Lzzy Hale and Amy Lee are currently on tour together with their bands Halestorm and Evanescence sharing a co-headlining bill. The significance of two women-fronted bands on the road together and their recent successes on the rock charts isn’t lost on the two singers.
Hale and Lee touched on the topic in a new interview with Loudwire with Hale saying, “Both Amy and I have been absolutely ecstatic over the past couple of years to really see this genre that we love so much be represented by so many women. I remember just a few short years ago, I was usually the only girl on tour.”
Hale would add, “So the fact that there’s so many and we’re just taking over rock radio is a beautiful thing, and I feel like it was important to show these young girls like, ‘Hey, we did it, so don’t give up if this is what you want to do and if this is part of your journey — go for it.’”
Lee said, “It takes a lot to get to where Lzzy and I and The Pretty Reckless have gotten. It takes extra to get there when you look and sound different than the majority of the people around you — I think that’s fair to say.”
Lee would add, “[The industry + radio] is worried about risks, and I think that’s funny because most of the bands that they can’t stop playing 30 years later were completely different than anything that came on the radio at the time when they broke big. So I’ve always seen differences and uniqueness as strength, that’s something that’ll let you cut through the noise.”
Lee’s comments aren’t the first time she’s touched on the disparity of women on rock radio. She sounded off in an August 2020 Facebook post writing, in part, “Honestly, women DO get skipped over,” wrote Lee. “We DO get left out of the recap when it all boils down. It IS harder to make it onto the cover or the radio. Because our face is not the classic, quintessential face of rock…if you’re thinking of it as a literal face. I think it’s embedded subconsciously in our brains that women in rock are less authentic somehow, like we’re next gen. We’re part 2. Not the original. A niche little off-brand thing.”
She would also add, “But here’s the deal: The true heart of rock music is the spirit of REBELLION. Going against the grain. Challenging views, breaking society’s rules, and unapologetically being who you are. We’re supposed to be the moms, the girlfriends, the fans. But then there are those rogue dissenters who don’t fit the mold and don’t let that stop them from doing what they dream- and THAT is rock n roll!”
GALLERY: A Salute to the Women Performers in the Rock Hall
