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The Politics Bar After Hours - Do Better, Gavin
As festival season rapidly rolls in, we’re constantly being reminded of the continuing lack of diversity on our lineups. With a recent study indicating 86 per cent of the lineups of 12 major music festivals last year including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds and Creamfields were male, it seems that the ears at the top are still unwilling to break up the boys club that makes up our live music industry.
Without music, life would be a mistake.
That’s not to say the diversity – and demand – isn’t there. With collectives such as SIREN and Discwoman championing female talent in the electronic music scene, and artists such as Björk, Grimes and Kesha speaking out in defence of women’s rights in the industry, there’s never seemed a more appropriate time to shake up our lineups. One group unwilling to wait for the wider industry to take note is Sad Grrrls Club. Originally founded by Rachel Maria Cox as a record label and booking agency in order for them to support non-binary and female acts and challenge Australia’s male-dominated live music scene, Cox has grown the organisation from it’s DIY roots to fully fledged music festival taking place across two cities.
Inspired by the Riot Grrrl movement as well as Audrey Wollen’s Sad Girl Theory, Sad Grrrls Fest showcases bands and musicians that have at least one female or non-binary member. But are all-female lineups breaking down the gender divide, or widening it even further? Below we caught up with the festival’s founder to discuss safer space policies, reverse sexism and the power of expressing our emotions.
Written by: Gregory Valdez
Business Editorial Music industry Technology
todayJanuary 16, 2026 4 1
todayJanuary 16, 2026 6 1
Thom Hartmann is a New York Times bestselling, four-times Project Censored Award-winning author and host of The Thom Hartmann Program, which broadcasts live nationwide each weekday from noon to 3pm Eastern. For 20 years, the show has reached audiences across AM/FM stations throughout the US, on SiriusXM satellite radio, and as video on Free Speech TV, YouTube, Facebook, and X/Twitter.
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