This weekend we attended a few of the events at the Women in Music Festival located in Oakland, CA! The festival was started by two Bay Area women; Evangeline Elder and Carmena Woodward who were sick of the music industry being a boys club. This festival comprised of concerts, panels, conferences run and organized by women from all facets of the music industry. 

We heard from women that started their careers in radio, marketing, artist relations, writers and photographers. It was an incredible experience to see so many women lifting each other up while we can also all agree on this being a struggling industry to break into. 

  Three of our biggest takeaways: 

• Be the absolute smartest person in the room. That means reading EVERYTHING and always asking questions. Do not sit quiet in a meeting, always have something to say and make sure you are making every interaction a memorable experience. 
• Self care is essential. Work hard but know that if you work TOO HARD, you will end up in the hospital. Take a day off, a week off, take a hike, go on vacation. You are allowed to have time for yourself and only you know when your body needs a break. 
• Find your tribe. Find a tribe of mentors! A mentor is someone who has also chosen to be your mentor, you can't just decide someone is a mentor of yours unless they agree to it as well. This can be a group of women AND men who lift your spirits, tell you when you're great and help you along the way. Not the people who bring you down (no one needs that dramatic shit)

Overall, this was an incredible experience and we cannot wait to go next year! It also solidifies the fact that working in the music industry is right for us. We love it, we're not crazy when we complain about losing sleep and we're only going up from here. *It's cliché AF but we love it!*