California Women’s Music benefit coming to Lodi’s Idol Beer Works
When Victoria Boyington founded the nonprofit organization California Women’s Music in 2014, she hosted her first Stronger Together Music Festival in Modesto to raise money to fund grants that advance women in music, business, education and fine arts.
“We also sponsor Soundgirls.org, which teaches girls how to run sound boards, run shows and book tours in the United States and Europe,” Boyington said.
After trying out locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento the past few years, Boyington said, she will bring her festival to Lodi on June 30 at Idol Beer Works.
“I was excited to partner with California Women’s Music to host the concert benefiting women in the arts and education,” Idol co-owner Angela Gatti said in an email. “As a female business owner and teacher, I jumped at the opportunity to help promote strong female role models and enjoy good music,”
Open to guests of all ages, the festival will feature women vendors selling crafts and jewelry, live art and female-fronted bands such as Candice and the Passengers from Modesto.
“It’s going to be awesome, getting to play with three other artists featuring female leads. I’ve never been part of a festival like this before, it’s going to be fun,” frontwoman Candice Lamb said.
Although she has booked famous artists such as the Grammy-winning Paula Cole in the past, Boyington said that doing so can get expensive and chose to book more local acts this year to leave more money to fund grants and future festivals.
Boyington is still looking for local female vendors interested in setting up a booth at the festival, she said, and will not charge a vendor’s fee.
“We really just want to promote women in the community,” Boyington said.
Boyington also joined the Lodi Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, she said, and plans to meet with them nest week to discuss hosting another festival in August.
“If Lodi is the place that welcomes the festival, we would love to hold it here again,” Boyington said.