Ladies’ Set

In early 2016 I saw a sign outside one of the many handbag wholesalers on Hackney Road, London: Ladies Set. I imagined what a ladies’ set might mean in the handbag world and thought the phrase was ready to be reclaimed…

Ladies’ Set is a community for women making music culminating in performance opportunities. Our third show took place last Saturday, raising money for the life-changing charity, Girls Rock London.

The afternoon gig provides a specific invitation to the stage for those who identify as women. The aim is to attract those who may not usually come forward.

The premise of the events is to create a safe stage for acts from a range of genres and experiences to perform and release their music into the world in a supportive environment. This may be first-time-ever performances from band new bands, new collaborations or established musicians performing original tracks for the first time.

The event provides a deadline and a low-stakes performance opportunity for artists to put out their “something new/different” in a safe environment with the most supportive crowd I have ever experienced.

Ladies’ Set transformed from a vague idea to an actual event following my experience with the Women Rock London camp in May 2016. There, I met a group of incredible women who were prepared to give up their bank holiday weekend to form a band with people they met on Friday night and perform an original song on Monday night.

The women’s camp helps raise funds for a week for the girls camp, for 11-16 year olds each summer. The amazing tutors and leaders give up their time for free to create this truly amazing, life-changing, confidence affirming impact on girls and women.

So… all proceeds from each Ladies’ Set go to Girls Rock London.