LWF was brimming, buzzing, and on fire in more ways than one - especially when the drummer from Vodun set light to her cymbals.

Pulverising laughable major festival claims that they can’t find the female talent, seeing so many amazing female musicians in one day made it absolutely clear we are in a new era, and there are future headliners in every genre, that are going to burst through the battalions of indie landfill like rockets.

Loud Women have been putting on packed shows across the country this year and their one-day festival was an instant success – inclusive, creative, joyful, LOUD, with reflective patches, DIY t-shirts, clit merch, and cakes.

Tottenham’s T.Chances was new to us and must take a bow. Run as a community venue, backed by volunteers and an arts trust, it was welcoming, food and drink prices were reasonable, and it was a huge relief to have a break from corporate culture.

Loud Women featured 25 bands alternating on two stages, we’ve some highlights below, and full line up info is here.

Madame So

Madame So’s gritty and lyrical alt pop got the crowd moving and she peppered her powerful set with some hard-hitting observations on being a black female rocker and confounding people’s expectations. That hasn’t stopped her getting some Radio 1 love though, go Madame So!

Petrol Girls

Petrol Girls were a revelation – fiery punk hardcore from an astonishing and assured band led by Ren Aldridge, easily a contender for frontperson of the year. Piercing and political, including a song about refugees drowning at sea, the music punched you in the gut as well as the brain.

Dream Nails

Dream Nails bill themselves as ‘feminist punk witches from hell’, but along with the attitude come rocking tunes a la Ramones, a riot grrrl pop sensibility, and dream choruses, that won them plenty of new fans.

Fightmilk

Compelling four piece Fightmilk, led by Lily, do lyrical battle with admin and computers, and they owned the stage with their catchy indie pop full of wry observations and witty takes on love crushes.

The Franklys

It’s hard to take your eyes off The Franklys - they’ve got so much presence and guitar riffs to die for. They’ve been smashing festivals with their unique brand of garage punk psych and with two band members from Sweden and two from England, they’ve got a pop twist too.

The Ethical Debating Society

The Ethical Debating Society’s brand of riot pop fuses ferocious vocals and guitars, with art-punk wit. Their angular and fuzzy hooks rocked the room, and there was plenty of light and shade. Perfect Loud Women material.

Desperate Journalist

There’s nothing desperate about Desperate Journalist – they’re a dream band. Distinctive, melodic, their shimmering, intense, but euphoric post-punk gets under your skin and into your heart like no-one else around - a magic LWF moment.

Louise Distras

Louise Distras puts the protest back into punk, with her big themes and even bigger tunes. She’s been playing some serious festivals this year, getting plenty of radio support, and treated Loud Women Fest to some great songs and hard-hitting spoken word too. Her new single Aileen socks you right between the eyes and has a classic chorus.

Vodun

Oh my. Lauded by Kerrang, and with a hot debut album titled ‘Possession’, when Vodun perform their ritual, you are powerless to resist. They are an outrageously powerful trio, reinventing metal with an afro-psych soul vibe - Oya on phenomenal vocals and percussion, Marassa with big beast guitar sounds, and one of our favourite drummers Ogoun setting the room on fire again and again. The ritual progressed into the audience and drums were passed round for dancing and frenzied worship.