One of the more recent narratives in Atlantic Canada has sparked a series of active responses from the East Coast music community. Music festivals around the Maritimes have been receiving backlash for poor representation of women musicians and artists in their lineups, and several members of the community have been taking action.
The first big response saw award-winning indie rock outfit In-Flight Safety pull out of this year’s Rock The Hub after the Truro-based music festival announced an overwhelming presence of the Y chromosome in their lineup.
“The decision was very personal for me. It was a small gesture to acknowledge zero female representation in the nine-act lineup,” said In-Flight Safety front man John Mullane. “I felt it was time for me to take action rather than empathize and commiserate in private among friends.”
Mullane also pointed out that the conversation about the lack of women in the East Coast music scene has been going on for a lengthy amount of time. “I think it’s interesting to note that this conversation has been ongoing forever among women and their allies. Why does it take a man drawing a line for it to become national news? That should be something we think critically about.”
This incident prompted Kortni Nicols, bassist and vocalist for New Brunswick hard rock bands Lionsault and Sheik, to take actions of her own. “I made a Facebook post talking about how having female representation is important, because it inspires young women to want to take an active role in music. I’ve had women come up to me and tell me that.”
After receiving large amounts of support on her status, Nicols went a step further and created the “Women of East Coast Music” Facebook group. The closed group quickly swelled to a membership of over 300 members.
Nicols says that her goal for the group is for musicians, organizers, and other members of the Atlantic Canadian music community to have easy access to a hub of female artists, whether they want to collaborate with them or book them for shows.
“Maybe instead of waiting for big promoters to add women to their festivals, maybe I can just have a directory of active bands with women in them that, hopefully, smaller promoters will use when they’re booking shows, or even friends, because a lot of us are booking our own shows,” Nicols remarked.
She also highlighted her positive outlook on the future for women’s involvement in the East Coast music scene, given the issue’s recent media attention and various statements made and actions taken by members of the community.
“I don’t think people are intentionally leaving women out, but as far as the heavier scene (hard rock and metal), there’s really not a lot of us (women), and I think it all comes back to a lack of representation, I believe lack of representation means less women are inspired to play rock music. I think it’s just something that needs to get more attention.”
“I haven’t seen a lot of articles about the lack of women in music festivals until this year, but I’m glad people are talking about it more publicly.”
You can follow Women of East Coast Music on their Facebook page.