Mountain Grrl Experience being planned for 2022 with kickoff shows on the horizon

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) - In 2021, the Mountain Grrl Experience was a new festival that was brought to Pikeville to celebrate and empower young women and their accomplishments while also raising money for WestCare Perry Cline Emergency Center and Turning Point Domestic Violence Services. Now, 2022′s Mountain Grrl Experience is being planned with those same goals in mind.

“This is an event where we are showcasing the artistry, creativity, grit, talent of Appalachian women,” said Mountain Grrl Co-founder and local musician Kris Preston. “While we’re having a lot of fun with all of our events, we’re also raising proceeds to benefit other Appalachian women.”

The festival is scheduled for July 22-23 with music, art galleries, workshops, artisans, and more, but there are also kickoff shows coming up soon that will give you a taste of the complete experience.

One such kickoff show is happening Saturday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Appalachian Center for the Arts. The show will be an album kickoff party for local band Bek and the Starlight Revue for their second album named “Bloom” and will also feature another local band, Zoe Howard and the Yellow Line.

“It’s been a great experience for us,” said Bek Smallwood, “because much like Mountain Grrl has allowed all of us here as women to bloom in this city, we’ve also been able to do that through our band and we’ve just had a really great experience over the last couple of years.”

Smallwood and her band are honored to be part of the Mountain Grrl Experience for the second year in a row and they are excited to be the first of many kickoff shows.

“We’re super excited to be the first kickoff event for Mountain Grrl,” said Smallwood. “Our ultimate goal is just to empower women, encourage women and young girls to find their place to be celebrated and to give them a platform.”

Preston said there will be many kickoff events and you can find those on the Mountain Grrl Experience website. You can also find tickets to July’s two-day festival starting April 1 on the APP’s website.

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