Back in 2021 we joined an organisation called Keychange, pledging at least 50% of our performers would be women or of under-represented genders.
Each year since, we over-shot the target. It’s not that difficult - it's about giving space to all voices, spending our limited budget fairly, and showing the music industry how its done!
Now we’re going further, because representation in the arts and on stage matters.
In 2026, our top headline acts are both fronted by women; 55% of our acts are female and non-binary led; 19% are co-led.
Friday in the Raconteurs’ Delight all performing arts’ workshops will be led by women (a stepping stone for more talent to grace our stages!). Come evening, all performers will be female or non-binary – we’ve Bassie Gracie, Great Aunt Tranni, Kaz Wood, Toria Garbutt, Kestrel Morton, Naomi Wood, Jackie Juno, Francesca’s Word Salad, Syambolical and Claire Ferguson Walker – between them covering poetry, story telling, comedy, political satire and theatre.
Saturday on Soundscape Solar Stage will be a celebration of female and non-binary artists. Between acts our MCs and DJs will all be women or nb. The DJs will in turn play music created by women and non-binary artists. Expect brilliant variety!
Soundscape will be opening with The NaNaz - a truth-telling riot in motion - followed by Rain Mcmey’s angsty bedroom punk poetics and politics, then Efa Supertramp our favourite Welsh riot grrl with enough attitude for a punk orchestra. We’ll slow it down with the beautiful, queer folk stories and harmonies of Suthering, then folk punk again with Tracey Curtis - songs rooted in the working class struggles of the past decades. We’ll change pace and bring festival favourites Tarantism to get you dancing with decades of experiences from festival and traveller life. Millie Manders and the Shutup deliver a short sharp shock of Ska Punk to get you dancing even harder, before our headliner for the day, Madame Gandhi, brings powerful organically-sourced electronic music full of messages of personal power and gender liberation. There’s no time to breathe before FOSSILHEADS hit us with Climate Crisis Cabaret and we move into the final session - repeating last year's great end to the evening with Sian’s Music Box bringing carnival vibes to close the night.
MCs Clare Fergusson-Walker, Bassie Gracie, Great Aunt Tranni and Nessie will be hosting, and DJs Amba, Mattana, Sian’s Music Box and Mamma Dann will be keeping us on our toes between acts.
Raconteurs’ on Friday, Soundscape on Saturday, these solar-powered venues will be full to brimming with female and non-binary voices, perspectives, power and attitude. Come for the politics, stay for the laughing, crying, dancing and singing... See you there!
