Cork's first ever Ladyfest to be held this weekend in venues throughout Cork city is set to celebrate the impressive array of female talent in the world of music, art and much more writes Síle Cleary.

Ladyfests are a global phenomenon that have been happening since the year 2000. They have taken place in cities all over the world and while each one happens independently they all have one thing in common. They are, in essence, festivals that are organised from the ground up by a group of women who want to create a platform for female voices that would otherwise go unheard. Ladyfest Cork was conceived last April by a group of women interested in doing something positive, alternative and female orientated. "If you look at this years Oxegen festival, as with all mainstream music festivals, the headlining bands are 99% male. This is so frustrating since there are so many great women in bands out there!. The female performers seen in mainstream media generally subscribe to the whole sex kitten with a pair of lungs formula", say Ladyfest Cork.

Among the musicians that will grace the stage at Cyprus Avenue this weekend are The Suicidal Birds. The band are two girls (Jessie: vocals, guitar / Chay: bass guitar, vocals) from the northern province Friesland, in the Netherlands. The release of their debut album "Z-List" caused rave reviews in the Netherlands and UK. The band's rapidly established live-reputation also led to two invitations by Dinosaur Jr. to be their support in Holland and Belgium.

Armed with out-dated amps, (self made) pedals, drum machine, bass guitar, guitar and the elastic strong and moving voice of singer Jessie, they bring up a raging storm, drenched in the raw passion of the blues combined with the energy of punk emphasising the rough and readiness, that is so essential in Rock and Roll. The Suicidal Birds will hit the stage on Saturday, 26 April at 12.30pm.