As the fourth in our quadrilogy of concerts to support PUSSY RIOT, we chose Manchester UK as our next destination, after doing London twice and Tokyo once. What started off as a 1-day event concept fast turned into a 3-day festival in Manchester’s city centre to commemorate the sentencing of 3 members of Russian media activist group Pussy Riot which took place on 17 August 2012, after over 5 months’ detention period. For a 30-second public performance dubbed the “Punk Prayer,” Masha, Nadya and Katya were sentenced to 2 years in prison for “hooliganism.” Katya was released on a technicality at the end of 2012, leaving younger members Masha and Nadya to serve out the remainder of their sentence in separate penal colonies outside Moscow and away from family and support.
Although their plight has been all but completely ignored by mainstream press since then, activists and artists in various pockets of the world have been working to maintain awareness of the case and to highlight the danger that lurks behind silencing artists and peaceful protesters. Introduction of recent anti-LGBT legislation and the so-called “Pussy Riot law” (to punish “religious offenders”) has raised the hackles of many who already saw the sentencing as extreme punishment for simply one of many light-hearted stunts Pussy Riot had been pulling to express discontent in Russia towards ties between religion and the state, towards the political system and towards systematic oppression of women and the LGBT community.
After the original Manchester venue disgracefully dumped the event, KRAAK venue which is located in the heart of the trendy Northern Quarter and renowned for its support of independent and edgy art and vibrant community spirit, speedily came to ours and Pussy Riot’s rescue. American performer AMANDA PALMER on the same night brought us onstage at Manchester’s Ritz to announce the festival to huge applause – Palmer’s incredible humility and support was instrumental in the process of this event and highlighted the intensity of passion that some artists feel for the cause. The Ritz announcement led us to find fantastic volunteer staff and reassured us that we were on the right path.
As always, the event was geared specifically to appeal to a venue, performers and volunteers who believed in the cause and were committed to working cooperatively with our team to make the event a success. We took great care in building the best lineup possible for the 2-day music & arts festival. Toronto musician PRINCESS CENTURY aka Maya Postepski of AUSTRA/TRUST was right from the start committed to flying in to headline Day 2 of the event, straight off the back of her Austra European tour, so we knew we were in for a very special lineup. We then successfully secured London’s SOPHIE DELILA as our Day 1 headliner, and felt very fortunate indeed to be able to welcome such wonderful headliners.
On the principle of holding a low-budget event where every involved person would have to give up something to take part in the festival, on Sunday 18 and Monday 19 August we hosted a stunning lineup of 15 live bands, supported by 2 live painters, as well as live poetry reading, LED hula hoop, contact juggling, burlesque and drag acts, to boot. We held activities at 2 venues located in 2 separate areas of the city centre: KRAAK in Northern Quarter by day, and COYOTES BAR in the Gay Village by night. In addition, we received generous donations from local artists of original artwork for silent auctions, as well as donations in kind from over 40 Manchester businesses who contributed to raffles. Involvement came from as far as the U.S. with AMANDA PALMER kindly donating 2 signed setlists dedicated to the Pussy Riot cause, and ROUGH TRADE RECORDS donated memorabilia including a signed copy of JARVIS COCKER’s book “Mother, Brother, Lover” again dedicated to the cause.
Distributor INDEPENDENT then approached us with an opportunity to screen for free the Sundance award-winning feature documentary “PUSSY RIOT – A PUNK PRAYER” on Saturday 17 August – the day before the main festival, and the actual anniversary day of the sentencing of the women. Thus, commemoration festivities were now spread across 3 days.
On the afternoon of Saturday 17 August, artists and supporters gathered at KRAAK to remember the women and watch the documentary together. The film, which talks about the backgrounds of all three women and features interviews with family members, brought many in the audience to tears, even those who had seen it before. The simplicity of having the freedom to watch such a film in a venue who kindly donated their facilities for free for the day, sitting side by side with other members of the wider arts community, was all too much for some who were deeply moved by what they saw. The screening was preceded by a brilliant live performance by KERRI LAYTON who sung a mix of protest and love songs, and a short speech by “LET’S START A PUSSY RIOT” book editor Jade French – Jade has been working hard with Emely Neu and others to bring together artists and activists over the Pussy Riot issue, and travelled from London specially for the festival. The film was then followed by an indepth video interview with directors Maxim Pozdorovkin and Mike Lerner, which we shot at SHEFFIELD DOC/FEST, on the day of the film’s UK premiere.
The screening formed the beginning of a very intense 3-day slog by our team, all dedicated to one issue – the Pussy Riot cause.
Thanks to each person’s willingness to invest their own limited time and money in the enterprise, the event was a great success. Costing well in excess of a thousand pounds, with event staff working entirely for free for 4 months and waiving transportation and other expenses, artists from the North waiving travel expenses, our technicians travelling and working for free, and all artists performing for free, we were able to hold a beautiful festival in memory of Masha and Nadya, with a buzzing energy which is carrying on beyond the event itself. Inspired by Pussy Riot and their ethics, we were delighted to welcome such a wide range of performers who came together and put ethics and care for their community and each other before their individual selves. Due to the generosity of the community and everybody involved, we are happy to announce that we at least broke even on the event, and were able to collect a profit: After essential expenses, we are donating the total of GBP145.69 to THE VOICE PROJECT’S PUSSY RIOT FUND.
Our sincerest thanks go to the following participants:
- Live bands: PRINCESS CENTURY // SOPHIE DELILA // DEATH RATTLE // ECHO BOOM GENERATION // WITCH HUNT // ROUGHNECK RIOT // ILL // HEALD PLACE // BAD GRAMMAR // MINUTE TAKER // ROBOT//ALIEN // FACTORY ACTS // LETTERS TO FIESTA // LIVESTOCK JIHAD // TRIPHAZARD // KERRI LAYTON
- DJs: THE CHOO CHOO TRAINS (DJ Rabbit & Lady Upminster) // THE BIRDS DJ COLLECTIVE // ONE-NOTE // SEAWAVES
- Live artists: CIRQUE DU MANC // CHERIE BEBE // ROISIN KEOWN // ANDREW “CHAD” CHADDOCK // CHEDDAR GORGEOUS // CLAIRE KEOWN // NAOMI KASHIWAGI
- Artists who donated artwork: LEE PEARCE // DAN BIRBECK // TWISTED DREDZ // DAVID LOWTHER
We wish to thank every person who has contributed to and supported this event and the principles behind it. We called it “Revolution” because we believe that positive changes can be made by people and this applies to society and industries as well as our individual lives. The event team, comprised of professional technicians and volunteers, did an outstanding job, working together closely from their various UK locations. We must also thank the venues KRAAK & COYOTES BAR, all supportive businesses, the LET’S START A PUSSY RIOT team including ROUGH TRADE RECORDS, AMANDA PALMER and her team, our delectable and quite hilarious MCs ZOE IQBAL and LUKE SLATER, and of course everyone who supported in person and from afar. Finally, of course, we thank PUSSY RIOT for their commitment and inspiration and also THE VOICE PROJECT for collecting funds and helping them out.
- Backstage videos: ILL // HEALD PLACE // BAD GRAMMAR // ECHO BOOM GENERATION // WITCH HUNT // CHERIE BEBE // MINUTE TAKER // THE CHOO CHOO TRAINS // FACTORY ACTS // LETTERS TO FIESTA // DEATH RATTLE
- Live videos: ILL // HEALD PLACE // BAD GRAMMAR // ECHO BOOM GENERATION // SOPHIE DELILA // ROUGHNECK RIOT // WITCH HUNT // MINUTE TAKER // ROBOT//ALIEN // LIVESTOCK JIHAD // FACTORY ACTS // LETTERS TO FIESTA // DEATH RATTLE // PRINCESS CENTURY // CHEDDAR GORGEOUS
- Photos: SAT 17 AUG ANNIVERSARY & “PUSSY RIOT – A PUNK PRAYER” SCREENING // ILL // HEALD PLACE // BAD GRAMMAR // ECHO BOOM GENERATION // PUNK PRAYER REENACTMENT // SOPHIE DELILA // ROUGHNECK RIOT // CIRQUE DU MANC // WITCH HUNT // CHERIE BEBE // MINUTE TAKER // ROBOT//ALIEN // LIVESTOCK JIHAD // THE CHOO CHOO TRAINS // CLAIRE & ROISIN KEOWN // FACTORY ACTS // LETTERS TO FIESTA // DEATH RATTLE // PRINCESS CENTURY
- Pussy Riot support videos: KATE NASH // JANE BIRKIN // MISS KITTIN // SICK OF SARAH // THE GUERRILLA GIRLS // PEACHES // HEART // MARGARET CHO // HYSTERICAL INJURY // AMANDA PALMER
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