You had me at “Ruby Rose Fox”. This powerhouse of an artist has unequivocally embedded herself in my heart as one of the most fierce and memorable acts I have seen in a long while. Her band is prime, the harmony vocalists of Julia Mark, Mally Smith and Colleen McNamara (collectively known as the Gloria Steinems) are flawless, and the energy that emanates from the stage when they are on it is palpable no matter what the room.
Per the Facebook event for this celebration of female fronted acts in the area: “Award-winning Boston songwriter and vocal powerhouse, Ruby Rose Fox, is teaming up with GimmeLive to present the first Queen Treatment Only Festival featuring top female artists from Boston to the North Shore in the most intimate, acoustically stellar listening room north of Boston.” Well, if that isn’t something worth celebrating, I am not sure what is.
For as long as I have been in the music community I have seen it dominated by male gendered bands, bills and so on and so on. And while I love a good beard and a western plaid clad bunch of gents pickin’ tunes, the rise of female fronted acts in town over the past few years has been a breath of fresh air. They have always been there, but it hasn’t been until recently that the spotlight has been turned every so slightly and the women of Boston/New England music get the attention they deserve for being brilliantly talented, strong and spirited performers who plainly put…just kick ass. The fact that this event is happening and is an all ages show is something to be celebrated. Each of the women performing this night are a wonderful role model for the next generation of artists, performers and young women who have aspirations of creating art in some form. Hell, they are all role models to me. The amount of respect I have for all the performers at this event is immeasurable.
The line up is stacked with some of the best that the area has to offer. Folk rock songstress Sarah Blacker, the varied genre hopping prowess of When Particles Collide, the Americana soul vibes of Hayley Jane and The Primates, and Cruel Miracle, Chelsea Berry, The Dirty Dotties, Jen Kearney and of course Ruby Rose and the band…it almost seems unfair to have this amount of talent in one place for one evening. But the important thing is that it is happening and as the namesake says, these ladies deserve “Queen Treatment Only”.
The show is at the beautiful Larcom Theatre in Beverly, MA. Be sure to get your tickets in advance, you can even choose your seat and while you wait for October 22nd to get here, be sure to check out the music of all the folks involved in the evening.
