Last week, I took a quick trip down to LA to attend the Fender Girl Rock Nation party and benefit for the Rock N’ Roll Camp for Girls of Los Angeles at the luxurious House of Rock in Santa Monica. When Fender throws an event, they know how to do it right! But this wasn’t just a party, it was part of their plan to change girls lives.
Earlier that day, Fender offered a Girl Rock Nation workshop to 30 young girls of the Variety Boys & Girls Club of Boyle Heights. During the three-hour retreat, the girls learned guitar, bass and songwriting from prominent female musicians like Nik West and Annie Clements, as well as crew from the Rock N’ Roll Camp for Girls of Los Angeles.
At the end of the workshop, Fender gifted each girl with a brand-new acoustic guitar.
Later that night, women from all facets of the industry joined for merriment, some great music and a night of living the high life in this exquisite mansion. We enjoyed live performances by singer-songwriter Lucy Schwartz, West, Clements, Icelandic female trio The Charlies, and up-and-coming rock duo Two Piece Extra Spicy.
Some of my favorite moments are featured in the photo gallery below!
Fender’s Girl Rock Nation is a blog and an initiative to highlight female players and expose role models for future girl rockers everywhere! Find out more at girlrocknation.com.
Laura B. Whitmore is a singer/songwriter based in the San Francisco bay area. A veteran music industry marketer, she has spent over two decades doing marketing, PR and artist relations for several guitar-related brands including Marshall and VOX. Her company, Mad Sun Marketing, represents Dean Markley, Agile Partners, Peavey, Jammit, Notion Music, Guitar World and many more. Laura was instrumental in the launch of the Guitar World Lick of the Day app. She is the founder of the Women in Music Network at thewimn.com, producer of the Women's Music Summit and the lead singer for the rock band Summer Music Project. More at mad-sun.com.
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Laura B. Whitmore is a music industry marketing veteran, music journalist and editor, writing for 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.
