The party can start, the girls have arrived …
I’ve heard many in Rock spaces over the years say this about concert attendance, especially smaller-venue shows, “If you want the guys to show up, you better have some girls there” – or – “It’s not a party until the girls show up.”
Those theories are understandable, even to cavemen. But we’re not talking about wanting to see Sydney Sweeney in a video washing cars in a bikini. There was a time and place in Rock history when such imagery was common, but what I’m getting at is this:
In a broad genre historically dominated by male musicians, it’s clear the ladies have not only arrived at the party; they’re doing shots, tipping over tables they were once asked to dance upon, and they don’t expect dudes to buy their drinks or drive them home – they’re perfectly capable on their own.
The wide Rock and Alternative landscapes haven’t been completely devoid of female talent. Some amazing Hall of Fame women have graced the stages and left lasting marks on our musical brains, but there’s more of a female presence today than there has been in history.
One factor that stands out so positively in the Rock genre is that the ladies are truly legit; they always have been, and they must be. You can’t get away with faking talent – they’re not DEI card carriers. Rock fans of all types are respectfully unforgiving.
You’ve either got it or you don’t.
You can’t auto-tune your way into opening for Foo Fighters or headlining a tour. A set full of sampled tracks isn’t going to last. One can’t just put on a barely-nothing outfit and dance their way into selling records or a chart hit (it may get YouTube views, but it won’t fill a Rock arena).
There’s something about Rock music that is so genuine, so authentic, so real. The talent is immense, and you remember artists by first name: Janis, Ann & Nancy, Dolores, Siouxie, Courtney, Blondie (I know that’s not her first name), Joan & Pat, Stevie, Gwen, Meg, Shirley, Orianthi, Amy, Haley, Karen O.
There are certainly more, but the list of female giants is quite small when compared to males over the past 50-60 years. We could argue over, and cite several reasons for that, but the pendulum is swinging.
We hear them on Radio or Spotify playlists and see them on festival stages or platforms like TikTok. The number of girls exhibiting multi-octave vocal acrobatics, shredding insane EVH solos, beating you-know-what out of Ludwigs, or funkifying a bass like Flea is their dad, has never been higher.
Not all these double-XX chromosome holders will be household names. Some naturally fit in less-mass circles like Nu Metal or as instrumentalists. Not all will land in the R&R HOF, win Grammys, be chart-toppers, or have their names tattooed on the arms of millions, but they don’t need that.
It’s just nice, and it’s about time, to have more female rockers at a party that has historically been referred to as a fencing tournament. And while I’m not here to review records, predict hits, or tell you how many notes per second are being shredded, I can spot a real trend when I see it. This one has been brewing for several years.
I’ll leave the ocean of TikTokers and Metal slayers for another column and close with a salute to a few of the ladies who have hit the scene this century and are making the Rock party a much better party.
Taylor Momsen (The Pretty Reckless)
The Beaches (all-female band)
Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)
Emily Armstrong (Linkin Park, Dead Sara)
Dorothy (Solo)
Lola Young (Solo)
Gigi Perez (Solo)
Rhian & Hester (Wet Leg)
Maria Brink (Bring Me the Horizon)
The Warning (all-female band)
The Last Dinner Party (all-female band)
Plush (all-female band)
Nita Strauss (solo artist + Alice Cooper guitarist)
Sophie Lloyd (solo artist + MGK guitarist)
Kiki Wong (touring guitarist, Smashing Pumpkins)
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Keith Cunningham is a music industry and Rock/Alternative columnist for Barrett Media and the founder of Black Box Group, a modern-modeled creative & strategic consultancy built for brands that need strategies with teeth. He’s the former Master of Mayhem at 95.5 KLOS-FM in Los Angeles for over a decade, a nationwide consultant, and has been repeatedly voted one of America’s top Program Directors and strategic thinkers. Keith has built his career by taking multi-million-dollar brands from worst to first and leading Marconi & Gracie award winners along the way. A data nerd with a rock-and-roll heart, he is an advisory council member for St. Jude fundraising, a fantasy football champion, and lover of his daughters & dogs. Reach him at keithblackboxgroup@gmail.com or on LinkedIn or X.
Grace Bowers…
Grace is fantastic, she pops up in my social feeds frequently. Too many great talents to list them all, as you know, but I can’t imagine Grace not being in some future columns.