Women’s music performances became natural additions to gay and lesbian gatherings of all types and sizes; before long, Woodstock-style women’s music festivals began to take place as well.  The most prominent is the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival – “womyn” is an alternate spelling of “women” without having to say “men” – and this one is still being held annually since its founding in 1976, although it is evidently more of a women-only, clothing-optional camping event now. 

Women’s music artists for the most part are not particularly political or polemic – with the exception of Holly Near, and even she is normally not focused on gay/lesbian issues – so non–lesbian-identified performers have dropped by from time to time.  Tracy Chapman is perhaps the most prominent; she was at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival during her meteoric rise to the top of the charts with her hit album Tracy Chapman (1988). 

As time went on, bandmembers came and went, with Leslie Satterfield being the mainstay for Boyskout.  In about 2008, Boyskout appeared at the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival and were on the bill at Phasefest in 2009 – described on their website as being “an annual Queer music and arts festival dedicated to the development, exposure and interaction of queer and queer-allied musicians and artists, both national and international”. 

(January 2014)