A new music and arts event is coming to the Grey Eagle on Saturday, October 13, and Sunday, October 14. An all-ages event, RADfest will feature live mural art by Ian Wilkinson and Gus Cutty and an art installation by Amelia Pate, as well as a line-up of predominantly female bands. “Pitchfork.com releases annual data about the diversity of music festivals in the US and, in 2018, only a quarter of artists booked across 23 of the summer’s biggest fests were female or groups with at least one female member,” says Emma Hutchens, co-founder of RADfest with Andrew Vasco. “Seventy percent of all bands booked are male. We want to be part of changing those statistics.” Musical headliners for RADfest include punk pop duo Diet Cig and LSD and the Search for God, a psychedelic musical group from Northern California. “RADfest has a mix of diverse genres that don’t always get to share the stage,” says Vasco. “You’ll fi nd everything from hip-hop, punk, synth pop and neo soul to psych rock and dream pop.”
A portion of the proceeds from the event will go to support Our VOICE, a Buncombe County agency that serves individuals affected by sexual assault and abuse. “Our goal was to create an event that would be more diverse and inclusive overall and that feels welcoming and safe for our friends and community,” says Hutchens. “We have a zero tolerance harassment policy—which should be the norm—and there will be volunteers trained by Our VOICE at the event to identify potentially harmful situations.”
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit RadfestAvl.com or TheGreyEagle.com.