La Sera performing at the Bowery Ballroom in March. Photo credit: Bao Nguyen.
No matter how you look at it, 2011 was the Year of the Woman, music-wise. It was a year ruled by Adele and Florence & the Machine and Lady Gaga, by Rihanna and Nicki Minaj and even Britney Spears. (I feel like I’m time-traveling back to become my 13-year-old self by saying this, but I actually really like Britney’s new music, okay?) And those are just the chart-toppers that everyone’s aware of—all types of women-fronted bands had a stellar year. Ladies have always set cultural trends with their musical output, but I feel like that fact is being recognized by the mainstream press even more lately.
A recent New York Magazine article pointed out that at NYC live-music hotspot The Bowery Ballroom, women are ruling the roost more than ever. The NYC-based bands in the article represent the spectrum of musical genres and degrees of fame (although if they’re playing the Bowery, it’s pretty much a guarantee that you’ll be hearing their names soon). A glance at the venue’s upcoming gigs shows a slew of other female-fronted bands playing in the next couple of months: Patti Smith and Her Band, Sharon Van Etten, and Eisley being just a handful of examples.
Which female singer or ladycentric band would you like to hear more from in 2012? Whose album is being slept on, and whose songs have been dominating your iPod lately?
