support from our local motorcycle dealership, Moncton’s Toys for Big Boys, we’re able to bring the ladies all the way from New York City to Penobsquis, N.B. to rock out with our moto-babes!”
Aside from The Rocket Queens, festival-goers can expect to see Saint John’s Womb to Tomb and the Port City Circus’ fire dancers. The weekend will also feature yoga and belly dancing workshops, beer and cider samples from PEI Brewing Company and Scow Craft Cider, a moto-marketplace with local vendors, karaoke, an on-site food truck, and organized motorcycle rides. There will also be tattoo artists Jesse Lynn from Sacred Heart Studio and Nicky Lang from The Violet and Fern Tattoo to accommodate all your festival tattoo needs.
Registration for The Backroad Ball is open until June 9th, with the festival taking place June 16th – 18th.