G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento plays Harlow’s

From Cultural Capital by Chris Macias:

As G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento’s final teen camp of the year wrapped in late July, executive director Larisa Bryski gathered the young musicians in a circle and said “hopefully” the camp would be back next year. Some of the campers gasped, asking what she meant.

“I don’t think I’d ever said ‘hopefully’ like that before in the final camper circle,” said Bryski. “It was something real that was bubbling up.”

G.I.R.L.S. Rock Sacramento was launched in 2016 to support young female musicians. Bryski heard it all before as a longtime rock singer — that she was good for a girl, or questioning if she was at a gig because a boyfriend was playing.

Now, GRS faces a hiatus next summer due to financial challenges, the need for a larger rehearsal space and Bryski burning out from organizing its programs primarily by herself. Those programs include a series of minicamps for ages 8 to 11, teen camps and a “Liberation Rock Camp” for adults.

This crossroads stands before GRS as the program’s annual benefit show, “Don’t You Forget About Me,” takes over Harlow’s on Saturday. It features a “who’s who” of local musicians playing songs from the ’80s, from pop and rock classics to deep cuts. The house band, Wisteria, spotlights GRS alumni playing tunes from 1986.

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