Birmingham launch event for GRRRL GROANNN

The creative group, co-founded by Wolverhampton singer-songwriter Bryony Williams, are kicking off 2020 by taking over Digbeth’s Centrala on January 10 to celebrate the release of their third fanzine – Zine 3.

The project started as a fanzine, before growing to its current set-up promoting the artists who take part and even releasing some of their material, such as former The Star Unsigned featured act Williams dropping her singles through them.

Williams said of her project earlier this year: “GG's main creative outlet has always been the music ‘zines we make, and by ‘we’ I mean myself and Jess Webberley, our graphic designer. I photograph any gigs I can get into and interview touring artists within the indie/pop/rock genres.

“Through that organic network, local promoters often help me out access-wise as touring bands and their management can be very hit and miss.”

The event will feature live music from headline act Williams. And it will be an emotional night for her as she bids farewell to Wolverhampton and the West Midlands scene to travel to the other side of the world later in the month.

But it doesn’t spell the end for GRRRL GROANNN. The DIY emancipatory platform will be carried on by co-partner Webberley, documenting women artists centred in Birmingham. Their slogan, “rightful disruption”, reflects their aspirations to promote the representation of work by female-identifying artists and combat gender inequality in the music industry. They will look to continue that aim.

Joining Williams on the bill for the night will be Greywave and Village Bully.

Greywave is the musical exploration project by Webberley, of whom GRRRL GROANNN describe as a “multi-disciplined artist who strips away the previous trappings of the DIY and hardcore scene to an ambient musical rejection of the brutalist monotony of a youth spent in the West Midlands”.

Village Bully, curated by Paige Janey - previously singer and lyricist for Echo Beach- are a collaborative project who have released their debut single featuring the talents of Riscas’ Tom Barker on lead guitar.

There will also be a flash reportage photography exhibition that GRRRL GROANNN say “provides commentary on the musical artistic practices of women in the West Midlands. The DIY nature reflects an important aspect of the art activism and iconography of feminist movements and agendas, articulating feminist rhetoric and rejecting the established male-dominated institution and industry”.

Tickets are available from the Eventbrite website for either £5.98 just for admission or £9.21 for entry and a copy of Zine 3, and further updates and announcements are available on their Facebook event.