The Alex Blake Charlie Sessions Is The Women-Led Music Festival To Check Out
Get ready Singapore: the acclaimed women-centric music festival is back, promising bigger things for its second outing.
By Keng Yang Shuen,
The year may be young but we're already looking forward to Feb, where the women-fronted music festival The Alex Blake Charlie Sessions (ABCS) will be back for its sophomore edition. ABCS debuted its first edition at Pasir Panjang Power Station at the end of 2019 and it made for quite the spectacle.
Organised by 24Owls, a collective manned by the same good people behind the much-loved (and missed) Laneway Festival Singapore, the festival has even grander ambitions for its second outing, which will return to the cavernous halls of Pasir Panjang Power Station once more from Feb 21 to 25.
It retains its core modus operandi of spotlighting women-fronted acts but this year's edition has been expanded into a five-day extravaganza – the main music festival itself takes place on Saturday, February 25, but there's also a series of complementary programmes all focused on celebrating women talent across the fields of art, design, film and deejaying.
Below, we take you through what you can expect to see, hear and experience at ABCS.
Tickets ($35-$125) for The Alex Blake Charlie Sessions are now on sale here
The organisers behind ABCS are known for their impeccable curation and this year's line-up continues their streak of expertly balancing a mix of exciting international names and rising acts. As of now, headliners include the critically acclaimed American indie-rock darling Soccer Mommy (pictured), viral Korean-American multi-instrumentalist Luna Li, Japanese ambient folk artist Ichiko Aoba and South Korean producer and DJ Didi Han.
Local and regional acts include alt-rock trio Coming Up Roses, DJ Kindergarchy, the moniker of the Singapore-based Indonesian selector Amanda Rizkita (co-founder of the buzzy music/art/party collective Strange Weather), DJ Nicolette Yip, who is also the fashion designer behind the label The Salvages, as well as the Kuala Lumpur-based artist rEmPiT gOdDe$, who has been in high demand at some of the best raves around the region for her industrial club sets.
Remember what we said about the festival having grander ambitions this year? Well for the first time, ABCS is bringing in various partners from Singapore's arts and lifestyle scenes. For example, there's a film showcase (in partnership with The Projector), where the line-up will comprise films made by women and about women, as well as some Singapore-exclusive premieres (the organisers say more names will be announced closer to the date, so stay tuned).
For literature lovers, there's Chio Books: an all-in-one pop-up consisting of a book cafe where female authors reign, a dessert bar serving up cocktails and elegantly-fashioned sweets, and a supper club.
Lastly, there is also what the organisers call an "art lane", where three women artists will be showcasing their works and selected designs for customised merchandise printing. The artists are Alison M. Low, who focuses on a diverse scope of drawings and paintings; Geraldine Lim, a soft sculptor (her work pictured here); and Wondebra Loh, known for her pop art-infused tableaus.
Why not end your work week with a raucous night out? The Nest Club Sessions, happening on Friday (Feb 24), will see a trio of women DJs changing up Singapore’s DJ game taking to the deck. They are AYA, an up-and-comer in the local scene known for her hypnotic, high-energy sets, EJ Missy (pictured), a veteran who blurs the line between uplifting house grooves and deep, dark techno beats; and Kylie Nicole, a new face on the scene committed to serving “bangin’, dirty ghetto housetunes, chili padi style”.