February 27, 2017
The Girls Rock Camp Alliance has been teaching and encouraging young people who self-identify as female, transgender, and gender non-conforming to pick up instruments and get rockin’ since its inception in Portland, Oregon in 2007. They’ve become an international presence in the past ten years, organizing events all over the world where campers learn an instrument, form a band, write and record an original song, and then play it at a live venue. And now they’ll be bringing a week of camping to Regina this summer.
Open to campers between the ages of 10 and 14, the inaugural Girls Rock Regina will take place from July 24–29. The organizers are Danielle Sakundiak, a longtime music fan and mother of two girls, and Amanda Scandrett, the manager of Paper Crane Community Arts Centre and a member of local indie pop group Library Voices. The idea is to provide a number of female musicians and mentors as role models, as well as a safe space to ensure campers’ musical creativity—in whatever forms of rocking it takes—flourishes.
“We need to create more opportunities for positive female mentorship in our city,” Sakundiak said in a press release. “Even if our campers never pick up another instrument, the goal is that they’ll gain the self-confidence to rock out in whatever way they choose. Twelve-year-old me would have loved this.”
Regina’s local music scene is heavily behind the camp. The University of Regina will host the campers at its Interactive Media Performance Labs, and The Exchange will be putting on the final concert on July 29, which will be open to the public.
Registration begins on March 5 and ends on March 19. There are 25 spots available and, if accepted, the registration fees are $300. Financial assistance is available to families who need it. You can check out more info on the camp here: https://www.girlsrockregina.com/
In Other News:
- Buffy Sainte-Marie and Tanya Tagaq teamed up for a musical collab.
- Justin Bieber had a wardrobe malfunction (SFW, don’t worry).
- Play this game and find out the Osheaga lineup.
- Mac DeMarco made an appearance on First We Feast’s Hot Wings show.
- Latent Recordings is marking their 35th anniversary with a Toronto concert series.
- Saskatoon’s The Pistolwhips showed up on The Tonight Show in a seriously bizarre way.
- Sunrise Records to fill the gap left by the closing of HMV
Festival Lineups: Montebello Rockfest, Ottawa’s RBC Bluesfest
