The Stone Church’s Grrrls to the Front program in Brattleboro is aimed at celebrating and increasing opportunities for women and others who have experienced gender inequities in the music industry. It initially involved booking acts for March and last year an educational component was introduced, offering free meetups about sound and stage management that were well received by about 65 women. These meetups will now be expanded to a course that will run 11 weeks, though a tuition fee will be required this year.

There are free meetups throughout November to March that will focus on various topics such as taking up space as a woman in a predominantly male space, the politics and economics of making art, entrepreneurship and the business side of music, and being a tour manager. These meetups are free and do not require registration. The meetups are meant to elevate cisgender women, trans women, nonbinary people, and gender nonconforming people. The program is also working on a roadshow concept, where some of the bands will do a multi-night run via partnerships with other venues in New England.

The Stone Church and neighboring venue Epsilon Spires received a grant from the Vermont Women’s Fund. Epsilon Spires will be hosting programming in March to complement the work there. Enrollment for sound and light courses which will run 11 weeks each will open soon and tuition fees will be required this year. Two scholarships will be available thanks to a sponsorship from Guilford Sound. Last year, the meetup classes were free. The program hopes to expand its programming each season and sustain its future.

Source: https://www.reformer.com/arts_and_culture/grrrls-to-the-front-meetups-begin-with-ruth-garbus-chat/article_6b1139d4-7c13-11ee-b6d6-b3d60f88ffb2.html