FEATURE: Picking Up Guitars: TRNSMT and the Ongoing Struggle with Gender Inequality at Festivals

FEATURE:

 

Picking Up Guitars

IN THIS PHOTO: Anna Calvi/PHOTO CREDIT: Anna Calvi 

TRNSMT and the Ongoing Struggle with Gender Inequality at Festivals

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MAYBE this is a theme I have addressed more…

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 IMAGE CREDIT: TRNSMT

than any other this year: the gender imbalance at festivals and why many are not able to have a fifty-fifty split. It seems like there is this tussle between festivals who say there is not enough female talent out there and fans who argue quality is what matters and, because mainly men are booked, than must mean they are the best. The illogical assumption the majority of men represents the absolute best of music is insane. Also, as I shall explain later, there is a sea of brilliant women out there who could easily get festival bookings who are more than strong enough to please fans. Whilst some festivals – Glastonbury especially – are getting close to a fifty-fifty gender split (2020 seems like that goal will be realised), many are still way short of that target. One festival that made the news earlier this week was TRNSMT. I will continue my feature but, right now, here is why the festival has caused outrage on social media:

 “The boss of Scotland's TRNSMT has said it will be "several years" before a festival line-up can have 50/50 balance between male and female acts.

Festival director, Geoff Ellis, says more women need to be "picking up guitars" and "playing in bands".

He made his comments as the first acts for TRNSMT 2020 were announced.

"We'd love there to be a higher representation of females but there isn't, certainly on the acts we're announcing today," he said.

"It will be a while until there's a 50/50 balance. That's definitely several years ahead for any major festival to achieve because there's far, far less female artists.

IN THIS PHOTO: Lewis Capaldi is one of the artist confirmed for TRNSMT next year/PHOTO CREDIT: Lewis Capaldi 

"We need to get more females picking up guitars, forming bands, playing in bands".

The festival's Queen Tut's stage - which is for only female acts - will return at next year's event.

"We're giving that platform to help more females see that kind of opportunity because you do get more of a drop-off at a grass roots level and there are less female artists around," said Geoff.

"It's not just about booking more female acts because if there are less of them then there are less of them to go round all the festivals".

When Queen Tut's was launched this year, a spokesperson for the festival hit back at claims it was a "box-ticking exercise".

"We in no way want to segregate women or put them on a different stage - that is not the intention," said Aarti Joshi, the festival's head of communications, in July 2019. She added that having a balanced line-up is a "long-term goal" for TRNSMT.

In 2018, 45 festivals signed a pledge to have 50/50 festivals by 2022 - but TRNSMT was not one of them”.

There are so many things wrong with the comments above, it makes the head spin. For a start, there are plenty of female artists playing guitar. From Anna Calvi to Brittany Howard, we are not shy of women who can shred it. That assertion that guitars are the key and most important thing is ridiculous. Why do women need to play guitars? Does this mean only female Rock bands will be considered?! A lot of people got onto social media to slam Geoff Ellis. His mindset seems to be lost in a past decade when the scene was ruled by Rock bands.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Brittany Howard/PHOTO CREDIT: BucketHead.Media

That is not the case now. Rock is a genre that has lost a lot of its foothold and is in a pretty poor state right now. Because of that, just look around and you can see that a lot of the best artists around are not guitar bands; the best female artists are a lot more diverse than you’d imagine. In fact, this decade has seen artists breaking away from guitars and rigid definitions; music now is as varied and original as it has been for years! Those who slammed Ellis’ remarks have highlighted women who could be on a festival bill. One can name dozens of women, contemporary and classic, and I would throw in names like Julia Jacklin and St. Vincent; Brittany Murphy, Girl Ray and Anna Calvi are all artists we would love to see on any festival bill. In truth, there are scores of women out there who could drag TRNSMT into the twenty-first century. Look at the male artists who are booked for the festival and they are hardly synonymous with their guitar chops; many are not even that good at all. Not only does TRNSMT have an issue with gender, it also lacks proper quality. You could easily swap out scores of men on their bill and replace them with women. So many artists and people in and out of music have posted scores of names that Geoff Ellis and TRNSMT have, apparently, forgotten about. Although, sorry, many do not play the guitar, they are far stronger and more interesting than many of the acts booked for next year.

One artist who has spoken out and pointed the finger at Geoff Ellis is KT Tunstall. One can always rely on her to show some common sense and not mince her words. As this article reports, Tunstall was keen to have her say:

“However Tunstall posted: "If you are the organiser of something, and you don’t WANT a situation to change, and you put **** all effort into it, then no shit it’ll take years.

"Another Scottish festival @hebcelt has been 50/50 gender balanced for years. I also read that #Primavera has had more women on the bill than men. It would be easier to respect your stance being “**** it, we prefer blokes”. At least it’s honest.

"And THANK YOU in advance to all the men calling bull**** on this; your voices are arguably more powerful than ours when it comes to changing this, as YOU, the primary demographic of male rock band fans, are who these guys are scared to ‘alienate’ ie lose your ticket money.

"'We’d LOVE there to be...” “we NEED to get more females..” Great. What are ‘WE’ actually doing about that? You run a large festival. It’s a crazy idea, but you could *actually* help".

IN THIS PHOTO: Billie Eilish delivered one of the most memorable sets at Glastonbury this year/PHOTO CREDIT: Billie Eilish 

One can write off Geoff Ellis’ views as stupid and wrong (which they are), but it makes me wonder whether 2020 will bring about actual equality. Festivals have pledged a fifty-fifty split by 2022 but, with the likes of Prmavera Sound already hitting that target, it makes me wonder why festivals in the U.K. and U.S. – Primavera is based in Portugal and Spain – cannot do what seems so easy. I can appreciate there is commercial value when it comes to male bands and established Rock acts. I admire the fact organisers like Glastonbury’s Emily Eavis are aware of the problem and (she is) trying to reverse the imbalance. Clearly, the issue is not a lack of quality when it comes to women in music. Rather, it is this age-old definition of what a festival act should be: male bands with guitars that can blast out anthems. Not only is that a bygone and boring predilection; most festivals are booking headliners and artists who are either very dull or are established acts. So many new female artists are being snubbed; festivals keen to go with artists making the charts or boys in bands. I know organisers need their festivals to make money and, if artists like Lewis Capaldi and Foo Fighters make them money easily, should they take a risk and hire female artists who might not prove as profitable? I am not sure what barrier there is that is restricting equality at festivals. With this year being defined and dominated by women, can festivals ignore the quality right in front of them? We saw Glastonbury this year where some of the very best performances were from women – including Lizzo, Billie Eilish; Sharon Van Etten and Kylie Minogue. 

With each passing year, we are seeing more and more women release simply amazing music. To me, the year’s best albums have been from female artists. I think there is this view that festival acts need to have a certain energy and electricity, otherwise people will wander away. When organisers look around, I think they feel women are not going to be able to provide that and look the way of men. There are so many solo women and women in bands who can provide that kick but are not even being seen and heard. There is a lot to improve when it comes to festivals and how they book acts; what they look for and why, at a time when women are loud, proud and very, very good, do we have to have the same debates about festivals not doing enough?! I know one should take Geoff Ellis and his kind with a pinch of salt. The sheer tsunami of anger and dismissal shot his way by men and women around the world shows how misguided and out of touch he is. The thing is, it is people like him who organise festivals, book acts and, as such, are responsible for the shape and make-up of Britain’s festivals. I think education and awareness will lead to change but, with less than two years to go until many of Britain’s festival organisers have pledged a fifty-fifty gender split, are we actually going to achieve that?!

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 IN THIS PHOTO: Rita Ora is one of only a few women on the bill at next year’s TRNSMT/PHOTO CREDIT: Rita Ora

It is a pity that festivals are so behind when it comes to gender parity. I do wonder whether there needs to be a change regarding those in charge of major festivals. With this year’s festivals (bar Glastonbury) falling woefully short of a fifty-fifty gender balance, is it men in power being stubborn and ignorant?! I think so. I am not suggesting all festivals should be run by women; having all-female festivals is positive, but we need to push equality at festivals without the need to specifically create stages and festivals just so women are included. I will wrap things up, but I am stunned that we are in 2019 and still have to hear about festival bosses asking where women are and the fact that gender equality is years away. In terms of music now, women are ahead of men…so why does that not translate to festival bookings and a quick overhaul?! It is baffling, but I am hopeful we will see bigger steps next year (compared to this year). I have been blown away by the standard of music this year and I think women across all genres have been responsible for the sheer variety and quality. I expect this to continue next year and, with festivals already booking acts for summer 2020, action needs to be taken regarding gender equality – not waiting until 2022. I really hope that 2020 is a year of progression where…

EYES are open and our vision is clear.

Sam Liddicott