The 1975’s Matty Healy Pledges to Play Only Gender-Balanced Festivals
Following backlash over the male-heavy lineup for the 2020 Reading and Leeds festival, The 1975 frontman Matt Healy says the band will only play gender-balanced music festivals from now on.
Following backlash over the male-heavy lineup for the 2020 Reading and Leeds festival, The 1975 frontman Matty Healy says the band will only play gender-balanced music festivals from now on.
Of the 91 artists on the Reading and Leeds bill, headlined by Rage Against the Machine, Stormzy and Liam Gallagher, only 20 are female or feature women.
Healy made the promise on Twitter, after The Guardian‘s deputy music editor, Laura Snapes, called on male artists to add inclusion riders to their festival contracts.
“Take this as me signing this contract – I have agreed to some festivals already that may not adhere to this and I would never let fans down who already have tickets,” Healy responded to Snapes’ tweet. “But from now I will and believe this is how male artist can be true allies.”
Acknowleding that he still needs to work out the specifics of such a contract, he added: “I’m sure my agents are having kittens right now but times up man people need to act and not chat.”
Take this as me signing this contract – I have agreed to some festivals already that may not adhere to this and I would never let fans down who already have tickets. But from now I will and believe this is how male artist can be true allies ?? https://t.co/1eaZG2hEze
— —- (@Truman_Black) February 12, 2020
The lack of female headliners — and often, female acts at all — across major festival lineups has captured attention in recent years. No women will headline Coachella 2020, and when Lizzo was announced among the headliners for this year’s Bonnaroo festival, she became the fest’s first female headliner ever.
In 2018, 45 music festivals and conferences across the globe signed PRS Foundation’s Keychange initiative, pledging to achieve a 50/50 gender balance across their lineups by 2022. In 2019, Spain’s Primavera festival had a 50/50 lineup and to date more than 190 festivals have signed the pledge.
Meanwhile, others have responded by creating all-female festivals, like the upcoming GRLS! Festival in Brazil and Femme It Forward’s “Love Language” show in Los Angeles.
The 1975’s new album, Notes on a Conditional Form, is slated for April 24.
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