Story and photos by Chellie Bowman
This past Saturday in Memphis was stacked with great performances by talented women. The first annual Grrl Fest kicked off just after dark at the Hi-Tone. The festival included a stellar line-up of local acts (and a few out-of-towners), each having a minimum of one member that identified as a woman. All proceeds from Grrl Fest benefited the Southern Girls Rock Camp whose mission is to ” support a culture of positive self-esteem and collaboration among girls and gender non-conforming youth while building community through music.” Every band, from the punk inspired to more soulful rock, showed up with great energy and skill. I had an absolute blast covering this event, but unfortunately wasn’t able to stick around to hear all the bands. SUPER enjoyed getting to see Sweaters Together, Crystal Shrine, and Bruiser Queen. See documentation of badassery below. Plus, it was all for an awesome cause. For more information on Southern Girls Rock Camp check out their website at https://southerngirlsrockcamp.com/.
Sweaters Together
Crystal Shrine
Kelley Anderson of Crystal Shrine
Bruiser Queen
Close to 11 p.m. we dipped out and headed to Lafayette’s to catch the second half of Seeing Red, a local band featuring several dynamic ladies (Jes Willett on lead vocals, LeAnn Cary on bass, and Nina Makris on guitar/keys/vocals) who play a variety of covers. Always a crowd pleaser, Seeing Red had the entire place dancing, hollering, and throwing back beers. From Brandi Carlile to Bruno Mars to Joan Jett, there’s something for everybody to enjoy. Post- Lafayette’s the remainder of our evening was filled with much less talent, as it consisted of us loudly singing TLC at the bar at Zebra Lounge while the bartenders repeatedly informed us that last call was over…
Seeing Red gettin’ the crowd going
Hit that high note Jes
