Rock On, Baby!
Local performance camp helps girls find their voice, in true Austin tradition.
Erica Flores has been a musician for most of her life. She grew up in Austin and was constantly surrounded by music. As a teenager, she trolled the local mall looking for any girl in a band T-shirt, hoping they’d want to form a punk band with her. Now, she is the program director of Girls Rock Austin, a music-education camp that is changing the lives of young girls throughout the world.
Flores moved to Los Angeles to attend graduate school and found herself in the whirlwind of establishing a Girls Rock Camp there. She returned to Austin to join the local camp in 2014.
“I liked the idea of Girls Rock Camp and I liked the idea that what they were doing was not just music oriented but social-justice oriented,” Flores says. “I liked that there was a lot of empowering of girls and enabling them to find their voice, enabling them to see that they could be agents of positive social change within their communities.”
Girls Rock Camp started in Portland, Ore., in 2001 and was brought to Austin in 2007. Camps have been established throughout North America and Europe, as well as in Brazil and Iceland. The Girls Rock mission is to use music to promote healthy self-expression and a positive self-image.
Campers are not just learning a few chords and making friendship bracelets; they are practicing key leadership skills, self-defense, establishing and recognizing healthy relationships and learning that there are numerous possibilities for women in music and other professions.
“We are a social-justice organization. This is not just a music camp. There’s a lot of thought put into the curriculum that we develop,” Flores says.
The program consists of four weeklong sessions during which the girls form and name their own bands, write an original song and perform it at a camp showcase at the end of the week. The program is non-competitive, and although several counselors and instructors work with them, the girls are encouraged to problem-solve and lead each other to success.
Jamie Bahr has been involved with Girls Rock Austin for four years and is now on the board of directors. Like Flores, she was drawn to the program because it encouraged women to get more involved in music. Although Austin is known for its live-music scene, many female musicians would say the industry is male-centered. Bahr was immediately impressed with the all-female environment and positive message of the camp.
“It really did move me. You feel a synergy of all these amazing, creative women coming together and, in a way, raising the next generation of women in our community,” Bahr says.
The staff and volunteers at GRA work to make camp accessible to girls of all backgrounds, ethnicities and education levels. The camp has a bridge program with Settlement Home for Children through which girls from the home are able to participate without concern about tuition.
“You might not have a parent to pick you up, you may not have a real home to go to, but this is one place where you can come and be yourself. You can figure out your identity and no one is going to judge you. In fact, we will celebrate you,” Bahr says.
The Unlimited Possibilities Fund was created in honor of Esme Barrera, a counselor who was killed in early 2012. The fund provides tuition for 10 campers, and this year alone, community members helped raise more than $6,000 toward the fund. Of the 200 campers this year, more than half of them received financial aid through the Unlimited Possibilities Fund.
“We want to make sure that we can empower any woman or any girl, regardless of their financial situation,” Bahr says.
GRA has transformed many girls throughout the years. At camp, they find friends and they find their voices. They learn to accept themselves and inspire one another. When they make mistakes at camp, instead of apologizing, they say, “I rock” and learn that mistakes are part of the creative process.
“Being here really allowed me to come out of my shell,” longtime camper and intern Blair Creedle-Reynolds says. “It’s not just about music. It’s more than what it appears to be.”
Community members are strongly encouraged to get involved. GRA accepts food and monetary and instrument donations. The program is always in need of counselors and volunteers to help supervise daily activities.
Girls Rock Austin is a hub of inspiration and positivity. The girls learn about iconic female artists like Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Patti Smith, Janet Jackson and many others. More importantly, they learn who they are as individuals—and they are doing it at a much earlier age than their peers. GRA is helping to deconstruct negative ideas of womanhood and teach girls they are capable of doing amazing things.
“Women and girls are traditionally socialized to be small, to not take up space, to not be loud. So just the act of being very loud, of being amplified, of making mistakes and making mistakes loudly is really powerful,” Flores says. “It can really change the way you think about yourself.”
For more information about enrolling a camper (next session is Aug. 3 through 8), instrument and gear donation or volunteering, visit girlsrockaustin.org.
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