Bibi Bannink on Girls To The Front: “I was looking for a different sound, forms of representation, and people I could connect with”
Month: augustus 2026
Girls to the front! The rallying slogan of the ’90s riot grrrl movement is still resonating today. Founded by Bibi Bannink, the Girls To The Front collective gives FLINTA*-fronted (Female, Lesbian, Intersex, Non-binary, Trans & Agender) bands a stage, making space for different sounds, stories and perspectives. With shows across the country, two compilation albums and its own zine, the DIY initiative is building on a growing platform. Last year, Girls To The Front curated an evening at Café The Jack during Hit The City. This year, the programme expands to both halls at Effenaar. On the line-up: Lambrini Girls, Jools, Vals Alarm, L.A. Sagne, Snackbar and more.
“I think this is the kind of line-up that will also draw people who don’t live in Eindhoven. I’m curious to see what it will look like on the night itself” Bibi Bannink says. “Especially after everything that has happened recently surrounding Sophie Straat. Will there be more friction, or more openness?”
There were clear ambitions when putting the line-up together: bringing international and local bands together, giving Girls To The Front acts – and the audience – literally more space, and showcasing a diversity of sounds. “That also represents both GTTF compilation albums. It’s not necessarily punk in the way you might initially associate with it, with simple riffs. You also hear complex art-punk or darkwave, for example. That diversity is reflected in the line-up.”
We’re very angry, but we’re in this together
The idea for Girls To The Front emerged just over two years ago, when Bibi was only eighteen. On International Working Women’s Day, she organised her first event at dB’s in Utrecht. It came from her own love of punk, but also from the fact that many of the emerging punk bands around her were predominantly made up of men.
“I wanted to organise something that brought my two interests, punk and feminism, together. I listened to a lot of punk, read a lot about the riot grrrl movement and wanted to surround myself with people who were also part of that. I mainly just wanted to be at a show like that myself. I was looking for a different sound, different forms of representation and different people I could connect with.”
But from the beginning, it was about more than just who was on stage. “It also came from a need to give space to the political side of a day like that, to the ongoing urgency.” By incorporating self-written poetry between the shows, she tries to stimulate discussion and create a sense of community. “That’s something I’ve found really important and special at protests too. You can really feel that we’re very angry, but we’re also all in this together. And from that comes a kind of love and a certain sense of community.”
That sense of collectivity became very visible during that first event, and more specifically, in the mosh pit where making space was just as important as taking up space. “People enjoyed being there together, and the mosh pit was also a completely different kind of mosh pit. It was more about: we share this physical space, we want to be here together, we want to let go, and we want to do that while looking out for each other.”
Punk is supposed to create friction
Where the riot grrrls shook up the scene in the ’90s, with women and queer people pushing back against sexism and male-dominated power structures, the slogan girls to the front is once again hitting hard thirty years later. Especially following the recent wave of hate and threats directed at Sophie Straat, among others.
“In some ways, I really feel like: this is what punk means to me. It creates friction. It clashes with the mainstream and with more right-wing ideologies. The way people have responded to the media coverage of Sophie Straat really speaks to the kind of neofascist and individualised society we live in, and emphasises that we all have a responsibility to address this and speak up about it. Part of me is glad that this public debate is happening, because punk is suddenly becoming visible to people who aren’t exposed to it very often. And they’re getting angry about it”, Bibi says.
“But it also makes me sad because it symbolises such a polarised society. I’ve thought a lot about what a Girls To The Front event can mean in this renewed spotlight. It’s even more important for people to take up space now. But at the same time, I wonder: how can we build more of a bridge? How can we help people who might be further removed from it understand? Maybe an event is no longer enough to achieve that goal, if that even is the goal. But it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot.”
That question becomes even more interesting now that Girls To The Front is receiving increasing attention: from shows at venues across the Netherlands to major festivals such as Down The Rabbit Hole. The bigger the stage, the greater the reach? “We want to distance ourselves as much as possible from commercial festivals and venues sponsored by all kinds of things that, in many ways, don’t align with our ideology or what a punk initiative should represent. On the other hand, because there’s such a strong social message behind it, you want that voice to have a bigger platform.”
That bigger platform also means reaching an audience that might not automatically come to a Girls To The Front show. “I think it’s important not to stay exclusively within the punk scene, because that can become a bit of preaching to the choir. Bigger stages are also simply really exciting for the bands. We’re doing this because we genuinely want to give their talent a larger platform, and bring their music to a wider audience. And by doing that, you automatically move beyond the DIY scene.
We think a lot about our target audience and how we want this message to come across. But at a big festival, for example, we’ve experienced quite a lot of friction with men taking up a huge amount of space and laughing at us when we tried to reclaim it. I think we should do this more often in places where our ideas aren’t necessarily taken for granted. But sometimes I wonder: can we really do that this way? Or does it require a much more structural change to ensure safety and inclusivity?”
What even is the punk scene nowadays?
“What even is the punk scene nowadays?” she asks out loud. “There are still squats and DIY initiatives that have so much value, of course, but a lot has also become commercialised in this era of late-stage capitalism. You’re basically always paying nine euros for a ticket. I fully stand behind what we’re doing, but I also find it difficult to see what position we’re taking within the punk movement. But it’s also really fun to philosophise about it, to try things out and think: is this the direction we want to take, or should we approach things differently?”
The constant questioning of what the scene is and can look like when different voices are deliberately placed at the center is part of the movement itself. According to Bibi, there is still plenty of work to be done. “I think this movement is still very white and cis-dominated. We want to engage with themes connected to the feminist movement, but also way beyond that. We want to make more zines and create more content to emphasise that Girls To The Front is about
more than records and shows.”
The ambitions now extend far beyond concert venues. “My big dream is to create a physical space – like the one in the important documentary De stad was van ons – with a group of FLINTA people, turning it into a large studio and community space where you can organise shows, but also film nights or book clubs. A place where you can think about important subjects such as feminism. Or a free festival where we collaborate with other collectives and showcase different voices, with the money raised going towards something we all believe in.”
Girls To The Front at Hit The City
But first: Hit The City. On 28 August, Girls To The Front will take over Effenaar. Bibi herself is particularly looking forward to two acts: “When it comes to the bands, I’m really looking forward to PISS and Jools. I listen to them a lot.”
Perhaps the real appeal of the night goes beyond what happens on stage. The message behind Girls To The Front is simple: make space for people who aren’t always given that space by default. Not only to be angry and kick against something, but to collectively create something new.
“I always get so happy seeing young queer people being completely themselves, being inspired by the space and dancing together. And being able to express their anger at the world around them in a different way, but doing it together in a supportive environment. I hope they can mosh as hard as they want, in a way that allows them to be less conscious of their own bodies and simply take up whatever space they want to take. I hope everyone can come into it with an open mind and that it encourages conversations. And that men are open to seeing what happens rather than inserting themselves into it”
Tra Fasi: a documentary by Charity Charly about punk in Suriname
Tra Fasi: a documentary by Charity Charly about punk in Suriname
During our Girls To The Front night in Effenaar on August 28, documentary 'Tra Fasi' will be played in Effenaar Foyer. Feel free to hang out, grab a pair of headphones and relax for a bit!
About the documentary
In Tra Fasi, filmmaker Charity Charly takes us to Suriname, where young punk Shavero tries to create a space for alternative subculture. In a society where being different is not always a given, he brings musicians, artists, and outsiders together to make their own space. The film follows Shavero as he organizes an event for the alternative scene and shows how music and subculture can offer a place for self-expression, connection, and freedom.
Duration
20 minutes
Create your Personal Timetable in the festival app
Month: augustus 2026
Whether you’re a seasoned festival pro or brand new to the game, one thing’s for sure: with 121 acts on the line-up, there’s a whole lot to discover. Diving in and listening ahead is great fun – but it can also be a bit overwhelming. That’s where the Hit The City festival app, featuring the Personal Timetable from Timegem, comes in! A smart tool to help you map out your personal festival route.
From S10, Typhoon, Jonna Fraser and Kevin to High Vis, Lambrini Girls, DEADLETTER, Snapped Ankles and Yīn Yīn. And with dozens more artists on the bill, you might just discover your new favourite acts. But with so much happening across the city, choosing what to see can feel like a bit of a puzzle. That’s where the Hit The City festival app comes in. Find the full programme, explore venues, save your favourite shows and see what’s happening where.
Want to make your festival route even more personal? Connect your Spotify account and let the app do the matching for you. The app featuring the Personal Timetable application from Timegem looks at your listening habits – including artists, tracks and genres – and compares them with the Hit The City line-up. Already listening to an artist on the bill? You’ll see them pop up. But the app also introduces you to artists you might not know yet, based on the music you already love.
Every recommendation comes with a match score and a short explanation, so you can discover what fits your taste and build a festival route that’s uniquely yours.
“There’s so much happening at Hit The City at the same time. Of course you want to know where S10 or Typhoon are playing, but with 121 acts, it’s easy to get lost in too many choices,” says Sandra Broeren, Head of Marketing & Communications at Effenaar and Hit The City. “This feature takes some of that pressure away. Instead of putting an endless list in front of you, it gives you recommendations based on your own musical taste. Ultimately, this isn’t really about an app or an algorithm. If the app helps you decide, great. But if it takes you somewhere you never planned to go and you end up having the night of your life, then we’ve built it right.”
A curated playlist by the Girls To The Front acts
Month: augustus 2026
Protest and music collide at Girls To The Front! This curated night is all about FLINTA (punk) bands that not only make really cool music, but also have something to say. But what actually inspired them to make music? We asked the artists to pick two songs that set them on their way, and then – together with their own tracks – turned them into one cool, curated playlist.
Listen to the Hit The City x Girls To The Front playlist now via the link in bio. Even better, of course, is seeing the bands live on Friday 28 August in Effenaar.
L.A. Sagne
1. Lynn Andersson – Rose Garden
“We make no secret of the fact that we at L.A. Sagne love country music. Punk and country actually have quite a few things in common; it’s “music for the people, by the people,” it can be full of sass and cheekiness, and it makes you want to drink huge amounts of beer. Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden” is no exception. It’s a favorite on our tour bus.”
2. Trampolene & Pete Doherty – Uncle Brian’s Abattoir
“In our music, we like to highlight the absurdities of life. These can be terribly unjust, but sometimes they’re also pretty funny. “Uncle Brian’s Abattoir” by Trampolene & Pete Doherty is a song that embodies just such a bizarre contradiction, and that makes us happy.”
PISS
1. Strangelight – Fugazi
“If you’d asked me for 10 influential songs, at least half of them would have been by Fugazi. They were, for me, a bridge between loving punk for its accessibility and loving punk for its potential to challenge. Everything about them — their music, their politics, their ethos — was formative for me. I admired Ian Mackaye so much. (Fun fact: in high school I named my cat “Mr. Feelings” after a lyric off Minor Threat’s OUT OF STEP)”
2. Illustrated Bible Stories for Children – The Weakerthans
“This was my favourite song throughout all of high school. I heard it on a CD my older cousin had lying around her bedroom the summer before I started ninth grade. I remember being so touched by it, so captured, but not understanding why. Now that I’m reflecting, I can see how this song was another bridge for me, between lyrics and poetry. I remember thinking endlessly about the line “I’d like to pull just this one building down” and realizing how much you could say by writing in images and metaphors. My Opa was a reverend in the Christian reformed church, and one of my earliest memories is of him reading to me from a book of illustrated bible stories and explaining how the stories are not literal, but metaphors meant to help us learn how to live well. Not sure if this memory is actually related to my teenage obsession with this song, because I was pretty ardently atheistic in high school. But now that I’m neither atheist nor Christian, I can see that there’s probably some mysterious influential connection there.”
Vals Alarm
1. Sugar Town: Shitkid
“ When I first heard “Sugar Town” blasting during a friend’s DJ set in 2023, I didn’t know what had hit me—suddenly, all the lyrics fluttering around in my head made sense. It’s a song about a woman who moves through life carefree, with a lightness that’s infectious. That combination of freedom, sound, self-assurance, and a pure “I don’t give a shit” attitude really spoke to me.”
2. Erase You – ESG
“ While a lot of music revolves around heartbreak, “Erase You” is actually about taking back control. You can really feel that energy in our first album, VALS ALARM: don’t dwell on the past, but take control and move forward. That independent, stubborn attitude—that “I’ll decide for myself” mindset—is exactly what we stand for, and it has inspired us greatly to make the music we make.
Hondenfokker
1. This is Dub – Grace Jones
2. Back It Up, Boys – Peaches
“clubby, dubby, wobbly, party, dancey. We’re most inspired by all the different sounds and samples and the playful way they come together. A clash of genres and instruments that captures the club vibe, but also the energy of live instruments.
Fun plays a big role in our music, because having fun and creating something is hardcore. People got upset recently when we said we make punk, but in my eyes, the combination of fun and having a big mouth is the best form of (contemporary) punk.
Grace Jones and Peaches have inspired and shaped us because they’re both pioneers in the fields of emancipation and genre-bending music, and they’re constantly reinventing their stage personas, it’s just ultra-cool.”
Snackbar
1.Plasmatics – Butcher Baby
“A powerful track, it sounds like you’re riding a Harley through the front window of an Intertoys store. A theatrical live act (chainsaw!) and chaotic music with nonsensical solos and over-the-top, almost barking vocals. A kind of theatrical musical middle finger, with an iconic frontwoman who never compromised, both on stage and in her beliefs. R.I.P. W.O.W. – we love you forever.”
2. Dolly Parton – Gonna Hurry as Slow as I Can.
“Besides being an amazing singer, Dolly is the queen of great outfits and stage presence, something our frontwoman Fleur draws a lot of inspiration from. Her music is also a recurring theme in the children’s series Dunya & Desie, a show that, along with other TV series from that era, serves as a major source of inspiration for our band.”
Gender Reveal Atomic Bomb
1. Alien She by Bikini Kill
“Bikini Kill and the Riot Grrrl movement have always been a huge inspiration to us. When Blaise wrote some lyrics at age thirteen but didn’t know how she should sing them, Beau said “Imagine you’re Kathleen Hanna” and that’s kind of how GRAB was born. Alien She also has to do with a recurring theme in our music: feeling like an alien in society or even recognizing an alien within yourself.”
2. Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine
“Rage Against the Machine is another major source of inspiration for us. True musical trailblazers, politically not just volatile but also intellectual, and with the intensity of a raging bull. The brutal riffs, biting lyrics, and infectious energy of songs like Wake Up have had an impact on our music that cannot be understated.”
Bandgurl666
1. Iconoclasm – Dear Omen
“The first track is Iconoclasm from Dear Omen. This is a cover of a Japanese band BUCK-TICK song from one of my favorite local acts. This has been my opening tracks since Bibi and I DJ’d at Down the Rabbit Hole together in 2025, which was both of our first sets EVER. Co-creating a setlist with her was so much fun, and this track always reminds me of her when I play it. Strong, punchy, a little groovy; immediately sets the tone for the rest of my set.”
2. MADRID – Kate Oram
“My second track is MADRID by Kate Oram. This track hits all the right notes: high energy, electro-punk, Brit attitude in the vocals, and a racing beat that keeps you on your toes. It’s featured on Girls to the Front Vol. 1, which makes it even more special. No matter what the show is, I always try to include at least one GTTF song, as I feel deeply connected with the mission and music, and of course, there’s nothing but bangers featured.”
KaasFM
1. Shocking Blue – Send Me A Postcard
“I first started getting into Dutch music by going to small DIY shows at my local venues. Once I was hooked on the music scene developing around me, I wanted to find the context and history behind it; so I asked my Dutch friends to recommend old, iconic bands from The Netherlands. My partner put me on to Shocking Blue, the band with hits like Venus and Love Buzz (famously covered by Nirvana). But the track that stayed with me the most and still finds its way in my DJ sets is 1970’s Send Me A Postcard. It’s got a rock’n’roll edge to it while being very danceable and it makes me feel like it’s the Summer of Love.”
2. Truus de Groot – Sexy Machine
“As a graphic designer, I do judge albums by their covers. The cover of ‘Dopamine Dreams’, Truus de Groot’s 2024 album, led me down the rabbit hole of her extensive discography. She’s one of the pioneers of electronic music in The Netherlands, fully creating her tracks with her collection of analog synths (some of which are her own designs). Sexy Machine is a track from her 2026 album and it encapsulates the mood of my DJ sets: fast, dark, sexy and sprinkled with some satisfying beeps and boops. Truus also inspires me by demonstrating that you can be a badass artist and keep experimenting and innovating regardless of age.”
Music Innovation x Hit The City 2026
Month: augustus 2026
Step into the future with our Music Innovation program, where creativity meets cutting-edge technology. Immerse yourself into the world of music and tech with some innovative performances and talks.
Innovative ideas, new sounds and groundbreaking experiences
Performances by Effenaar Labs Hybrid Music Vibes graduates.
The Hybrid Music Vibes program offers artists the opportunity to discover how new technologies can contribute to their artistry. Hybrid Music Vibes is an initiative of Effenaar Lab in collaboration with Rockacademie Tilburg, Thunderboom Records, Bureau Moeilijke Dingen, Studio Wotto and is supported by Cultuurloket DigitALL.
ALTERITY by Jacco Gardner
With ALTERITY the multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and media archaeologist Jacco Gardner excavates a forgotten moment in the history of human-machine collaboration. The piece’s narration, written and researched by art historian María Pandiello, traces humanity’s recurring desire to build thinking companions; against it, sound, light, and image are synthesized live, each element responsive to the others, in a format closer to improvisation against a silent film, except the film is audio narration and the improvised response is audiovisual.
Music Innovation talks
Music Tech Netherlands: Will musicians still be needed in the tech and AI era in 10 years?
We can no longer ignore it; tech is changing the music landscape in an unprecedented way. From making music to ‘disrupting’ the business model for the industry. During this panel Alexander Beets (Fontys Rock Academy) discusses the developments with people from different disciplines (publishers, labels, CRMs, festivals, managers and makers). What changes can we expect, what threats are there for everyone, but also what opportunities does this new technological perspective offer?
This talk is meant for artists, industry professionals and music students. Registration in advance is needed due to limited capacity.
Moderator:
Alexander Beets / Head of business department Fontys Rockacademie
Panel members
Michel Peek / Head of Publishing Armada
Jack Pisters / General Director Muziek Gebouw Eindhoven
Teffie Schneider / Founder Nexus Polaris Music x Tech x Innovation
Ivo Schot / Artist, chairman Kunstenbond / Ntb Music
Followed networking drinks hosted by Music Tech Netherlands.
Date: Saturday, 29 August
Time: 14.00 – 16.00
Place: POPEI
Music Innovation is hosted by Effenaar Lab
In addition to a vibrant music venue, Effenaar offers space for innovation and high-tech experiments with Effenaar Lab. The rapid rise of various technologies has a major impact on the music industry, especially in the field of music experience. Together with artists, tech companies, schools and other educational institutions, Effenaar Lab is discovering the future of music experience.