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Ladybug Music Festival announces Wilmington lineup

Moonloop Photography/ Joe del Tufo and Jim Coarse
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Ladybug Music Festival

The line up is set for the Wilmington edition of the all female-fronted Ladybug Music Festival this July.

Twin sisters Nalani and Sarina and LA-based Lauren Ruth Ward will headline the free, two-day festival of more than 75 female-fronted acts.

 

Wilmington-based Ladybug is gearing up for its 7th year, and is now the largest female-centric music festival in the country, according to Gayle Dillman of Gable Music Ventures, the company behind the event. The festival has grown from 300 attendees its first year to 10,000 attendees last year.

Dillman says the festival pushes back against the heavily male-dominated music industry, where very few female artists headline big festivals.

“Part of what our plan is is to be a disruptor of that industry. To say, hey, you know women have every bit as much to offer, and it doesn’t have to be just about men. There’s a lot of great, talented women out there,” she said. “You’ve got to give them a chance. ”

Ladybug also focuses on giving opportunities to lesser-known acts, with a portion of its lineup each year dedicated to local and emerging artists.

Dillman adds Ladybug hopes to help rejuvenate the economies of many small cities, starting this September with its first one-day Ladybug Festival in Milford.

Wilmington’s Ladybug is July 20th and 21st, and will feature for the first time a “No Bro Comedy Show” and a “Little Ladybugs” concert for kids.

Dillman says she’s committed to keeping the event free because she thinks the healing and unifying power of music should be accessible to everyone.

 

Delaware Public Media' s arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from theDelaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

Sophia Schmidt is a Delaware native. She comes to Delaware Public Media from NPR’s Weekend Edition in Washington, DC, where she produced arts, politics, science and culture interviews. She previously wrote about education and environment for The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, MA. She graduated from Williams College, where she studied environmental policy and biology, and covered environmental events and local renewable energy for the college paper.
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