We have been involved in the Unglamorous International Women’s Day since it started in 2022. This year was always going to be a difficult one. Since the loss of Ruth, Unglamorous has been run by her daughter Isobel and a committee of lovely Unglam women. There are now so many women bands that it was necessary to have three events!
We took part in March 8th International Women’s Day at Firebug. I worked with Isobel and Sophie from Velvet Crisis to put the night on. Stayfree donated a Peavey TNT bass combo, our lovely new Orange Rockerverb 50 guitar combo, along with cymbals and hardware.
The two new bands opened up the event; Ginkgo Cloud and the elusive Value of Nothing. Next up was Clamour Club and then me – Caroline McLavy. The highlight of the event was a performance by The Verinos, back with Isobel Miller on vocals and Sophie on guitar. Sophie put together a lovely video dedication to Ruth and there wasn’t a dry eye in the room.
Virginia’s Wolves has the humungous job of following that and then Unglam veterans Glitch Magnet and Wonky Portraits ended the event on a real high.
On Saturday Em from Rogue Notion organised a LOROS Fundraiser hosted at The Donkey. Some of the Folkstone Unglamorous bands performed along with Leicester bands Mental Load, Miss Kicks, Typical Girls, Rogue Notion, Venus Attax and the mighty Velvet Crisis.
Stayfree donated a £50 voucher to the raffle which was won by Karen from Miss Kicks/ Value of Nothing.
Sunday was Mother’s Day so the Boiler women put on a Punk Mums event at the Attenborough Arts Centre. First on their packed agenda was an amazing workshop packed with loads of eager women wanting to try it out. The entertainment kicked off with Pretty Dirty Rats, Dada Women and of course the epic Boilers. The weekend wrapped up with a fantastic Power Ballad Sing Along – for full audience participation that was by all accounts cathartic.
Wonky Portaits at Firebug
Caroline McLavy at Firebug
Velvet Crisis at The Donkey
The workshop at Attenborough Arts Centre
The Boilers at Attenborough Arts Centre
Unglamorous 2024 t-shirt featuring the whole weekend line up