FEATURE:
The Headline Stays the Same: Get Your Acts Together!
Is Gender Inequality at Festivals Going to Pervade in 2023?
__________
I don’t think…
IN THIS PHOTO: Billie Eilish/PHOTO CREDIT: Kelia Anne MacCluskey
there are many festivals in the world that are going to struggle to find women to perform at. Few that are so restricted in terms of availability that they are going to be male-heavy. Even Metal festivals – which have been accused of gender inequality in the past – have a stock of female talent to select from. I know there are Hip-Hop festivals that are struggling to balance the line-ups. Given the number of amazing women coming through and established in that genre, one wonders what the excuse is. There were festivals last year that fulfilled the fifty-fifty gender split. There was a pledge a while back that festivals would commit to ensuring their bills were equal when it comes to gender. Whilst there were festivals last year that hit that target, there are many more that have not! I say it every year, but it seems staggering that there is still this inequality at festivals! What excuses can there be?! No organiser can say female artists are unavailable, as they are no busier than male artists. You cannot defend the statement that punters are used to men at festivals and want to keep it that way. Change and progression is not happening, so how can they be spoken for?! Regardless as to whether they would be aggrieved at more women playing, that would show there is something pretty toxic at the heart of festivals. I don’t think there is this active resistance to equality. The same tired acts are being trotted out at festivals at a time when women are dominating music and adding something incredible to every genre. From Folk to Pop, right through to Hip-Hop, Electronica and Metal, there is no huge shortage of women that could ensure festivals hit that target.
IN THIS PHOTO: Halsey (even though she was a bill-topper last year at Reading & Leeds alongside Megan Thee Stallion, women were still in the minority)/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
Some moan about this fifty-fifty pledge and say it is political, woke or not based on quality or demand. They say that festivals have always been male-heavy, so that shows that this is what people want. Maybe women are not festival-ready and including them would weaken the line-up. These arguments are moronic, not based on any fact, and are lazy at best. I do worry that music festivals are going to repeat the same patterns next year as they have always done. Aside from bigger festivals like Glastonbury pledging actively to make their line-up gender-equal, many other large festivals are not. One glaring and repeated offender is Reading & Leeds. NME reported on the line-up announced. Even though not all names are confirmed, around a third of the artists listed are women.
“After 2022’s edition of the iconic twin-site festival saw Arctic Monkeys, Megan Thee Stallion, The 1975, Dave, Bring Me The Horizon and Halsey all top the bill, the August Bank Holiday bash will return next summer with more big names.
After festival boss Melvin Benn teased to NME that two of the top acts booked had topped the bill before, returning headliners The Killers and Foals will be back at R+L, while Fender, Eilish, Capaldi and Imagine Dragons will be making their Reading & Leeds headline debuts.
Other acts on the line-up include Wet Leg, Slowthai, Bicep, Becky Hill, Steve Lacy, Central Cee, MUNA, The Snuts, Tion Wayne and more.
R+L boss and Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn said: “We are delighted to return to Reading’s Richfield Avenue and Leeds’ Bramham Park in 2023 with another epic six headline artists, and an incredible, genre-defying line-up that features some of the very best in modern music. Once again Reading & Leeds is set to be the ultimate bank holiday festival weekend – we can’t wait to be back!.
IN THIS PHOTO: Nessa Barrett
The full line-up for Reading & Leeds 2023 so far is:
BILLIE EILISH
SAM FENDER
FOALS
THE KILLERS
IMAGINE DRAGONS
LEWIS CAPALDI
ANDY C
BABY QUEEN
BECKY HILL
BICEP LIVE
CENTRAL CEE
CHASE ATLANTIC
DECLAN MCKENNA
DON BROCO
ELIZA ROSE
GEORGIA
INHALER
LF SYSTEM
LIL TJAY
LOVEJOY
LOYLE CARNER
MEEKZ
MK
MUNA
NESSA BARRETT
NOTHING BUT THIEVES
SHY FX
SLOWTHAI
SONGER
STEVE LACY
THE SNUTS
TION WAYNE
TRIPPIE REDD
WET LEG
YOU ME AT SIX
YUNG LEAN”.
IN THIS PHOTO: Wet Leg/PHOTO CREDIT: Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times
Other festivals will announce their 2023 line-ups soon. I feel it is insane that women are being denied or ignored when they are producing the best music. I am not picking on Reading & Leeds specifically. Whilst Billie Eilish is headlining, very few women are high up the bill. There are more than enough female acts to ensure greater gender parity. Maybe Nova Twins will be announced, but where are they?! They are Mercury-nominated and not even on the bill yet! Self Esteem would have been an awesome headliner. How about Laura Mvula, FKA twigs and Charli XCX? I am glad Wet Leg are featured, but there are so many female-led groups and solo artists (or duos/trios etc.) that could replace male artists that, to be fair, are far inferior! There is not even a commercial bias, in the sense the male acts hold more influence, have more pulling power and will bring in more people. The only male artists I am excited about in that line-up above is Loyle Carner, Sam Fender, and Declan McKenna. Not a huge amount to recommend. As you can see from the artists announced, they are not restricted in terms of gender. Reading & Leeds used to be Indie/Rock-heavy, but they have diversified their ethos. That has not translated into offering a great deal more women slots. You could easily name a dozen more women/female-led bands who would be eligible for inclusion and bring in so many new faces! I fear 2023 is going to be no better than last when it comes to including women. There is not a lot of outcry and demand from male artists for festivals to get their acts together, as they are denying a valuable platform for so many incredible musicians. One hopes things do eventually improve, but there is no reason why tiny steps happen. This is something that can change right away without any delay. Why do festivals continue to show such ignorance and short-sightedness?! I think Reading & Leeds’ line-up is a sad harbinger of things to come. Let’s hope I am wrong! Line-ups that largely disregard women and put them lower down the bill – despite there being one female headliner – is so angering…
IN THIS PHOTO: Sam Fender live at Reading 2021/PHOTO CREDIT: Emma Viola Lilja for NME
AND depressing to see.