Rian Nickels
Jun 17, 2025
Her Riot! proved that when you give women the stage, they tear down walls.
If you’ve ever been to concerts or gigs, both underground and mainstream, there’s one thing that’s always been evident: the punk and alternative music scene is heavily saturated with men. After a year of photographing Louisiana’s underground, I noticed that I had only shot a few women. Don’t get me wrong, these men are insanely talented, but as a woman working in the music industry, I craved the feminine energy that I felt was missing from the stage. I thought to myself, “How could I change this?” So, as co-founder of Feel Alive Media + Events, I knew the answer was to organize a music showcase that was femme-focused, and that’s how “Her Riot!” came to life. Her Riot! is a Louisiana music showcase run by femmes and for femmes (and anyone down to support them). The ultimate goal of the showcase is to bring attention to women in music, to give them center stage, and create a space in alternative music that’s curated for feminine talent to thrive.
On April 18th, 2025, Feel Alive Media + Events had their first installment of Her Riot! at Mid-City Ballroom in Baton Rouge, LA. For the lineup, we selected bands from around South Louisiana, featuring femme vocalists, some of which we had previously worked with, and others I had only been admiring from afar. The genre mixed bill consisted of: MADmoiselle, Abby and The Arsonists, Sick At Heart, and Gutzombie.
Kickin’ off the night was MADmoiselle (also known as “MAD”), a four-piece band from Baton Rouge. Even though they are a relatively new and an underground band, they packed the venue from the start of the show. Many came to support them and were actively engaged to boost the crowd's participation. MAD performed their original music, featuring songs like 'Uneasy,' and also sprinkled in well-loved covers, such as 'Daylily' by Movements. These tracks were the perfect mix to show the insane, Hayley Williams-like vocal range that front-woman Maddi Delacroix is capable of bringing to the stage. Maddi and her bandmates brought just the right kind of feminine energy needed to set the vibe for the rest of the night.
After a brief intermission of concert-goer mingling, it was Abby and The Arsonists, from New Orleans, turn to bless our ears with underground tunes. The Arsonists are comprised of brother-sister duo Abby and Andrew Lewis, Kelsey Kroening, and drummer Luke Joia. I was excited for this set because Feel Alive hadn’t previously worked with them, and I had been following them on Instagram since the day I started my music photography profile. In a bayou of predominantly heavy metal Abby and The Arsonists are a breath of fresh air. They bring a shoegaze-emo-pop-folky-indie sound that admirably can’t be put into boxes. They played a complete lineup of originals with tracks from their newest album, Caterpillars in the Walls. Between songs, Abby spilled some gossip about the origins of their track 'Lala'. This made the set feel like a music and comedy performance all in one, while also breaking down the barriers between the performers and the audience, making us feel like we were all in on a secret.
After some whimsical, mellow vibes, it was time to kick it up a bit with Sick At Heart. Sick At Heart is a metalcore band from Lafayette fronted by Elise LeBlanc. Their sound brings me back to the nostalgic feel of bands like Evanescence and Flyleaf; there’s no pitch that Elise can’t reach, and her bandmates help to bring back a sound in music that has felt forgotten recently. They shook the walls of Mid-City with Sick At Heart originals like 'Losing Control' and 'The Game' but really locked in the audience with covers like 'Decode' by Paramore, and 'Face Down' by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. To wrap up their performance, they played 'Zombie' by The Cranberries. I think performing this song was a beautiful way to pay homage to the women in music who came before us, who had to pave the way to create a space for us in the industry.
Closing out and headlining Her Riot was Punk/Post-Hardcore band Gutzombie from Baton Rouge, fronted by Ashen Bonaventure. The energy Ashen brings is unmatched, and it’s evident that she pours her heart and soul into her passion. Starting strong with the femme power vibes, they played 'Just a Girl' by No Doubt; hearing women scream “I’M JUST A GIIIIIRL” in punk spaces was just what I needed to feel like my goal to have women heard was met. They went on to perform their tracks, such as 'Absolutely' and 'Much Ado'. Aside from her voice, one of the most impressive things about Ashen is her stage presence. From jumping and thrashing around to crowd control, she brings just as much energy and dedication as large mainstream artists. A notable moment was when they played 'That’s What You Get' by Paramore and let people from the front of the crowd sing the chorus into the mic. I love it when an artist breaks down the hypothetical walls between the stage and the floor. For their last song, they surprised everyone by bringing Maddi from MADMoiselle back to the stage to help cover Pierce The Veil's hit song 'Bulls In The Bronx'. This was really sick for two reasons. This cover showcases the band's overall talent, featuring brutal guitar riffs, fast-paced drumming, vocal screaming, and the range of the vocals themselves. It’s also just neat to see two women come together to help their voices be heard; it felt like an actual sleepover with your friends rocking your favorite emo tunes. Gutzombie rocked the house so hard that I got to witness an encore call at an underground gig for the first time.
Her Riot! It wasn’t just a gig, it was a revolt. It was the scream from the back of the room that finally made it to the mic. It was the eyeliner-smudged, glitter-smeared reminder that women aren’t just guests in alternative music. It was black boots stomping floors that weren’t built for us. We weren’t there to be anyone’s opener or somebody’s girlfriend, but instead to be the main act. We weren’t there to ask for space, but to take it. Every band, every lyric, every scream pulled a piece of this scene into a new shape, one where femme voices aren’t background noise. For too long, alternative music has been a boys' club where women are expected to be quiet, to play nice, and be cheerleaders. But that night at Mid-City Ballroom, we flipped the script. We weren’t there to prove ourselves but to be loud, to be seen, and unignorable. There’s room for softness and strength, lipstick and leather, breakdowns and breakthroughs. Her Riot! proved that when you give women the stage, they tear down walls.
If you missed the first Her Riot! that’s okay because we’re not done yet. April 2025 was only the first installment, and there are more voices to be heard. I’m planning for Her Riot to become a quarterly event with the hopes of having the first Her Riot! Fest in 2026. If you are a femme-fronted band or a vendor curated towards women, get in touch with us at Feel Alive Media + Events to be a part of a femme movement.
*All photos by Rian Nickels Photography
To learn more about the bands featured in this showcase, just hit one of the links below:
Abby and the Arsonists | Spotify
Abby and the Arsonists - Apple Music
Questions or comments? Reach out to us at mixedalternativemag@gmail.com.