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BIMM Hamburg’s concert for International Women’s Day

24 March, 2023

This year for International Women’s Day a group of students at BIMM University Berlin Hamburg came together to organise a special Women’s Day Concert that took place at Jolly Jumper. With a FLINTA* line-up, it was amazing to see how many people came to watch our talented artists at BIMM Hamburg and support FLINTA* musicians. We caught up with Jojo Reeds who was not only the organiser of this event but also one of the performers, to talk about the event.

How did the concert for International Women’s Day come about?

Our performance class teacher, Peta Devlin who also works at the Frauenmusikzentrum in Hamburg, a space for FLINTA* musicians to make music and collaborate, always wanted to do an event like this, so she told us about her idea. We had a first meeting in December, but then actually started organising everything in January. At first, we wanted to run formal auditions for the concert, but then quickly realized that many women* are quite perfectionistic and therefore wouldn’t sign up. So, we changed the audition to a day of presenting ideas. And there were many amazing ideas. The ‘jury’ then helped bring them alive by putting together bands or sometimes just encouraging the artists to keep going and finish that beautiful song.

To promote the concert we basically flooded the college and some neighbourhoods in Hamburg with posters and flyers, which looked really amazing. Also, every artist was presented by the Hamburg Events Club, telling people out there why they wanted to be part of this special concert.

Why did you want to host a concert specifically for International Women’s Day and why do you think it’s important to highlight FLINTA* musicians and their work?

What I learned from my experiences in the music industry so far is that many female* musicians tend to overthink what they’re doing and are highly self-critical. Therefore, they often take a step back when it’s actually their time to shine. This concert was supposed to give us the chance to step into the light without being pushed aside by anyone else.

Another important aspect to highlight is that, in my opinion, many musicians go the rather easy way when putting together bands or trying to find instrumentalists for a project. They often take male instrumentalists without thinking about what the women* around them might be able to do. Our women’s day concert is proof that we can manage to put together FLINTA* bands. I have to admit though, even I was surprised by the talent of some of my fellow female* musicians.

Looking back now, I think this concert brought the women* of BIMM Hamburg closer together and showed us the wonderful things that happen when we stand together.

What was your highlight of organising the event?

It is always amazing to see what happens when women* get together and unite their powers. We worked hand-in-hand, always supporting each other along the way. And although some things were really last minute, I always knew that I could count on my girls.

What did you enjoy most about the event itself?

Just before the doors opened, we put on loud music (by FLINTA* artists of course) and just danced and laughed and had the best 20 minutes. And that energy, that atmosphere that we had just created was there the entire evening. You could feel it in each and every performance. That electrifying feeling was unique, and I think no one in the room was able to escape it.

The audience also shared their thoughts on the event:

“I personally think that there is still a high discrepancy between male and female musicians regarding their chances to perform on stage and this concert created some awareness for this topic by having just women* on stage and backstage as well.” – Lukas Gratz

Some of the performers also shared some thoughts on the event:

“I wanted to be part of this event because I love music and because I would like to do something about the underrepresentation of women* in the music industry. I think the first step is always visibility. Never before have I shared the stage with only women* and that gives me courage and the feeling of being part of the change.” – Hannah Mannherz

“I felt like it was a great opportunity for women* to collaborate and learn new skills from each other. During the rehearsal process and on stage I also learnt so much about the women I was surrounded by, and gained even more respect for their passion and work ethic.” – Francesca Plentinger aka Chess

“Through the concert, I realised how male dominated the industry was, it was very refreshing and empowering to see only women* on stage and to also see them play instruments as accompaniment to the other artists.” – Sarah

The Women’s Day Concert was a huge success and we were so happy to see all the amazing FLINTA* artists of BIMM University Berlin Hamburg showcase their incredible talent.

*When talking about women in this story, we are being inclusive of all people identifying with the term FLINTA (German abbreviation for Frauen, Lesben, Intergeschlechtliche, nichtbinäre, trans und agender Personen – meaning female, lesbian, inter*, nonbinary, trans* and agender people). The term is used to highlight and name gender identities that exist beyond the binary gender order of women and men. They also experience discrimination in music industries which are too often overlooked (source: https://musicbwomen.de/en/about-eng/).

BIMM Hamburg’s concert for International Women’s Day

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