Women’s FEST 2015 Is Gearing Up to Be the Best Ever!
The performance poetry and music scene in Rehoboth Beach, DE is poised to explode as CAMP Rehoboth Women’s FEST 2015 announces top headliner performances by C.C. Carter and Nedra Johnson!
Women’s FEST is an annual premier fundraiser for CAMP Rehoboth, a non-profit organization that has served the Rehoboth Beach area LGBT community for 25 years. Women’s FEST 2015 will be held April 9-12, 2015 in Rehoboth Beach, DE. The four-day FESTival provides the best in live music, dancing, informative and entertaining workshops, sporting events, a large arts and crafts Expo, Breast Cancer support, and is one of the largest women’s gatherings on the East Coast.
Joining the entertainment lineup, the legendary C.C. Carter is a Chicagoan with national prominence on the performance poetry scene. Her first book, Body Language, a collection of poetry, was nominated for a 2003 Lambda Literary Award. She is the winner of a host of poetry slams including winning the Fifth Annual Gwendolyn Brooks Open Mic Competition and the First Annual Behind Our Masks Poetry Slam. She has created and maintained several traditions in the poetry community, including national and local poetry slams for people of color, and the women of color night at Mountain Moving Coffeehouse. She is a regularly featured artist on Olivia Travel Vacations and has participated in hundreds of women’s music festivals, including the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, National Women’s Music Festival, and has sold out performances on both coasts. Her performances have earned her opening credits for Nikki Giovanni, Maya Angelou, Cheryl Clarke and Dorothy Allison, as well as headlining credits on bills with Staceyann Chin, Alix Olson, and Andrea Gibson. Now, Women’s FEST will feature C.C. Carter in a performance to be remembered on Saturday, April 11, 2015.
Also joining the list of Women’s FEST headliners is the talented and ever-so-versatile Nedra Johnson. Nedra is a well-known singer/songwriter multi-instrumentalist born and living in New York City. Her unique style of guitar playing is unmistakably informed by her many years as a professional bassist, and keeps her live solo acoustic performances more on an R&B tip than what one might expect of a “girl with a guitar.” Nedra’s self-titled sophomore release is a 2006 Out-Music Award (Outstanding New Recording—Female) winning, joyful mix of R&B, funk, rock, and gospel. Honest in integrity to the music as well as the lyrical content, each song is a testimony of her experience as a black openly lesbian woman in love, spirituality, community and/or politics. From the first song “Ahha (It’s A Good Thing)” on through to the Maxine Feldman tribute version of “Amazon,” this is proud womyn’s music and a great example of how Nedra has grown as a writer, arranger, producer and musician. Featuring lush background vocals and danceable grooves, Nedra makes the personal, political, and the erotic downright spiritual.
Whether in front of an intimate audience such as at New York City’s Rockwood Music Hall, or a large festival audience of 7,000 like Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, Nedra has the ability to perform with both strength and a vulnerability that makes each listener feel like they are getting to know her on a personal level. Her thoughtful choice of words reflect not only who she is, but speak to the heart in a way that mirrors emotions many find difficult to express. You won’t want to miss Nedra’s performance at Women’s FEST on Saturday, April 11, 2015.
And the entertainment doesn’t stop there! Back by popular demand, SheWho, Philadelphia’s feminist, women’s vocal ensemble will also take the stage at Women’s FEST 2015. The women of SheWho come from many different backgrounds, professions, and spiritualties, and celebrate their diversity through their intentional vocal community. CAMP Rehoboth is thrilled to announce their participation in Women’s FEST 2015.
Rehoboth Beach local bars and hotels are booking musical entertainment for Women’s FEST 2015 attendees, providing evenings filled with diverse performances and lots and lots of dancing! Music will fill the streets and the party will be non-stop!
Mark your calendar for Women’s FEST, April 9-12 in Rehoboth Beach, and starting in early February, watch CAMP Rehoboth’s website (camprehoboth.com) for regular updates on the growing list of FEST offerings. You can expect support from the entire Rehoboth Beach community, including hotel discounts and local food and merchant discounts. All Women’s FEST events and activities will be available to attendees on a first come/first served basis, so register early and join us in celebration.