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What Happens When Girls Build

Where the Heart Resides
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GIRLS BUILD

By: Amanda Hyslop | March 3, 2026

I recently watched a documentary on Hulu about Lilith Fair, and I found myself unexpectedly taken (again) by the spirit of the festival.

For those of us who grew up in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Lilith Fair was the festival. It was run by Sarah McLachlan, who at the time was my favorite female vocalist, and it felt like a counterweight to the other hot-ticket festivals of the era, like Lollapalooza. Lilith Fair featured artists like Sheryl Crow, Erykah Badu, Bonnie Raitt, Tracy Chapman, Fiona Apple, Indigo Girls, and Jewel-women who were absolutely on fire back then, and arguably still are today.

When I went to Lilith Fair back in 1997, I didn’t think of it as a feminist statement. I was going to hear music that moved me and reflected who I was. But watching the documentary now, with decades of hindsight, I see just how radical it actually was.

Fast-forward nearly 30 years.

My daughter is now helping organize SheShreds Fest, a music festival at Larkspur Landing on International Women’s Day, featuring female-led bands and women instrumentalists. And just like Sarah McLachlan did back then, she’s running into some familiar, tired assumptions.

Will people come?

Is there really an audience for this?

Can girls pull something like this off?

History, it turns out, loves to repeat itself.

Music has always been part of our family life. My husband and I started taking my daughter to Music Together classes before she was even a year old. We sat on the floor, clapping rhythms, learning patterns, listening closely to sound. By second grade, she was taking drum lessons at WOW Music Studios, and I enrolled in piano again, returning to an instrument I had loved as a child. At the time, it felt like a nice time hack: doing something for myself while still being beside her. I didn't realize we were building a foundation.

She watched me perform in bands. She heard stories about her dad touring and opening for Green Day. She absorbed what it looked like to take music seriously. And slowly, music stopped being something she did and became something she owned. Now she’s playing in bands of her own. Now she’s organizing, promoting, and coordinating. Now, she’s not waiting to get on stage; she’s building one.

And that’s what happens when girls build. They don’t just learn skills. They learn leadership; they lean into each other. They learn that if something doesn't exist, you can create it.

SheShreds Festival takes place on March 8th, 4-8pm at Larkspur Landing, featuring female-led bands and women instrumentalists from our own community. Bands like Pretty Riot and Catfight will take the stage, along with a special guest I’m not quite allowed to name yet (some music industry rules are still very much alive and well). The event is sponsored by Splice Music, Magic Flute, Tommy Breeze and generous donors whose support enables these musicians to have a stage to stand on. I feel really grateful to live in a time and community where girls are trusted early to believe they can make something real.

Thirty years ago, Sarah McLachlan proved the industry wrong. Today, a new generation of girls are doing the same, one brave idea at a time. And if history has taught us anything, it’s this:
When girls build, a whole lot happens.

You can find tickets to SheShred Festival and event details here.

Amanda Hyslop is rocking the mom life with two whip-smart kiddos, Sienna & William, and her hubby, Bill, who has a knack for dad jokes. By day, she's a go-to Advice Nurse at Tamalpais Pediatrics; by night, you'll find her playing the keys or hitting the pavement for a run. Amanda's all ears for your thoughts amandahyslop@gmail.com and will get back to you – just as soon as she locates that pesky missing sock!