Riveters aim to empower audience
Group’s latest album addresses feminist issues
In the Second World War, The U.S. government created Rosie the Riveter to represent millions of women who were called upon to help the war effort.
What began as exploitation turned to empowerment when this symbol of women in industry inspired even more women to enter the workforce after the war.
Rosie & The Riveters tap into that nostalgia but with a fresh, smartly entertaining spin that speaks to contemporary issues and feminism.
“We’re singing about issues that negatively effect people,” says Allyson Reigh, “but singing about them with hope and an intention to contribute to a larger conversation, to making positive changes in our society.”
Farideh Olsen founded the group in 2011 with Alexis Normand, while Reigh joined shortly after.
All born or raised in Saskatoon, Normand plays acoustic or electric guitar while the other two add percussion.
The group often tours drummer Hal Schrenk.
Their album Good Clean Fun with (2015) played up a comic angle on its cover graphic and earned them a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination.
But the recent release Ms. Behave gets a little more serious.
“With both records, our intention was to empower people, but this one digs a little deeper and deliberately addresses a lot of issues that women, girls and non-binary folks face,” says Reigh.
I Believe You echoes the #MeToo movement while Gotta Get Paid addresses the gender pay gap.
It’s mildly subversive to use the vehicle of a nostalgic “girl group” to hit such hot-button issues, but it works wonderfully and you can’t not enjoy their great harmonies and sense of swing.
The Riveters have already expanded their touring into the U.S., where Rosie the Riveter is even better known. You can bet the group’s itinerary of some 60 dates a year is bound to expand.