On January 1st 2022, the 66 Days to your Debut challenge was launched by Ruth Miller. The idea was that - with some coaching, mentoring and getting together with friends - non-musician women could start learning, writing songs and form bands. The aim was to play a debut gig on March 8th - International Women's Day - to showcase these amazing achievements. Some women joined in via Facebook and then went out to find opportunities in their local areas; a large group attended in-person workshop sessions at Leicester's Stayfree Music.
Ruth's principles are that you can create songs with very basic musical skills, and that learning to play alongside others in a band is so much more fun than learning individually. The project encourages women of all ages to have a go, and make sounds that please them, without getting hung up on conventional music standards. It's punk all over again, but the lyrics come from voices that are seldom heard in garage bands.
