The DJ Takeover sponsored by Level Up is a program for listeners to discover their favorite artist's favorite artists, working to foster connection to the music and makers inside and outside our city. For the entire hour, we go down the rabbit hole of stories from their past, experiences of the present and goals for the future.
Bitch Creek, a local band of five queer femme musicians, get their inspiration from the artists they see themselves in. As a group creating music in the male-dominated folk genre, they say it’s singer-songwriters like Lucinda Williams, Adrienne Lenker and The Local Honeys who enable Bitch Creek to honor their own experiences and identities through music.
“ Honestly, one of the biggest, hardest things to get over was just sitting alone with my guitar with the intention to write and saying out loud what I wanted to say,” the band’s Liv Weiss said. “Like, ‘No one wants to listen to this.’ But then you find that if you’re speaking from a true and honest place, someone else will feel that, too.
“I do think queerness is a huge part of who I am because of my experiences and how that's made me. … I try to write as honest and true to myself as I can.”
When Bitch Creek first formed, they were without a bassist. As they looked to fill that role, it was important to find a queer femme musician who would also maintain the integrity of their identity as a band. It wasn’t about exclusivity, but rather honoring each of their individual experiences through the sound they create.
The bass player they found, Helen Bozic, nicely summarized the reasoning behind that philosophy: “ Understanding how long folk music has been around compared to how long the folk scene's been queer … there's quite the discrepancy.”
Recently, the band shared a lineup with Canadian femme duo Mama’s Broke and queer trans musician Creek Bed Carter, strengthening the solidarity Bitch Creek feel playing alongside other artists challenging the norm of folk music and changing the game in the process.
“Playing shows like that makes everything make sense,” Weiss said. “It's just like we gotta keep doing what we're doing to keep this on a roll.”
Bitch Creek released their self-titled EP this past April and will play at Anodyne Coffee in Walker’s Point this Tuesday, June 16, with The Devil Said Jump, Blood Roots and Maximiano. They also have a Riverwest backyard show two days later on June 18 with Summoning Circle. For more on all the band’s activities, follow them on Instagram.
DJ Takeover: Bitch Creek playlist
- Bitch Creek, “Cicada”
- Big Thief, “Cattails (Live at the Bunker Studio)”
- Holy Locust, “Dead Wake”
- Lucinda Williams, “Drunken Angel”
- Mama’s Broke, “Dirty Mattresses”
- Sundown Songs, “Washington Rain”
- The Local Honeys, “Cigarette Trees”
- Ola Belle Reed, “Over Yonder in the Graveyard”
- J.R. Wesley, “Indiana”
