In just one week, the Bay Area will be hosting the inaugural Doll Fest. The two day festival will take place at the Cornerstone in Berkeley, CA and is “a celebration of the feminine energy, friendship, and community gathering together in support of one another.”
The lineup is a jaw dropping list of rad bands all with a femme energy to them along with multi-genre artists. Doll Fest will feature artists such as The Iron Roses, The Darts, Tsunami Bomb, Cosmic Kitten, Tess & The Details and many more on March 1st and 2nd along with a pre-show party on February 28th.
We wanted to get in on the action, so we’ve asked the amazing bands a handful of questions about the festival including who they’re stoked to be playing with and what they think a festival of this caliber means to our scene. We chatted with Sacramento-based duo Dog Party. Gwendolyn Giles plays guitar and shares vocal duties with her sister Lucy, who drums. They started playing together when they were 8 and 10 and haven’t stopped since, gaining a strong following across the country. Check out our interview below and grab your tickets to Doll Fest now via their website here!
Interview
Tell us a little about yourself and why you’re excited to play Doll Fest.
Dog Party is a two-piece, Sacramento based rock ‘n’ roll band consisting of sisters Gwendolyn and Lucy Giles. We are honored to be a part of the first ever Doll Fest. It is such a cool event put on by a rad group of ladies. We love that it is femme fronted, all-ages, and designed to uplift the community.
Which bands are you most stoked to see or play alongside?
There are so many bands that we’ve already had the pleasure of sharing the stage with like Gloomy June at Fest in Gainesville, FL. We went on a tour with both Tess & the Details and Cosmic Kitten this month. Coming back together to uplift femme identifying artists further supports comradery in the scene. Honorable mention to The Inciters who we have yet to share the stage with but can’t wait to see!!!
How has the Oakland music scene or Bay Area culture influenced your sound/creative process?
The Bay Area scene is integral to our sound as a band. Particularly roots in Look Out Records with bands like Green Day, The Groovie Ghoulies, and The Donnas. With our third release, Lost Control, we were signed to Bay Area label Asian Man Records and quickly found community and friendship within the label. We have had the honor to rock numerous amazing shows in the Bay Area. We love it!!!
How do you see events like Doll Fest contributing to greater representation and empowerment of women in the music industry?
Over the years we’ve seen groups like Amplify Her Voice spread awareness on the lack of gender equality within the music community. It takes action like putting on events and festivals to further spread awareness and uplift marginalized voices in the community. Taking inspiration from Lilith Fair, it’s great to see Doll Fest take form and create a space to celebrate femme voices that are “still proving our worth as voices to be heard.”
What unique challenges have you faced as female musicians, and how have you overcome them?
When we started our band we were 8 and 10 years old, so not only did we face challenges because of our gender, we also faced challenges because of our age. Developing into adults, we still noticed that we don’t get taken as seriously as our male counterparts. One almost silly example is when we arrive at a venue, it is more often than not where venue staff will first approach a male crewmember of our group rather than our band members or tour managers who are all femme. I said silly because it’s ridiculous people assume that women aren’t the ones playing in the bands or carrying leadership roles. This continuing to happen really makes us think about all of the discrimination women throughout music history have faced.
What message do you hope to convey to your audience through your performance at Doll Fest?
We strive to convey passion and emotion through our performance. Our mission through our songwriting is to incite an emotional connection with our listeners hoping to share universal experiences.
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