"We are here to educate, inspire and support"

A rare and shining GEM Events are holding their first gig called VALID on the 21st of April. The gig is to celebrate women and LGBT musicians in Manchester, creating a safe environment for artists and bands to express their identities on stage without feeling belittled for who they are. Manchester based bands and artists, Charlotte Newman, Thin Skinned, Levianthans and We Are SIB will be performing.

The promotion company are taking steps to change gender disparity and underrepresentation of the LGBTQ community in the industry world. They are recognising that music can bring people together and make a difference.

Women in music struggle to be fully accepted for their talents within the male dominated live sector. They are marginalised in music due to social constructs and society’s ideal gender roles of the desired creative workers. This is prominent in all jobs in the music industry, including musicians, managers, producers and journalists. According to the industry group SoundGirls, in the UK women only make up 5% of sound engineers. Billboard found that 2% of women are producers and in 2017, only 16.8% of artists were women.

The underrepresentation of LGBTQ community in the mainstream media and music industry is still apparent in today’s society. There is a vivid display of diversity in Manchester that needs to be celebrated. GEM aspire to be one of the main starting points which will encourage musicians in the area to be more outspoken about their personal journeys and the community. Instead of making the community feel segregated from various venues and clubs outside of GAY Village, GEM is bringing these musicians to different parts of Manchester to express themselves.

Manchester’s music scene is taking a new direction. Make an impact by going to the Peer Hat this Saturday.