Traditions are hard to come by for any young event, even one with such an air of familiarity and a clear, necessary goal.
So when Omaha Girls Rock representative Lions Tigers & Babes opened Benson First Friday Femme Fest this past weekend, it cemented two things for the second year festival: an annual (if rotating) opening ceremony and what could be its unofficial mission statement. It was the sentiment in vocalist/keyboard player Addie Costello’s chorus that struck founder Rebecca Lowry so starkly that Lowry pulled Costello back onstage to repeat it:
Fly above conformity
You are your first priority
Don’t be a commodity
Define your own pretty
In a landscape largely dominated by white men, Friday night’s Femme Fest was again a welcome sight. Its second year celebrating women in music saw a whopping 56 acts with at least one non-male member staged front and center throughout eight Benson neighborhood venues. In doing so, it provided a platform for the Nebraska music community’s underrepresented.
In addition, Femme Fest served as a kind of summit, a place where women of multiple generations and social and cultural backgrounds could come together. I must have heard Lowry say/write it 10 times over the last few weeks, and she’s right. The scene is stronger at its most inclusive.
Below, relive the 2016 Benson First Friday Femme Fest in photos:
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Lions & Tigers & Babes at The Waiting Room
photo by Connor Lepert
All Young Girls Are Machine Guns at The Waiting Room
photos by Connor Lepert
Blue Bird at Reverb Lounge
photos by Connor Lepert
The Boner Killerz at The Sydney
photos by Connor Lepert
Mary Ruth McLeay at The Waiting Room
photo by James Dean
Badland Girls at Barley Street Tavern
photo by James Dean
The Toppings at Burke’s Pub
photo by Connor Lepert
The Hottman Sisters at The Waiting Room
photo by Connor Lepert
Emily Ward at Pizza Shoppe Collective
photo by Connor Lepert
Calling Cody at SoundCheck Rehearsal Studio
photos by Connor Lepert
Annie Dilocker at Barley Street Tavern
photos by James Dean
PYRATE at Petshop
photos by James Dean
The Ragabonds at Burke’s Pub
photos by James Dean
Molly & the Dustbunnies at SoundCheck Rehearsal Studio
photos by Connor Lepert
photo by James Dean
Wendy & the Lost Boys at Pizza Shoppe Collective
photos by Connor Lepert
Keiria Marsha at Reverb Lounge
photos by James Dean
The Clocks at Petshop
photos by James Dean
Lexi Robles at The Waiting Room
photos by Connor Lepert
Lady Scientist at Reverb Lounge
photo by Connor Lepert
Tara Vaughan at Barley Street Tavern
photos by James Dean
The Morbs at Petshop
photos by James Dean
Dammit Daniel at Burke’s Pub
photos by James Dean
La Guerre at The Waiting Room
photo by James Dean
photos by Connor Lepert
Muscle Cousins at Petshop
photo by James Dean
photo by Connor Lepert
Briner at Barley Street Tavern
photos by James Dean
Wagon Blasters at Burke’s Pub
photos by Connor Lepert
Edge of Arbor at SoundCheck Rehearsal Studio
photos by James Dean
High Up at The Waiting Room
photo by James Dean
Universe Contest at Petshop
photo by Connor Lepert
SharkWeek at Reverb Lounge
photos by Connor Lepert
CJ Mills at The Waiting Room
photos by Connor Lepert
photos by James Dean