PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2022

Sarah Marie Dillard performs during open mic at the Red Barn in Peoria

P L A Y I N G I N P E O R I A : C O M M E N T A R Y

FEMALE MUSICIANS FIND IT’S STILL A MAN’S STAGE Some local women – and men – are trying to change that

BY KIRK WESSLER PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

T our the Peoria metro area on a weekend night and you’ll find thousands of people enjoying live music at various venues — men and women in equal numbers grooving to whatever genre of tunes stirs their souls. Which begs a question if you’re paying any sort of attention: Where are the women on stage? We surveyed a random weekend in August, using the weekly events calendar posted on the Peoria Music

Live Facebook page. Thirty-seven shows on the calendar featured 46 acts, ranging from solos to large bands. Of those, only nine included a female artist. The dynamic plays out beyond the local scene. The annual Summer Camp Music Festival draws 20,000 music fans to Three Sisters Park outside Chillicothe for three days to hear artists from across the country. This year, 81% of the 172 scheduled acts were comprised entirely of men. Of the remainder, most were male-dominated bands with a woman singing.

Surely in a country where women make up 50% of the population, they possess more than 20% of the musical talent. To the average man or woman just looking to have some fun on a Saturday night, this might not be a problem. You’ll take your country or metal or funk or classic oldies from whoever plays as long as they’re good. If, however, you are awomanmusician trying to get some crumbs from that 20% of the pie, well yeah, it’s a problem.

78 OCTOBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE