Celebrating Women In Rock

March is Women’s History month, and March 8th is International Women’s Day. As a way of celebrating the incredible women who inspired me growing up and continue to inspire me every day, I set myself a challenge to pay tribute to as many women in rock as possible.

Unfortunately March went by really fast and I didn’t get as many completed illustrations as I’d hoped, but I enjoyed the process of doing something that was creative just for the sake of it, with no direct business goal behind it. I also pushed myself out of my comfort zone to try different artistic styles and share things that I was 100% happy with.

Most importantly, I got to celebrate some of the women who are making waves and paving the way for a more inclusive alternative music industry. Nearly all of the bands I listened to, was a fan of and saw on stage were all men, and as a young alternative girl, seeing women on stage, going as hard as the men, taking up space and doing things people said they couldn’t was really important to me. Now I make an effort to seek out a more diverse range of music, and I’ve found some incredible artists by putting in that effort. Celebrating women in rock music will always mean a lot to me because it makes me feel at more at home in the scene that played such a massive part of the person I have become.

Here is the full series as it stands so far:

milkie way - wargasm

I only discovered Wargasm in the last year or so, but I fell in love with their music and Milkie Way’s vocals and I quickly became obsessed. Backyard Bastards, which this lyric is taken from is currently one of my favourite songs and I listen to it every day at the moment. I’m hoping to see Wargasm live when gigs and festivals are a thing again!

Nova twins

I’ve been a massive fan of Nova Twins for a few years now, and I saw them live at Download Festival 2019. They were so incredible live, the crowd was mental, and as always seeing women on stage at a metal festival that was predominantly men always lights me up. If you’re not familiar with Nova Twins, go look them up cause they’re doing amazing things.

LZZY HALE - HALESTORM

I first became a fan of Halestorm when I was a teenager, but recently I’ve fallen back in love with them and as an adult woman I admire Lzzy’s presence, power and talent so much more. I struggled with the details on this illustration so became behind schedule, but I decided to take advice from the lyrics I was illustrating and put it out into the world anyway.

hayley williams - paramore

I was (and still am) a massive @paramore fan and Hayley Williams was on of my idols growing up. My first gig that I went to without any adult supervision was my first Paramore gig, I believe in 2009. This one feels really personal because it’s very close to little emo teenage me. I wanted to pay tribute to the energy and angst of RIOT! era Hayley Williams and her iconic orange mic, because of the influence she had on me growing up. I think I’ve also accidentally paid tribute to my teenage art style which is nice.

me me @ the altar

Meet Me @ The Altar are a pop-punk trio who I found last year and was instantly pulled in by their energy and feel-good pop-punk vibes. They’re making waves and inspiring the next generation of alternative kids and I love to see it. Im so excited to see what to come from them.

I really loved getting out of my comfort zone and illustrating this series and hope to get chance to do more soon because the rock and alternative scenes are full of so many amazing and inspiring women. Let me know your favourite women in rock in the comments!