Dear Ace: Has anyone noticed something missing from this season’s list of acts at the Pavilion? There is not a single female act on the bill this year. What’s up with this? Whatever the reason, they should have an all-female schedule next year to make up for this season’s male-only lineup. One can only hope!—Lylith
Dear Lylith: In the interest of fairness, Ace feels compelled to point out that there’s actually a number of female performers at the Pavilion this year. Three, to be exact.
Fetching femme crooner Anna Nalick opened for Train at their benefit concert in June. Marti Dodson of the band Saving Jane opened for “American Idol”’s Bo Bice on July 22. And local folk songstress Terri Allard will bring her tunes to the venue in August for Fridays After 5. And if you include The Young Divorcees (of Jim Waive & The Young Divorcees, who play the Pavilion a week after Ms. Allard), the count rises to a total of five. Five, I say! If you were Mickey Mouse, you wouldn’t even be able to count them all on one hand.
What’s more, reliable sources tell Ace that a number of women are in the Charlottesville Municipal Band, which will be putting on several free shows throughout the summer.
But, Ace grants you, the ratio of female to male big-name artists at the Pavilion this year has been rather small. Is it possible that the malevolent hand of rampant misogyny and sexism is guiding the selection of acts at Charlottesville’s Pavilion?
In a word, no. Ace got a hold of Kirby Hutto, general manager of the Pavilion, who assured Ace that he loves the ladies. According to Hutto, “when we can get a top female artist for the Pavilion, we’re absolutely going to pursue that.”
“Lots of times you’ll have artists that are going out, and they’ll have a limited number of dates. And then you have all the various venues that are essentially competing for that limited number of dates. Sometimes we get lucky, sometimes we don’t.”
Hutto also noted that, at the beginning of the year, employees of his company, Red Light Management, made a list of acts they personally wanted to bring to the Pavilion. “There were a lot of female artists on there. Unfortunately half of them are not touring this year at all, and the other half, for whatever reason, we have not been able to secure a date with.”
There you have it, Lylith. As for your suggestion that next year include only female acts, Ace is only too happy to agree.