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Preview: She’s Got Brass, Southbank Club – ‘That chaotic female energy you didn’t know you needed!’
She’s Got Brass are a ten-piece all female brass band. In an ideal world this wouldn’t be noteworthy. But in the male-dominated world they inhabit, they are a real phenomenon.
“There are a few other all-girl bands coming up, but there really aren’t very many at all. It’s really difficult,” says Deanna Wilhelm, the trumpet player, who has just got back from a weekend in West Africa, playing a function gig for a production company.
The band formed from London-based pro musicians and music teachers who simply wanted an opportunity to play together: “We’ve always crossed paths, and we all admired each other from afar. Then I got a gig (with London outfit Das Brass) doing a makeup thing at Harrods who specified it had to be a predominantly female band,” says Deanna, on the band’s origins.
is needed now More than ever
“We just had such a nice time – it was so chilled out and we said we have to do this full time. So I decided to get the ball rolling – and it’s just grown!”
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It turned out people were ready to pick up that ball and run with it. They packed a lot of big dream gigs into their first year together including Glastonbury, Boomtown, Wilderness and Shambala festivals, regular slots at the Blues Kitchen and a show at the Natural History Museum backing up Grammy-winning Monsieur Periné.
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, which Deanna puts down to the sight of a strong lineup of wild women players capturing imaginations: “It’s quite striking to see ten women on stage just playing and sweating and not caring!”
As well as wanting to get out there and play hard, the band feel the responsibility of their role and are working to interest more young girls in picking up brass instruments, and more women working together in bands.
They performed at Durham Brass festival, where there were only three other women players outside She’s Got Brass. “We really brought something, we made it a ’here come the girls’ moment!” says Deanna, explaining their members now do talks for school pupils as “it’s always men that go into schools with that kind of experience.”
She’s Got Brass played on the enormous new Solasta stage at this year’s Shambala festival – photo: Shambala
They’ve been grateful to receive a lot of love from other female players. Deanna says she hopes it’s the start of a movement and that women have a lot to gain from getting involved.
“It’s loving,” she says of touring with an all-women band. “When you’re the only female it can be a bit of a struggle. Just that bit of nurturing and mothering we all need – we can give to each other.
“It’s not so much a competition of who can down the most beers – it’s more like who can make the biggest cuddle puddle! It’s really caring, inspiring; we big each other up a lot, there’s a lot of love there.”
They’ll be bringing that love to the Southbank Club on Friday, along with a whole load of wild energy and a bag full of great tunes.
“It’ll be big, back-to-back bangers of course,” says Deanna. “Expect lots of sweaty dancing, a big vibe, and that chaotic female energy that you didn’t really know you needed until now!”
Vookoo collective and quality festy heads Chai Wallahs are joining forces to bring a huge winter warmer to Bedminster’s Southbank Club on Friday, December 6. She’s Got Brass will be supported by acoustic soul singer, the one and only Potter, with Diplomats of Sound DJs closing out the party, with plenty of ‘world famous’ Chai Wallahs cocktails to help it all along.
Find all information and tickets at www.headfirstbristol.co.uk/whats-on/southbank/fri-6-dec-vookoo-x-chai-wallahs-ffl-she-s-got-brass-117725#e117725
Main image: She’s Got Brass
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