Irish singer-songwriter Orla Gartland and Londoner Olivia Dean are set to feature at NME‘s Girls To The Front online special next week to commemorate International Women’s Day (Monday 8th March). The duo will be joined at the virtual gig by New York TikTok sensation Blu DeTiger and Korean-American musician Margaret Sohn (aka Miss Grit).
The live showcase – which airs at 8pm GMT on the NME’s website and YouTube channel on Monday – is the latest in an annual series of events designed to celebrate female and non-binary artists, as well as to acknowledge that gigs should be a safe space for all genders. Earlier in the day (1pm GMT), a quintet of performers from Asia and Australasia will also be appearing as part of Girls To The Front: Melbourne outfit Bitch Diesel, Brisbane electro artist LÂLKA, Thai dystopian-pop merchant Pyra, Filipino fuzz-rock collective The Buildings, and Indonesian indie trio Grrrl Gang.
Tune in to see @bludetiger, @orlagartland, Miss Grit and @oliviadeano https://t.co/SRXWhrztqF
— NME (@NME) March 2, 2021
Orla Gartland’s appearance at Girls To The Front is likely to provide fans with further previews of material from the Dubliner’s as-yet-untitled debut album, which is due to hit shelves this year. The talented indie-folk troubadour – who released her fourth EP Freckle Season just before the pandemic hold in 2020 – has already dropped two superb singles from the new LP, the Haim-esque More Like You and the Regina Spektor/Phoebe Bridgers-tinged Pretending.
Gartland spoke of her eagerness to get involved with Girls To The Front in an interview with NME this week, saying: “Whether I realised it or not, my experience in music as an artist, song-writer and producer, it is through the lens of being a woman, and it’s easy to forget that sometimes; but then sometimes I’m in rooms or at gigs, and I do become very aware of it maybe for the wrong reasons.”
She went on to say: “I think it’s important because in pre-Covid life when it came to festival stages, there obviously has been a conversation happening for a few years about festival headliners and making sure there’s diversity; but there’s also something great in just literally pushing the girls to the front and letting them be the main event.”
Olivia Dean’s set at Girls To The Front is likely to incorporate tracks from her warmly-received second EP What Am I Gonna Do On Sundays? The Walthamstow product’s four-track 2020 release – which documents the story of a break-up – was hailed by Dork for its “smart lyricism and soulful vocals” which “bring the emotion of Dean’s experiences to the forefront of the gorgeous soundscape.” The BRIT School-alumna wears her influences from confessional soul singers of the past on her sleeve – no more so than in the Supremes-inspired video for catchy single The Hardest Part.
In an interview with The Line of Best Fit last year, Dean hinted that more new music could be in the pipeline. She said “I’m really excited to be doing an album. That’s my goal, and when I do that I’ll be pretty chuffed. I’d also like to play Glastonbury. Wouldn’t everyone, really? That would be a dream. I will literally play on a hay bail – I’ll play in a ditch if they’ll have me!”
