Performer at Pop Mic event. Charlene Davatos // AS Review
By Charlene Davatos
Associated Students Productions’ third annual Femme Fest was coupled this year with a music industry conference on April 21. The event, titled Pop Mic, focused on identity and diversity in the local music industry.
Industry professionals from the Pacific Northwest participated in panels, with the themes of Representation and Community and Personal Health, Ethical Booking, Womxn in Music and Media Identity.
“These are people who are active in Bellingham and Seattle. Being able to talk with them, meet with them and interact with them in such an open space lets people learn a lot,” James Bonaci, AS Pop Music Coordinator, said.
The conference focused on pop music, or local music.
“It’s really just the current climate locally,” Emily Castle, a volunteer for Pop Mic, explained. “A lot of the bands coming out of [Bellingham] are really mixed bill or indie bands. When talking about pop music, it’s easy to think Ariana Grande, but really it’s what’s being created the most in the local area.”
Issues brought up within the panels included mental health as a pop band member, finding diversity in bookings, both in genres and in demographics of artists and representation in music.
Panelists included representatives from The Shakedown, The Vera Project, Votiv, Bellingham Girls Rock Camp, Bellingham Arts and Music Fest, Darrell’s Tavern and Distinction Music Management. Panelists were able to switch from being a part of the panel and answering questions to being a part of the audience and asking questions.
Ayano Spivey, a third-year audio and technology student, said she came to the conference to get her foot in the music industry.
“I think the most interesting part of the panel was hearing these industry professionals say that you have to get used to hearing ‘no’. I’ve been rejected before from jobs and opportunities, and I know it’s not a reflection of me and my work, and it was refreshing to hear that.” Spivey said.
Julian Stefanzick, a third-year student, said he came to the conference to be more involved and understanding of the issues that surround artists today.
“With myself identifying as a straight white male, I don’t have all these perspectives. Being able to sit down and listen to the panel talk has been a real eye-opener for me,” Stefanzick said.
The Femme Fest concert followed the conference. The lineup included Flitchlette, Maarquii, Sassyblack, Donormaal and The Black Tones. All the performers had womxn identities and were queer and trans people of color.
Bonaci said that they had wanted to make sure the conference was womxn and QTPOC focused, and that Femme Fest was an extension of that.
“We tried to throw a lineup that is exclusively womxn and QTPOC performers, making sure that the school allocates funding to that. It’s important for students to see these types of performers because often they’re not given the time in other bills to perform and be a part of the music scene,” Bonaci said.
Bonaci hopes they can bring the AS Pop Mic conference back as a regular event at Western.
“It used to be an annual event, but it hasn’t been in recent years,” they said. “But seeing how enthusiastic people are about talking to one another and having these personal conversations has just been really exciting.”