Girls Rock London (GRL!) announce a crowdfunding campaign to raise £10,000 to support its mission to improve the confidence and self-esteem of young women and to increase the number of women and girls making music.
Their 2018 programme is also announced, which includes a collaboration with Shirley Manson and Omaze, a special fundraising gig, and their third year of music camps for girls and women.
Shirley Manson, Girls Rock London Patron, said: “Support your local girl gang. Support Girls Rock London. They are trying to do great things for our female identifying young by getting them involved in all aspects of music making and by default encouraging them to speak up and make a noise in the world.”
Young women are facing a mental health crisis in the UK: one in four girls aged 14 is depressed; twice as many 14 and 15 year-old girls than boys are unhappy with their appearance and there has been a 68% rise in hospital admissions because of self-harm among girls under 17 in past decade.(1)
Young women’s self-esteem plummets during secondary school years, and evidence shows that low self-esteem ‘journeys’ with people throughout their lives. This results in women being more likely to suffer from the effects of low self-esteem later on in life. Group music-making and performance has been shown to improve confidence and can be politically and personally transformative. (2)
However, the music industry in the UK is steeped in gender inequality, with girls and women much less likely to reap the benefits of music-making than their male counterparts. Research evidences the domination of male-acts on the line-ups of UK festivals, with eight out of ten top slots occupied by all-male acts last year and 86% of the line-up at British music festivals in 2015 being male.(3)
GRL! attempt to tackle the issue of women’s representation in music, and the low levels of well-being of girls and women, by providing activities for girls and women where they can learn skills which improve their confidence and give them the skills to carry on making music.
Girls Rock London believes that joy is a revolutionary force. They are aiming to raise £10,000 will directly fund their programme of activities year-round, changing the lives of more girls and reversing the huge drop in young women’s self-esteem.
Previous GRL! participants said: “We formed our band at the 2017 women’s camp and decided to carry on rocking! We have written several songs in our rehearsal studio which we have performed in gigs all over London. Last month we successfully crowdfunded for the recording of our EP! We owe a huge thanks to Girls Rock London who taught us so many great techniques that we still use. We couldn’t have achieved so much so fast without the continued support from Girls Rock London.” Concrete Bones.
“If you love music and want to feel good about yourself, go to GRL! It will change your way of thinking in a good way” Girls’ Camp Participant
Full details of the crowdfunding campaign can be found here: http://www.girlsrocklondon.com/donate-to-change-a-girls-life
Girls Rock London x Shirley Manson x Omaze
GRL! Have collaborated with Shirley Manson and Omaze to create an exclusive “Girls Rock Harder Than You” t-shirt with proceeds supporting GRL!’s mission. Omaze is an online fundraising platform offering experiences and exclusive merchandise in support of charitable causes. https://www.omaze.com/made/shirley-manson-girls-rock-shirt
Girls Rock London Camp (30 July – 4 August)
Girls Rock London is a six-day music project where 25 girls aged 11-16 develop the tools to write their own song and perform it in a concert to family and friends. Participants learn the basics in guitar, bass, drums, vocals and keyboard, pick an instrument to focus on for the week and form a band with other girls in the camp. It also includes a range of workshops on topics aimed at raising girls' confidence and self-esteem. The tutor team on the camp includes professional musicians with extensive experience of working with children in diverse settings.
Women Rock London Camp (25-18 May)
The women's camp is an intensive three-day event providing women aged 18 and over with the chance to write and perform an original song in a supportive and relaxed environment - whilst also raising funds for the girl’s camp. 25 participants form five bands, and learn the basics in either the guitar, bass, drums or synth. Over the weekend, they attend workshops on song-writing and fine-tune their performance. The camp ends in a final gig where the bands will play on stage at a live gig venue.
Full information about both camps can be found here. GRL! welcomes applicants who identify as girls, women, trans and/or gender non-conforming. Prices are based on what participants can afford.
Fundraiser gig
Girls Rock London is back with a party full of London's finest female-fronted acts. The night features an eclectic line-up of live music.
Last year, over half of the summer camp places were provided for free to young women who would not otherwise have been able to attend thanks to generous donations at events like these. GRL want as many girls as possible to benefit from the work that they do and want to achieve this goal again in 2018. ALL money raised through this event will go towards putting on our year-round programming for girls and women.
Saturday 30 June
Where: Courtyard Theatre
Doors: 7PM
How much: £10
Tickets: Follow GRL! on social media to be the first to hear when tickets go on sale
For more information please visit: www.girlsrocklondon.com
Facebook: Girls Rock London / Twitter and Instagram: @girlsrocklondon #GirlsRockLondon
