Concerts For Change Presents Girls Gone Kerry
Los Angeles Bands Host Concert to Mobilize Women Voters
Los Angeles, CA–Concerts for Change, a national campaign to raise awareness and money to support John Kerry, presents Girls Gone Kerry, on September 17 at 7:00 PM at Fais Do Do (5257 W Adams Street). A benefit concert, Girls Gone Kerry will be emceed by acclaimed singer, songwriter, musician, and activist, Michelle Shocked and feature performances by female-fronted, Los Angeles bands and artists, Vagenius, Microdot, Jerra, Danielle Bisutti, and Chicago Red. Representatives from the John Kerry campaign and Swing State Sisters will be there to provide opportunities for activism and register voters. There will also be a raffle featuring musical instruments, clothing and CD’s. Minimum donation is $20 at the door, with discounted tickets available for $15 on line at www.concertsforchange.org.
In addition to generating support for the Kerry campaign, the event aims to mobilize and empower some of the 22 million women who did not vote in the 2000 presidential election. According to the Woman’s Voices Women Vote Project (wvwv.org), unmarried women are the largest group of unregistered and non-voting citizens in the country. Only 52% of registered single women voters cast a vote in the last election. Sixteen million of them did not register to vote in 2000.
“The 22 million disenfranchised female voters comprise a critical group to capture in this election. With so much at stake that affects women’s lives–poverty, affordable health care, reproductive rights, human rights and the right to have clean air and water in the places where we live–a drive to empower women to vote just in their own interest would have an enormous impact on our country’s policies,” said Mary Beth Abella, the event’s lead organizer and Microdot frontwoman.
Vagenius, Microdot, and Jerra will provide girl powered rock and roll for the event. Acclaimed songwriters, Danielle Bisutti and Chicago Red will also perform. Vagenius can be described as a combination of Keith Richards blues guitars, Eno/Cars synth breaks, led by a Mohawk wearing keytar playing Billy Holiday meets Gwen Stefani to create soulful melodic New Wave Rock n Roll. Mary Beth Abella recently moved to Los Angeles from Denver to form Microdot with her multi-instrumentalist/producer brother after being nominated best singer songwriter by Westword Magazine Music Showcase Awards. Her album was chosen as one the best albums of the year by both the Denver Daily News and Westword Magazine. Jerra is hard-hitting, post-riot grrl, indie rock. Jerra and her band will introduce their sugary but dark world with the release of their debut album this fall, “Play Like A Girl” on Sugar Hooker Entertainment. Singer songwriter and actress, Danielle Bisutti received a 2003 Los Angeles Music Award for “Best Female Singer-Songwriter.” Her “Glitter” CD is now nominated for a LAMA award for “Album of the Year.” L.A. based blues artist Chicago Red is currently touring in support of his critically acclaimed CD, “In This Life.”
Concerts for Change (www.concertsforchange.org.) is a grassroots group organizing benefit concerts across the nation to support John Kerry and other Democrats. CFC is the successor to Concerts for Kerry, a grassroots group that organized 41 concerts in 12 cities raising $207,000 from over 9000 concert goers. CFC is partnered with Run Against Bush (www.RunAgainstBush.org), which are campaigns of Running for Change, a political action committee that targets donor dollars to specific groups, such as the DNC, swing state Democratic committees, Democratic candidates for federal office, and other groups that will help elect John Kerry in November.