‘It’s about time’: Ella Hooper on why female artists need Roar Fest

Ella Hooper can’t say how many music festivals she has performed at where there are just one or two female artists in a line-up featuring dozens of men – there are simply too many.

“Three is rare as hen’s teeth,” she says.

Ella Hooper.Credit: Wayne Taylor

It’s the same behind the scenes – the roadies, sound/lighting/techies, the bookers, the programmers, and even photographers tend to be male, at least at the big touring rock festivals. Think Bluesfest, A Day on the Green, Red Hot Summer and the like.

“In the more heritage act scenes - acts from the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s – the gender balance is just way, way off,” Hooper says. “That’s a huge audience we’re trying to give a more balanced offering to.”

That’s all set to change this weekend with the launch of an event designed to flip that picture on its head. Roar Fest is a festival with a program showcasing women on and off the stage. It is the brainchild of Hooper’s good friend and “right-hand woman” Tammy Blake and music industry colleagues Cassie Walker and Tania Sullivan.

“We got talking about this constant experience we were having and then it was like, ‘Why don’t we do something about it, make a rock pop women-led festival?’” says Hooper. “Women in the industry have gone, ‘It’s about f---ing time.’”

While originally focused on the music, Roar Fest has expanded into a multidisciplinary event, including talks, walking tours and a photographic exhibition featuring works by female, non-binary and gender non-conforming performers. Women buskers will perform along Fitzroy and Acland streets over the weekend.

Ella Hooper, Tania Doko and Kate Ceberano are ambassadors for the first Roar Fest, in St Kilda this weekend.Credit: Michelle Grace Hunder

On Sunday night, Kate Ceberano, Tania Doko, Wilsn, Gabriella Cilmi and Gypsy Lee will take the stage at the National Theatre, in a show hosted by Hooper. On Saturday night at George Lane, the lineup is youth-focused, with Kathleen Halloran, Charlie Needs Braces, Ruby Mae, Charlie Lane and Wild Gloriosa. “That’s critical as well, platforming the next generation – they’re the ones who will be doing this for the next 20 years,” Hooper says.

There’s no question the paradigm needs changing in this country. “It keeps slipping back,” says Hooper. “Poor young blokes out there are being indoctrinated by these idiots on the internet – it’s no joke.”

The gender balance is more positive when it comes to boutique music festivals, those pitched at younger audiences and in alternative music circles, where she’s thrilled to see it’s coming along in leaps and bounds.

Hooper says songwriting helped her work through grief during the COVID-19 pandemic when both her parents died, as well as the end of a long-term relationship. “Music is absolutely my best therapy,” she says. “I would be a nutbag without music. I don’t think I would have survived Killing Heidi and 25 years of ups and downs in the music industry.

“It’s been a few years and I want to dance again. The world’s on fire, but I want to go down dancing.”

The 42-year-old is heading to Nashville in April to record her next solo album. Meanwhile, she hopes young women might head to Roar Fest and see what they can be.

“It’s gonna be quite magical,” she says. “I can imagine if I was a 15 or 16-year-old girl – as I was from the country – coming into the city for this. My mum would have taken me [to it] to say, here’s some inspiration, a shot to the arm. I think it’s just so cool and bold and loud and proud.”

Roar Fest is on March 8 and 9.