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Photos: The DIY Styles Of Female-Fronted Music Festival Burger-A-Go-Go
Female-fronted bands rocked the stage this weekend while fans brought plenty of homemade style to this year's Burger-A-Go-Go festival.
On Saturday, we headed down to The Observatory in Orange County to check out the second annual music festival, which spotlights female musicians. From headlining standard-bearers like Cat Power and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth to relative newcomers like Bleached and Death Valley Girls, the bands drew huge crowds of largely female fans, including of plenty of young rockers in the making. The festival—which is organized by Fullerton-based indie label Burger Records—also featured a flea market with handmade crafts, clothes and more. And, no, there weren't any burgers, but there were plenty of tasty vegan cupcakes courtesy of Clara Cakes.
Just as with some of the bands' members, guys obviously weren't turned away at the door at Burger-A-Go-Go, but women definitely ruled day. The event also served to highlight what many have pointed out to be a dramatic underrepresentation of women at most mainstream music festivals. There was even a fake flyerfor this year's FYF Fest, which featured female solo artists and female-led bands that were available for booking,though many of them were overlooked and are often underbooked.
Saturday's line-up included several new projects from established female musicians in addition to Gordon's band Glitterbust, which features Alex Knost of Tomorrow's Tulips. Fans also crushed the stage-front to see Kathleen Hanna—former lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill and electroclash band Le Tigre—perform with her latest band The Julie Ruin. We also saw Kimya Dawson, formerly of The Moldy Peaches, as well as British singer-songwriter Kate Nash. Other newcomers included The Aquadolls, Peach Kelli Pop and The Rosalyns.
At the flea market outside of the venue, we also saw plenty of fans—including several young concertgoers—sporting brightly-colored prints and plenty of homespun fashion. There, they browsed and bought handmade purses and vintage clothes, custom guitars and DIY crafts. There were also cassette tapes featuring some of the bands, including an official tape for the festival. There was also no shortage of style from the bands, including a glittery-sequined jumpsuit from Kate Nash.
We're definitely looking forward to next year's Burger-A-Go-Go festival. Who knows, maybe some of the young female fans in the crowd this year may be inspired to take the stage next time.
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