HAYLEY MUIR: MUSICIAN, DJ

Hayley Muir's band of “snotty feminist punks” will release its first album in March.

And while the 29-year-old radio DJ — with shows on CKUA (The Spot) and CJSW (Dixie Fried) — dreams of touring with The Shiverettes, she is also planning the fourth annual Femme Wave feminist arts festival.

“I have spent the past eight years in the arts community and it is tough. There is not a lot of money (CJSW, the band and arts festival are non-paying) or stability, and it's a competitive field.”

Muir's musical journey began as a teenager going to punk shows, never dreaming of being in a band.

She studied journalism, but it was graphic design she enjoyed (she still does Beatroute magazine's layout).

Muir considered teaching but, while attending the University of Calgary, she got a summer job at CJSW, followed by an office/volunteer co-ordinator position at the campus-run station.

“I realized the culture and arts community was where everyone fits in,” says Muir, describing her own teen years as a struggle to belong.

One day Muir heard jamming in Beatroute's basement.

“I burst in and said I wanted to be in the band. I don't play an instrument, have no training as a singer but started yelling into the microphone.”

When that band disbanded, she and friend Kaely Cormack started The Shiverettes.

“I write most of the lyrics. They are the voice of feminism — honest, passionate songs, about issues like sexual assault. And there are still love songs about heartbreak.”

Three years ago, Muir and Cormack launched Femme Wave, a rare performance event for female artists.

In 2015 there were eight bands. This year: 27 musical acts, four comics, three films and more than 15 visual artists.

Muir credits her mother with everything she knows about strong women.

When her mom was asked by a friend: “Did you ever think you would have this cool, punk, radical feminist daughter?”

“My mom thought, then replied: ‘I did.' ”