The Women’s International Music Network (WiMN) hosted the 2015 She Rocks ASCAP Expo Showcase at the Tinhorn Flats Salon and Grill during the ASCAP “I Create Music” Expo in Hollywood, Calif., and it was nothing short of awesome.
Female songwriters from all over the country joined in L.A. to perform at the showcase, which spotlights talented women in music. The venue was filled near capacity with songwriters, tastemakers, music industry executives, and lovers of all things music.
Check out the evening’s four talented performers, complete with video!
Dia Frampton
The closing and much-anticipated act was Dia Frampton, whom you may remember from the first season of The Voice. With six number-one singles across Asia as a solo artist, Frampton has established herself as a prolific songwriter, collaborating with distinguished artists from around the world, including Lindsey Stirling, The Crystal Method, M83, and Singto Numchok.
Currently, Frampton is working with her band ARCHIS, which pairs her with renowned film composer Joseph Trapanese, the musical mastermind behind Tron, Oblivion, and The Raid. In February, ARCHIS released a self-titled EP through Nettwerk Music Group. The band is now writing their debut album, to be released later this year.
Here’s Frampton covering “Mary Jane’s Last Dance.”
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The night kicked off with the sultry vocals of Boston-based songwriter Kate Diaz, who graced folks with her original track “Glare,” armed with a Godin A6 Ultra electro-acoustic guitar. She then displayed her skills on the keys on a Casio PX-350 and performed her original composition “Front Seat,” among a few other songs.
Diaz has released four acoustic albums and three singles, including award-winning songs and songs for various causes. Over the past five years, she has booked her own gigs and performed more than 150 solo acoustic shows at Chicago venues and national festivals, notably at Lollapalooza, Milwaukee Summerfest, Midpoint Music Festival, Taste of Chicago, and National Mall Earth Day Festival.
The second act was the lovely Elle Winston, a talented singer-songwriter who spent most of her life growing up in the southwest sun of Phoenix, Ariz., before moving to Brooklyn.
Her sound might best be described as a meeting of folk-legend James Taylor, the songstress Erykah Badu and the classical great Elly Ameling. Winston earned her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the Herberger College of Music at Arizona State University. She performed several original pieces, including “She.” Check it out here.
Up next was Alyse Black, hailing from Seattle, Wash. Black started out singing Billie Holiday tunes a cappella on the streets of Pike Place Market in Seattle. Since then, she’s performed on Seattle’s NPR station, recorded a commercial for Target, moved to Austin, won Billboard’s Annual Songwriting Contest, had several songs placed in movies and TV shows, and toured the country playing over 600 clubs, theaters, festivals, television shows and radio stations.
She recently won The Recording Conservatory of Austin’s Top Singer-Songwriter Contest and ran a successful Kickstarter to fund her long-awaited next album.
Black lit up the room with her powerful vocals through her tracks “Love Lives,” (which included a playful sing-along part), “Come To Me,” and many others. A true performer!
The event wrapped up with cool giveaways from Casio, Taylor Guitars and 108 Rock Star Guitars. And if you couldn’t make it out, don’t fret. The WiMN will be hosting two more showcases in 2015, one in Nashville on July 9 during Summer NAMM, and another in Boston on Sept. 19 at the WGBH Food & Wine festival.
Acoustic Nation is written by Laura B. Whitmore, a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, who has contributed to Parade.com, Guitar World, and others. She has interviewed hundreds of musicians and hosts the She Rocks Podcast. As the founder of the Women’s International Music Network, she advocates for women in the music industry and produces the annual She Rocks Awards. She is the Senior Vice President of Marketing for Positive Grid, making the world safe for guitar exploration everywhere! A guitarist and singer/songwriter, Laura is currently co-writing an album of pop songs that empower and energize girls.
