First Timers (festival)

Last updated

First Timers
Genre Punk rock, Indie rock
Location(s)
Years active2013 - present

First Timers is a yearly series of workshops in London, England, culminating in a two-day festival that encourages "new faces and voices in bands", in order to "do something about the lack of diversity in the music community". [1]

Background

The festival was founded by Bryony Beynon of Good Throb, inspired by similar events in North America, with the first events happening in 2013. [2]

To take part, one or more band members have never been in a band before or one or more members has never performed that role in a band before, and one or more band members has to belong to a group marginalised in society. [3] This includes being disabled, transgender, queer, non-binary, LGBTQIA+, a person of colour, or a woman. [4] [5]

Bands that emerged from the festival include Big Joanie, [6] Whitelands, [3] Charmpit, Breakup Haircut, [2] Primetime, [2] Scrap Brain, [7] Slags and Panic Pocket. [8]

Speaking with The Guardian in 2019, an organiser with the festival reported that nearly 90 bands had formed to play the festival up to that point. [9]

Beynon also organised an iteration of the festival in Sydney, Australia on 14 July 2018. [10] [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Die for the Government</i> 1996 studio album by Anti-Flag

Die for the Government is the debut studio album by the U.S. punk rock band Anti-Flag, released in 1996. After this album, bassist Andy Flag played with Anti-Flag on their EP North America Sucks, but left soon after as they couldn't get along as a band. The CD booklet bids farewell to Andy Flag.

Queercore is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically society's disapproval of the LGBT community. Queercore expresses itself in a DIY style through magazines, music, writing and film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lookout Records</span> American independent record label

Lookout Records was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California, and later in Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having released Operation Ivy’s only album, Energy, and Green Day's first two albums, 39/Smooth and Kerplunk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">924 Gilman Street</span> Music venue in Berkeley, California

The Alternative Music Foundation located at 924 Gilman Street, often referred to simply as "Gilman", is a non-profit, all-ages, collectively organized music club. It is located in the West Berkeley area of Berkeley, California.

Maximumrocknroll, often written as Maximum Rocknroll and usually abbreviated as MRR, is a not-for-profit monthly online zine of punk subculture and radio show of punk music. Based in San Francisco, MRR focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily features artist interviews and music reviews. Op/ed columns and news roundups are regular features as well, including submissions from international contributors. By 1990, it "had become the de facto bible of the scene". MRR is considered to be one of the most important zines in punk, not only because of its wide-ranging coverage, but because it has been a consistent and influential presence in the ever-changing punk community for over three decades. From 1992 to 2011, it published a guide called Book Your Own Fuckin' Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ben Weasel</span> American singer and guitarist (born 1968)

Benjamin Foster, also known as Ben Weasel, is an American musician best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Screeching Weasel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Queers</span> American punk rock band

The Queers are an American punk rock band, formed in 1981 by Portsmouth, New Hampshire native Joseph “Joe” P. King along with Scott Gildersleeve, and John “Jack” Hayes. With the addition of Keith Hages joining on bass in 1983 the band started playing their first public performances. The revised line-up played a total of six live shows between 1983 and 1984. This earliest era of The Queers formation initially broke up in late 1984; however, Joe Queer re-formed the band with an all-new line-up in 1986. In 1990, after several more band line-up changes the band signed with Shakin' Street Records to release their debut album, Grow Up. The album earned the band notability within New England, but with the release of their next album, 1993's Love Songs for the Retarded, on Lookout! Records, their following grew.

Queeruption is an annual international queercore festival and gathering started in 1998 where alternative, radical, and disenfranchised queers can exchange information, network, organize, inspire and get inspired, self-represent, and challenge mainstream society with do-it-yourself ideas and ethics. Shows featuring queer punk bands, performance artists, and other entertainment are put on at night, while workshops and demonstrations take place during the day. Queeruption generally takes place in a different city in a different country every year. It has contributed to anarcha-queer movements. The groups that organize each event and even within the same city may have disagreements about how aspects should represent politics including queer safe spaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Apostles (band)</span> English punk rock band

The Apostles were an English experimental punk rock band, who developed within the 1980s anarcho-punk scene in the UK, but did not necessarily adhere to the aesthetics of that movement and were critical of what they saw as its ideological conformity and especially pacifism.

Tuff Enuff Records was a British queer/riot grrrl record label based in Brighton, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in punk rock</span> Womens music history

Women have made significant contributions to punk rock music and its subculture since its inception in the 1970s. In contrast to the rock music and heavy metal scenes of the 1970s, which were dominated by men, the anarchic, counter-cultural mindset of the punk scene in mid-and-late 1970s encouraged women to participate. This participation played a role in the historical development of punk music, especially in the US and UK at that time, and continues to influence and enable future generations. Women have participated in the punk scene as lead singers, instrumentalists, as all-female bands, zine contributors and fashion designers.

The Last White Christmas was a music festival held in Pisa, Italy on December 4, 1983. Several albums were released with recordings from the event. A 35th anniversary event was held in 2018.

G.L.O.S.S. was a trans-feminist hardcore punk band based out of Olympia, Washington. The group formed in 2014 and consisted of members Corey Evans (drums), Sadie "Switchblade" Smith (vocals), Jake Bison (guitar), Tannrr Hainsworth (guitar), and Julaya Antolin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DIY Space for London</span> Former music venue in south London

DIY Space for London was a volunteer-run social centre, music venue, rehearsal space, and creative hub formerly located at 96-108 Ormside Street in South Bermondsey, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Joanie</span> British punk band

Big Joanie is a British punk band formed in London in 2013. Its members are Stephanie Phillips and Estella Adeyeri. Founding drummer Chardine Taylor-Stone left the band in 2023. After a few singles and EPs they released their first album in 2018 with Thurston Moore and Eva Prinz's Daydream Library Series, and have since signed to Kill Rock Stars in the U.S.

Good Throb was a feminist punk band from London.

Woolf is a queercore punk band from London, England. They formed in 2009 at Lambeth Women’s Project, and have released two LP records on Hackney punk label La Vida Es Un Mus. They played the Static Shock Records Weekender in both 2012 and 2017. Members of the band have also played in Corey Orbison, Roseanne Barrr, Frau, Score, Dregs, Dead Name, and Child’s Pose.

Nekra is a hardcore punk band from London, England formed in 2016. It consists of Spooky Ruño (vocals), Kai Stone (bass), Alexandra Graves (guitar), and Paula Darias (drums). They opened the first Decolonise Fest at DIY Space for London in 2017 and have two releases out on cult label La Vida Es Un Mus. Members of the band have also played in Child's Pose, Turbo, Efialtis, and Frau.

Decolonise Fest is the UK's first music festival created by and for people of colour. The first event happened at DIY Space for London in 2017.

Charmpit were a British punk band formed in London in 2016. Its members were Anne Marie Sanguigni, Rhianydd York Williams, Alex Iossifidis (drums), and Estella Adeyeri (guitar). They released one album on Specialist Subject Records.

References

  1. ↑ "The events and workshops where women can kickstart their metal career". Team Rock. 13 February 2018. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "Interview: First Timers Fest". Joyzine. 26 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 Crudgington, Kate (12 January 2024). "First Timers Workshops Return For 2024!". Get In Her Ears. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  4. ↑ Creg (September 2017). "First Timers". Maximum Rocknroll . No. 412. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  5. ↑ Lohman, Kirsty; Pearce, Ruth (2021). "Queering community development in DIY punk spaces". In Meade, Rosie; Shaw, Mae (eds.). Arts, Culture and Community Development. Policy Press. p. 117. ISBN   9781447340515.
  6. ↑ Myers, Owen (30 October 2017). "Women of color have always had a place in punk. Big Joanie is here to remind you of that". The Fader . Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  7. ↑ "New Blood! P.E.A.R.L., HÄRDA UT, SCRAP BRAIN, PEDESTRIAN, and NERVE QUAKES". Maximum Rocknroll . 8 December 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  8. ↑ "Get To Know – Panic Pocket". For The Rabbits. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  9. ↑ Mohdin, Aamna (12 April 2019). "'I've got all this rage': the feminist punk groups demanding to be heard". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  10. ↑ Gallagher, Allison (25 May 2018). "First Timers Sydney is the perfect excuse to start a band". The Brag. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  11. ↑ Howell, Alex (July 2023). "Romance - Seven Inches of… EP". Maximum Rocknroll . No. 482. Retrieved 27 September 2024.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.