Help me find more female singers and bands
I want to expand my playlist, do you have any recommendations?
Some of my current favorites include Kiki Rockwell, Shara Nova (My Brightest Diamond,) Jesca Hoop, Mirah, Feist and Rising Appalachia.
Edit: There are too many of you to thank individually, so just know my list has expanded drastically and you're all appreciated.
73 replies
A few of my favorites across several genres:
The Birthday Massacre, Natalie Walker, Goldfrapp, Metric, Barrie, Cinetrope, Lights, Men I Trust, Eisley, Rachael Yamagata, Switchblade Symphony, Morcheeba, Shiny Toy Guns (M/F leads), Sneaker Pimps, The Marías, The Jezabels, A Fine Frenzy, Emilíana Torrini, Clairo, Xandria
Oh I have a track of theirs in my "liked" list! I'll have to dive into more of their stuff :)
I already have a few of these, I'm looking forward to trying the rest, thanks!
Oh I adore a female led band or group! Most of this is punk or indie
I've got more but don't want to drone on haha. I am always down for convos about music!
I haven't heard of any of these. Super looking forward to some new music. By all means, list more!
Oh I think you'll particularly enjoy Amyl and The Sniffers. That's where I would start :)
Here are some more from my archives:
OK you got even more bangers in here. I like you.
Lady! You’re making me fall in love with you all over again (in a total platonic way) lol
All those bands kick so much fucking ass and Vagina Police rocks so hard, one of my favorites. I’ve heard a few of the ones on your list, but I’ll be making notes of others so I can set them up on my mp3 player.
Also, for OP, there is an Apple Music playlist called Riot Grrl that has some really good women’s punk bands. Quite a few that the lovely Velma listed are on it, but a few others too. If you don’t have access, I can see about writing down the band names for you.
The amount of times I've yell-sung at the top of my lungs "V A G I N AAAA P O L I C EEEEE" is almost embarrassing to admit hahaha
Riot grrrl music changed my life as a teenager! I love that you know most of these bands, too, you're so freaking COOL hahaha
Bwahahahahaha I once drove into the grocery store parking lot, windows down, singing as L O U D as possible
V A G I N AAAAA P O L I C EEEEEE
such a fucking kick ass song!
More punk / indie / rock
Ohh thank you!! I've been meaning to check out more die spitz and I haven't heard of the others.
Saw them in my city recently and they were sooo good. Maybe not the wildest band on record, but they tore the house down live.
You just listed most of my go to playlist
Hell yeah :)
paramore, olivia rodrigo, and avril lavigne are my faves :)
I fogot about paramore, thanks for reminding me.
If you like Paramore you may want to check out Hayley Williams' solo work as well. I enjoyed her album from last year, "Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party."
Pop punk is such a fun vibe
How do you feel about metal?
And a few other assorted genres
more metal:
math rock:
Thanks for bringing some metal to the party!!
Hell yes, I forgot some of these from my metal phase, thanks for helping me rediscover old favourites.
Jinjer
Arch Enemy
Crypta
Cage Fight
It may not be your thing, but Agnes Obel is one of my favourites. This is one of her best tracks IMO.
https://youtu.be/32kYH6XZrIo?is=H33ZzrvXOAekt0Br
Added to my list. I loved it, thank you.
Do you know Asarhaddon? You might really enjoy them!
Artists from my "Villain Era" playlist:
Other mentions with a somewhat different vibe:
Ashnikko is such good angry music lol
I've been obsessed with them for a while now, so good to blast in the car with the windows down, singing along
I’ve heard some concerning things about the new Linkin Park singer. Namely her involvement with Danny Masterson and Scientology. Has there been any good updates on those scandals from when she was first announced?
She denounced her own support of the dude as something she regretted and said she supported the victims. As for Scientology, she has never addressed it publically and judging by the way things work in Scientology, I'm happy to give her a pass on that one. They're not a forgiving bunch, let's just say.
The biggest turn-off for me was the Danny Masterson support. Thanks for letting me know she's distanced herself from that!
I only know about what's on her Wikipedia page. No clear if she distanced herself from Scientology and Masterson...
Some indie rock:
Scrolled to make sure someone mentioned The Beaches because they’re amazing.
This isn't going to be super strongly thematic or focused on a specific genre, but here's what I've been listening to lately.
Bands will be listed, along with the specific album I've been listening to in parenthesis, in case you need a place to start.
I normally wouldn't post in this comm but I have artists to mention that I don't think I've seen
All over the place but all great, there probably more I'm forgetting about too
Edit: Oh fuck 2 important misses, DakhaBrakha and Coco Rosie
It's sweet of you to post the list, but you should have kept up with not posting here. It does specifically say "Women only..." not "Women only ... unless you think it's important for women to hear."
On mobile, but here's a few big ones:
Popular (I'd argue mainstream) I've not seen mentioned:
Florence and the Machine (no one mentioned her yet? Similar style to Fiest)
St. Vincent (again, pretty well known. Won a Grammy in 2025)
Brandi Carlisle (more folk/country. I enjoy her collaborations more than her solo stuff)
Semi-popular:
Lucious (female duo vocals)
Suki Waterhouse
+1 for The Beaches
Edit to add:
Jenny Lewis
The Kills
Here's a mix of some ones I found recently:
More:
The Cranberries
Amy Macdonald
Off the top of my head since Im not at home, in no particular order:
Deathbyromy Vukovi Icon for hire Bludnymph TRiDENT Halflives Demondice Alt blk era Sophie powers Lilisthatyou FKA rayne Ennaria Vana Mothica Zand Bodyimage
Im definitely forgetting some that i really like, but i almost exclusively listen to women lead vocals. Feels wrong to say but its what i enjoy.
Similar-ish taste to me! I also enjoy Ashnikko, Delilah Bon (currently playing with Romy!), Snow Wife, Ehle and Aston who all exist on one of my playlists with some artists you listed
Nice i like ashnikko and deliliah bon too. Ill have to check the others out
Just wanted to say you aren't alone! No shame in enjoying what you enjoy
I haven't heard of many of these, I'm going to poke around these suggestions for sure. Thanks!
Are you into alt/goth bands? I've found some you likely haven't heard of
Absolutely, I'm into all genres.
Some of these you likely know. Try Poppy, Emily Jeffri, melancholic crossroads, Deliah Bon and Lauren Saunderson and Dana Jean Pheonix. Be aware Deliah Bon most famous song is about rape so it may be triggering.
The Beaches
I know none of the bands you mentionned 😅 but personally I would say : Delain, Battle Beast, In this Moment, Arch-Enemy
(All metal or metal-adjacent)
some electronic:
Lords of Acid (F/M leads)
Bjork is lovely of course
Michelle Adamson
Kate Bush
Laurie Spigel
Valentina Moretti
Janelle Monae
D. Tiffany
Maiia303
Ellen Allien
thought of a few more :)
Not sure your genre, but I've got:
The Warning
Butcher Babies
Concrete Castles (and First to Eleven)
Chvrches
Pvris
In no particular order:
The Hush Sound
Ani DiFranco
Ingrid Michaelson
Ida (band)
First Day Back
Stereosity
Lisa Hannigan
Rainer Maria
Wednesday
Appalachian Terrir Unit is a crust punk band that fucking rules and has a woman on vocals
Not quite as folk / acoustic than what you listed, but here are some albums that you could like (I guess 😁) :
Aww, definitely going to bookmark this thread.
I've completely fallen for Chelsea Wolfe last year. Also enjoying Portishead, Darkher and Emma Ruth Rundle a lot lately.
Oh yes, I am melancholic occasionally, how did you know?
Edit: Eeeeeek, Kiki Rockwell is soooo cool!
I like AViVA and Ado in general, and have liked some of Sasha Alex Sloan's songs (like Matter To You and Hypochondriac).
A Sound Of Thunder, Platinum Elite, Unleash The Archers, Graveshadow, Solas
VIAL is good :)
edit: actually i think one of the three members is non binary, but I highly recommend it anyways!!
(Not all bands are always female vocals) -Indy/punk- Pity sex, Tigers jaw, Lemuria, Hop along, War on women, G.L.O.S.S, The last dinner party, Expert timing,
-Pop- Wild ones, The beaches
-Ska- Dance hall crashers, Save Farris
That’s all i can come up with for now, I’m sure I’m forgetting a bunch. Usually you only need a few bands to find more of a sound you like. (Edit:formatting)
Hop Along - Tibetan Pop Stars is one of my very favorite songs of all time <3
I would say they have a very unique sound. I cant remember if i got to see them live or not, 10 Years of fest blend together.
Try some Japanese music!
Amazing thread! A few I have not yet seen mentioned:
Flock of Dimes! (Jenn Wasner)
Brutus
I've never heard of the favourites you've mentioned, so I'm going to have to fly blind here. I'm just going to go alphabetically over my music folder and see what pops out. I'll try to identify genre as I go (though you might spot a pattern...). Every one of these is either female-fronted or all-female.
I know there's a lot of metal in that list. This is not actually a reflection of my overall tastes, just that with harder music I prefer female vocals. :D Also, it's easy to find metal to Jolly Roger than it is some other genres I would LOVE to collect.
Listening to your favorites, the only ones I can think of with similar vibes are Zee Avi and maybe the Suckerpunch soundtrack, but honestly I don't think they match all that well. It's like a genre of music I'm not at all familiar with.
I'm more into (alt) rock, which is why I'd recommend Nico Vega, Meg Myers, or Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, just to list some more names I haven't seen yet. Alice Merton leans a little more pop I think, and Rebecca Black (yes, best known for Friday) much more so.
Red Hook for punk/metal
King woman for goth/industrial
A few Spanish goups, either all women, or with female vocalists...indie rock vibes Los Punsetes Las Odio Ginebras