Are there enough women on stage? If we look at the festival programming, we can only answer in the negative. And what about metal? It is no exception. In 2023 at Hellfest, in an edition where they were poorly represented, the group Grandma’s Ashes, composed entirely of women, had without animosity called on the festival to make ” an effort “.
This intervention generated quite a bit of feedback from the public. “Most often to salute our initiative. Some, including many men, told us that they were simply not aware of this disproportion”relays Eva Hägen, bassist and singer of Grandma’s Ashes.
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One day later, what about the 2024 edition of Hellfest? Without shouting it from the rooftops, the festival seems to have heard the call. Eva Hägen notes a better representation of women in the 2024 edition. “We don’t think we had an impact on this choice but, when we saw the 2024 poster, we were proud as women. »
West France counted fifty-two women on the main stages. They represent around forty groups, including five 100% female groups (there were only two in 2023). “This is indeed one of the highest figures in recent years, apart from the 2022 edition”, notes Christie Médina Gonzales, programmer of the Altar and Temple stages for Hellfest. Another notable fact is that almost all of these groups have frontwomen, that is to say that these women are in the foreground singing. This is approximately double the year 2023. And that is very positive.
As with other festivals, one could always rightly object that this remains small, compared to the number of men. Women make up about 7% of the artists at Hellfest this year. But the road to equity will be long, for several reasons. First of all, most of the strong figures in metal in France and abroad are men. These are women who say it, with regret. “We may not want to be considered only as riots grrrls (Editor’s note feminist movement of the punk scene)on a conscience que…,…
