Crys Matthews let out a deep laugh when asked whether being a woman has hindered her success in the music industry. “I am thrice marginalized. I’m a woman, I’m Black, I am also a lesbian,” says the the former DC singer/songwriter, who now lives in Nashville and who wears glasses with a thick rainbow frame.
While the music industry has gotten somewhat more inclusive, a USC Annenberg study found that last year, 38% of artists on the Billboard Hot 100 Year-End Chart were women, and so few were gender non-binary that they didn’t get a category. The ratio is worse for behind-the-scenes music jobs: In 2024, 19% of songwriters on the top-100 chart were women, and .2% were non-binary. Women were only 5.9% of producers. (This study did not say who it classifies as female.)
The skewed gender breakdown reflects the fact that non-male artists have a hard time finding mentors who share their identity. They also often face barriers to success, including harassment and managers and venues that doubt their skills. But next Saturday, July 26, the all-day music festival This Could Go Boom! will feature only artists whose genders are underrepresented in the music industry—including female, nonbinary, and transgender people.
Bladensburg Waterfront Park in Prince George’s County will host the main stage, a 20-minute walk from the satellite venues. The 27-artist lineup will reflect DC’s diverse music scene, with performances including Matthews’ blend of country and blues, Grammy-nominated Elena La Fulana’s Latin folk, and riot grrrl-style sets from the local band Mac N’ Toss.
This Could Go Boom! is a nonprofit founded by five female/non-binary musicians in 2018. They helped gender-diverse artists get a foothold in ways including by funding their albums and around 350 paid performances. (All of the festival’s scheduled performers will be compensated.) One satellite stage will feature musicians who are parents. The organization’s name represents how sharing individual stories can create “explosive” changes, says co-founder Erin Frisby.
Frisby says there’s a “particularly invigorating feeling” about outdoor shows where the crowd is part of the energy, especially around the nation’s capital. “We’re so close to political power that the response is close to the fire,” they say.
Even among less progressive audiences, Matthews has found that her music can make political topics more digestible. After Tennessee banned drag performances, she wrote the song “Suit and Tie,” in which she sings: “I might look good in a dress / but I feel better in a suit and tie.”
In the week leading up to This Could Go Boom!’s inaugural festival, the volunteer-run organization will host five events: an open mic night, youth programming (including an instrument “petting zoo”), performances inspired by a book with a trans protagonist, a punk show, and queer feminist poetry readings. The Maryland Heritage Areas Authority is the festival’s main funding source, along with donations and grants. The festival is free to attend.
Frisby encourages attendees to explore merchandise, albums, and an interactive painting. For food, they can picnic or patronize food trucks including Cocineros, Bill’s Backyard BBQ, and Bay’s Soft Ice Cream.
This event isn’t “an anomaly,” Frisby says. “There’s an ongoing history of strong and outspoken voices in this area in music, and so we want to carry that forward.”