Feature photo is of Glitter Ball headliner Bbymutha

Donuts, discoballs, dancing… and a whole lot of women on stage. It’s not something you’ll see at every show in Vancouver, but wouldn’t it be nice?

Enter Cushy Entertainment—the brainchild of Aly Laube and Mati Cormier—a local, independent concert promotion and production company. Cushy Entertainment focuses on supporting diversity in the local arts scene, which is where Glitter Ball—the organization’s first-ever music festival—comes in.

The two-day event—taking place on May 4 & 5—celebrates feminist art and culture, and will feature bands fronted exclusively by women, non-binary folks and “those who otherwise challenge the cis-heteronormative binary.”

“I had never considered that I would go into event production,” Laube tells Loose Lips Mag, explaining a lack of representation on stage inspired her to do better.

“When I first started going to shows in Vancouver, I felt so disheartened and that was why I didn’t play music for the first year or so that I was going to shows,” Laube, who is the frontwoman for local garage-rock trio Primp, says.

“I would go to shows and there wouldn’t be a single woman on stage.”

Eventually, the power of being, and seeing, women on stage inspired Laube and Cormier to re-create the feeling on a larger scale. And Glitter Ball promises to be large, indeed.

With support from the province of B.C., FACTOR, Creative BC and Amplify BC, 16 music acts will be spread out over two evenings at The Pace, a Railtown space run by Creative Coworkers.

The all-ages festival promises tons of dancing, donuts from Cartems, a food truck, a lounge and more. The event also features a beer garden for those who are 19+.

Besides playing host to an event that felt inclusive and comfortable, Laube and Cormier maintain that Glitter Ball’s first tenet is to exhibit representation.

“When you’re trying to represent feminist art and culture, you have to be very purposeful in the decisions you’re making,” Laube reveals of picking out the festival’s line-up.

“We were making sure that we were raising up as many people as we could, giving the opportunity to as many people as we could,” she says, noting that her own band, Primp, is not slated to perform the event.

“For me, it was very deliberate, because the reality of the situation is that we don’t have that many [rock and alternative] bands in Vancouver fronted by women of colour. It took a lot of looking and making sure that I wasn’t missing anyone who was just outside of my scope.”

Headliners for the event include American rapper Bbymutha, Toronto’s Bambii, and indie folk-pop group Y La Bamba, while local DJs Softieshan and DJ Kookum will spin between sets.

“Cushy’s whole mission is to hold diverse, inclusive and accessible events, so I feel there’s a lot of potential there in Vancouver for that,” Laube says.

“We throw shows all the time with women on stage, and we wanted this to be a showcase. This showcase is for everybody, not just our scene, and we felt like we needed to make it bigger to include everyone,” she explains.

“I think there’s a misconception that feminist events are only for women, and they’re not. We want everyone. It doesn’t matter what your identity is, how old you are, where you’re at in your life. I want everyone to feel comfortable.”

And comfort is something Cushy Entertainment takes very seriously. The entertainment company even has a safer spaces policy, which states “all Cushy Entertainment events have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to discrimination and/or harassment. Harmful behaviour includes, but is not limited to: making racist, classist, transphobic, homophobic, fat antagonist, ableist comments; catcalling or sexual harassment; failing to respect the physical/emotional safety of others; cultural appropriation; being too intoxicated to monitor your behaviour and your impact on others and being generally disrespectful of other attendees’ right to participate and have an enjoyable time.”

For this event in particular, Glitter Ball will be readied with volunteers in pink shirts, aptly called “Cushy Buddies,” who are there to provide support to anyone who might need it.

And as for creating space that people actually want to be in?

“What we’ve landed on, we’re super proud of. This is an event I would go to, and I’m excited about that,” Laube affirms.

Us too, Cushy Entertainment.

The full line-up is:
Bbymutha
Bambii
Rude Nala
Una Mey
Tonye Aganaba
Backxwash (Montreal)
Biawanna
Baby Blu
Y La Bamba
Chelsea DE Johnson
Sylvia Wrath
Babe Corner
STRANGE BREED
Primary
DJ Kookum
Softieshan

Glitter Ball takes place on May 4 & 5 at The Pace (520 Alexander Street). Tickets are $20 per day, or $30 for the whole festival and can be purchased here.  

Partial proceeds go to WISH Drop-In Centre Society, supporting women in sex work in the DTES.