Girls Rock Louisville, a volunteer-based camp, teaches girls and gender nonconforming youth “how to rock out while building self-esteem through music education.”
The group is releasing its second, nine-track compilation album, “Girls Rock Louisville 2017,” in early December.
Established in Louisville in 2014 under the original name of the Rockshops for Girls (which served as the educational arm of the Louisville Outskirts Festival), GRL holds annual camps during which participants have a chance to learn songwriting, guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and vocals.
“It’s a week long,” said Tajah McQueen, the GRL ‘Feelings Team’ Co-Coordinator. “They select their group members, they create a band together, (choose) their name, write a song together, learn how to perform that song.”
Then, GRL takes camper bands into La La Land, a professional recording studio, to create a compilation CD at the end of their June camp week. The recording time was donated by the studio.
According to McQueen, GRL’s first compilation album was a bestseller at Guestroom Records, where they will have a release party for the upcoming record on Dec. 10.
Anne Gauthier is a staff-member at GRL and was the recording engineer for the album.
“Every year, I think we are just blown away by these campers,” Gauthier said. “They are at the age where they are uncertain about a lot of things, but they are also fierce in a way in that you aren’t scared of being creative.”