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We Spoke to 6 Musicians Performing at Ladyfest Concert 2017

2017-06-06 ShanghaiWOWeng

On Saturday June 10th, Ladyfest will bring together an exciting collaboration of talented female artists for a concert that will support, celebrate, and empower freedom of expression beyond constraints of culture, race, or gender identity.

 

Ladyfest Shanghai is a grassroots not-­for-­profit organization. They run an annual festival in the spring celebrating all things “women”. It is a diverse collaboration amongst tireless volunteers with a passion for celebrating and supporting an open community here in Shanghai.

 


The Ladyfest Concert 2017 is a celebration of female musicians and performers in Shanghai whose collective genres span jazz, rock, soul, hip­hop and spiritual music. Any women, females, and femme identifying people are encouraged to come along and join in, as are any men who want to support this event, which is feminist in the truest sense of the word; that is supporting gender equality.

 

We spoke to a few of the performers to get their views on what exactly is Ladyfest to them, and what they hope the concert will achieve overall.

 

Yanran is a female R&B singer/guitarist from China.


“I jam a lot in Shanghai and I often get the feeling that I'm always one of the few women there to play guitar and sing. In fact I think I know the reason for it from my own experience as a female musician.

 

“Two years ago I went to the jam session at Karma for the very first time. Back then I had been playing guitar for over a year and singing my whole life. In theory I'm good enough to go up there and jam along, but the truth is I was super self-conscious, especially by seeing it was all guys playing on the stage. I didn't want to be the only girl and draw attention myself. I was afraid I'd be noticed and stand out too much and everybody would notice any mistake I might make. So I just sat there, watching a bunch of guys playing and jamming beautifully right in front of me for three hours, jealously.

 

“The host of the jam session noticed me and came to me and said, ‘I know you can play, go.’ He basically dragged me to the stage and handed me the guitar. This was the start of everything and obviously I screwed up the first time coz I was way too nervous, but it was the most beautiful night I’d had in a long time.

 

“So, Ladyfest to me is a celebration of the courage to put yourself out there. It's not necessarily to do with being a female, but rather being an outlier on the stage. I just hope it gives other fellow female musicians the courage to show what they can do and let them know it's ok to make mistakes and mess up.”



Queen Diamond is a female EMCEE from Virginia, USA.


Ladyfest means to me just simply having women come together and create. Although there are some men there who will participate I think more so Ladyfest is just a celebration of women. I hope it creates some solidarity between women of all races in Shanghai especially foreigners and Chinese, just to know that in many ways we are similar because we are women and that we can work together and do a lot.

 


JenSomeone, LevZep and Clem De La Creme are a mixed female/male electroOrganic music group, and are collaborating for the first time.

 

JenSomeone:

“Ladyfest is special because Ladyfest 2016 marked the first event I decided to come out of hiding and share my voice and original music to the community. When Ladyfest invited me back to play this year, I thought instead of just stepping up as another ‘girl power’ kind of act, in the spirit of equality which I believe is the true heart behind feminism, I thought, Wouldn't it be a strong statement and visual to collaborate with male artists who equally respect me as a person and as an artist?

 

“We are incredibly excited to share the originals we have created and put together specifically for the Ladyfest 2017 concert. Things we crafted and wrote from our current life seasons and with the Ladyfest Concert 2017 spirit in mind.

 

“Ladyfest is a good reminder to me to celebrate being a woman. As much as I've always loved ‘being one of the boys,’ there is something unique that I JenSomeone can bring to the table among my male counterparts. I truly believe that all you need to be SOMEONE is to be yourself - hence my artist name. I'm so excited to be a part of this advocacy in Shanghai.”

 

Clem De Le Creme:

“When first invited I didn't know that we are the only male performers at the event. There were some promo materials that were sent out saying it was an all female performance and at first I was self conscious wondering if all of the women would be fine with having men performing as well, since I didn't want to take anything away from the whole event by not being a woman.

 

“But then I started to embrace the diversity we add and felt more connected to everything because of it. I'm honored that we get to share the stage with so many strong talented women and help spread a message of equality to the Shanghai community.”

 

LevZep:

“I feel honored and lucky to be a part of this powerful event that's really helping shape the future of feminism and gender issues in China.”

 


Zovi is a female illustrator from France and will play swing and jazz.


“I still remember the first time I went to Ladyfest last year. Some people I met there have become really good friends, and I’ve had many good memories there. I went back this year, and I'm really excited to get involved with all the talent and energy around!

 

“Ladyfest to me is for spreading awareness about gender equality and meeting inspiring, independent, open-minded people. I hope the concert helps spread the word about Ladyfest and its values. I’m looking forward to performing with an amazing lineup of musicians!”


Event Details:


Ladyfest Concert 2017

Time: Saturday June 10th 8pm-1am

Address: Chair Club 555 Haifang road, Jingan district

Tickets: RMB80 (presale) / RMB100 (door). To buy tickets, click on the poster below and long press to scan the QR code and order your presale tickets.

 


Below is the full list of performers:

 

Name: Thundersouls

 

Genre: Indie Spiritual


Thundersouls is a female Moroccan band currently based in China.

 

Name: Ugly Girls

 

Genre: Rock


Ugly Girls are a Shanghai based Feminist punk band that mix Riot Grrrl style with China scene post­punk influences, led by the lyrics and vision of Casey Li Brander. Their songs fearlessly deal with a range of issues such as male rage, rape, gender, cultural imperialism, capitalism, Ru Paul and the movie The Room.

 

Name: Yanran

 

Genre: R&B


Yanran is a female R&B singer/guitarist in Shanghai. Inspired by contemporary R&B and neo­soul, Yanran’s voice blends both sweetness and groove, making her music uniquely smooth and chill.

 

Name: Elsa Toutou

 

Genre: R&B


Elsa is a French vocalist raised in a musical environment with both parents choristers with Caribbean influences. A member of a gospel choir in Paris, she settled in Shanghai in 2014.

 

Name: TBird

 

Genre: Spiritual ­ Gypsy


Drawing upon experimental world music, hop­hip, indie rock, gypsy­ acoustic, blues, & classical music, Tbird brings a heartfelt message of co­creative experimentation directly derived out of pure LOVE.

 

Name: Zovi

 

Genre: Jazz


Since childhood, Zovi has been trying to channel her two passions: music and graphic arts.

 

Name: Queen Diamond

 

Genre: Jazz


Queen Diamond is a female EMCEE from Virginia, USA. Her speciality is being able to switch her flow at the drop of a dime. Her songs reflect a gritty American environment, and how love helps to ease life’s struggles.

 

Name: FireSouls

 

Genre: Fire Performance


Shanghai FireSouls is a professional troupe of fire dancers and Glow performers.

 

Name: Tribal Mandala Dance

 

Genre: Tribal Dance


Miu Huang, Tribal Fusion belly dancer/instructor, the founder of Mandala Dance, will be performing a tribal fusion belly dance.

 

Name: Movement and Painting

 

Genre: Paint Artist

 

Name: Jen, LevZ& ClemDLC

 

Genre: Fusion of Electro­Organic


A first time collaboration for this trio, these original artists cross many genres and are excited about bringing something sizzling and unique to this year's Ladyfest summer concert series.

 

Name: Ennis F.W.

 

Genre: MC


Ennis F.W. is the Shanghai Showboi, a glittery burlesque drag king who has graced stages across the US and Asia. He is a founding member of local drag powerhouse the House of TBD and acclaimed cabaret troupe Qi­POW! Burlesque.


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