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Estrojam 2005 Preview
by Niki Coate
“Girl band.” We’ve all said it. It’s been a quarter-century since The Go-Go’s proved women didn’t need male producers or managers for major commercial success, but we’re still using the gender-based language of circa-1950 Motown, when girl groups were manufactured by male-run record companies. Despite the evolving role of women within the recording industry, instead of “punk” or “alt-country” or “metal,” all-female bands are still, first and foremost, girls.
But someday “band” won’t automatically mean a group of male musicians, and it will be thanks to efforts like the Estrojam Music and Culture Festival. Estrojam, which will take place September 21-24, 2005, at venues throughout Chicago, celebrates and advocates women in the music and art industries through concerts, forums, and workshops.
“My main goal [for Estrojam] is to create social change through art,” says Tammy Cresswell, who founded the annual nonprofit event in 2003 with the intention of empowering and educating women about creative outlets and careers in which they’re under-represented.
Last year more than 5,000 people attended the festival, which encourages male participation and even includes male artists. This year’s concert lineup includes Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, The Hazzards, The Reputation, Alina Simone, Brazilian Girls, and Scream Club. Among the festival’s other activities are an art show, film fest, a street dancing and DJing clinic, and a “Women in the Music/Arts Business and Activism” panel.
By supporting the voices of female artists, Estrojam is also promoting social and political activism. In line with this premise, each year the festival benefits causes to which the Estrojam community feels connected. Nonviolence is this year’s theme, and beneficiaries are The U.S. Campaign for Burma, which supports legendary Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and The Chicago Abused Women’s Coalition.
Ray, one of the most outspoken activists in music and a highlight of the festival’s lineup, recognizes that there’s still a need for female-focused events because female musicians make up a very small percentage of typical punk and rock festivals. “[Festivals like Estrojam] give women a place to network with each other and play and get experience,” Ray says. “The ultimate goal for all of us is really to have punk festivals where everybody plays and gender’s not an issue. That’s not happened yet, but it will eventually.”
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