I found out about Big Joanie because of their work organizing (and playing) the annual Decolonise Fest in London. The fest caught my eye because it’s put on by people of color, for people of color. Then, while I was prepping for a radio show, I checked out Big Joanie’s Bandcamp and found a punk rock cover of TLC’s “No Scrubs,” and I’ve been keeping up with them ever since! They’re a fantastic punk band out of London whose members are deeply involved with community organizing, uplifting punks of colors, and they’re not afraid of making political statements. I appreciated this quote off their Bandcamp, too:
One of the main reasons for coming together was to create an atmosphere to be “completely ourselves as black women and discover what was possible to realise in those spaces.”
Over the years, they’ve received attention from big-name artists like Thurston Moore and even opened for Bikini Kill. I feel like they’re more of a name in the UK, but I was excited to hear that they played SXSW and signed with U.S. label Kill Rock Stars in 2020. That might mean more U.S. shows and festival tours one day!
A few more things worth noting:
- This wonderful cover of Solange’s Cranes In The Sky
- This incredibly solid full-length album that’s full of energy & rhythm
- This book, Why Solange Matters, by Big Joanie band member Stephanie Phillips