Milwaukee musicians were feeling especially charitable last winter. Adding to the long-running annual Pablove show, January and February of 2015 saw more than a dozen punk and metal bands taking to the Borg Ward for a Girls Rock benefit, and Arte Para Todos rounding up more than 80 acts to help raise more than $21,000 for art programs at three local schools. (And we can’t pass up this opportunity to look back at the eight bands who took on the task of learning other bands’ music for Milwaukee Record’s inaugural Local Coverage benefit.) In addition to all those, a small, female-focused event called Riverwest FemFest held its inaugural two-day installment of music, poetry, and art at the since-closed Cocoon Room and raised more that $2,100 to support the Milwaukee Women’s Center.

Following the event’s successful first year that featured more than a dozen acts, as well as a variety of poets, storytellers, and artists offering their services to benefit an area domestic abuse organization, Riverwest FemFest won’t only be back early next January, it will be back with almost triple the bands crammed onto three days of shows. Included among the ranks of eclectic acts founder Olivia Doyle and company rounded up for the January 22-24 festival (featuring partial or full female representation) are Hello Death, Winter Bear, Static Eyes, Fox Face, Heavy Hand, Ramma Lamma, SIN BAD, Grasping At Straws, No/No, Ruth B8r Ginsburg, Caley Conway, Mortgage Freeman, and Low Down Sound. Additionally, 23 artists and seven spoken word performers are confirmed to participate.

Daily lineups and show prices have yet to be announced, but Friday will be an all-ages show at a site TBD. Saturday and Sunday will take place at Company Brewing, with a Sunday after-party slated to take place at High Dive. A portion of the proceeds will once again go to Milwaukee Women’s Center, with a portion also going to Date Rape Awareness Milwaukee (D.R.A.M.) to purchase date rape drug test strips for Riverwest bars. Here’s the confirmed talent:

MUSICIANS

Mississippi Sawyer
Caley Conway
Hello Death
Rocket Paloma
Fox Face
Static Eyes
Dahkma
Plague Walker
Failed Mutation
Amanda Huff
dUPOND dUPONT
Heavy Hand
Faux Fiction
Abbey Jeane REBEL LOVE
New Boyz Club
Winter Bear
Bleach Party
Mexican Knives
(A Special Surprise Musical Guest)
Zed Kenzo
Siren
Ladies Rock Showcase
Low Down Sound
SIN BAD
Swimsuit Addition
Grasping at Straws
Ramma Lamma
Beat Drun Juel
FIVY
NO/NO
Queen Tut
Ruth B8r Ginsberg
Mary Allen & The Perculators
The Calamity Janes & The Fratney Street Band
Mortgage Freeman
Iron Pizza
Pussy Collector

ARTISTS

Ayiah
Johanna Rose
Yessica Jimenez
Olivia Wigman
Michaela McLaughlin
Marissa Reyes
Jessicka Raygun
Olivia Rehm
Shannon Conner
Bethany Mog
Lauren Mog
Laren Marvel
Wendy Lea
Julia Rose
Kaitlynn Elizabeth
Courtney Parbs
Barbara Baron
Erica Wagner
Giana Enders
Riley Niemack
Amber Raebies
Linda Mindola
Karen Deau

SPOKEN WORD

Emily Bee
Mary Hacker
Mary Joy
Emma DeBord
AnJa Notanja
Julia Rose
KJ Prodigy

UPDATE: Here’s the new flyer art with the full lineup and list of locations.

updated_RIVERWEST_FEMFEST_DATES_LOCATIONS_BANDS_CORRECTED_750X400-1

About The Author

Avatar photo
Co-Founder and Editor

Before co-founding Milwaukee Record, Tyler Maas wrote for virtually every Milwaukee publication (except Wassup! Magazine). He lives in Bay View and enjoys both stuff and things.