The Babes of Bonnaroo

Among the impressive stars listed on the initial lineup for Bonnaroo 2007, you’ll find that there are a few female performers who stand out in the sea of song this year. What’s perhaps most interesting about these women is that they’re all quite different from one another, proving that there’s more than one way to be a female star in today’s music world.

One of my favorite performers showing up at 2007 Bonnaroo is U.K. pop singer Lily Allen who has taken the hyphy sounds from her trips to the Bay Area and upped their energy with unique sounds that simply scream out fun. Her Bonnaroo stage is sure to be surrounded by kids

In contrast, you’ve got Regina Spektor, another performer who takes the youthfulness of pop and alternative sounds and gives them maturity with sprinkles of classically-influenced sound. Like Lily Allen, she’ll be drawing people to the stage with her attention-getting voice, but unlike Lily, her music is more acoustic than electronic.

Drawing comparisons to both of the above performers but offering up a style all her own to the Bonnaroo set is Feist, the indie girl rocker who won awards for Let It Die and has now developed her sound more completely The Reminder.

And then there’s Gillian Welch who is no stranger to the music festival stage. Having won awards in the genres of folk, country, bluegrass and gospel, Welch has withstood the test of time and made a niche for herself as a strong female performer in the music scene.

These interesting chicks are not the only women who are going to be sharing their skills at Bonnaroo 2007 but they represent the diversity of what it can mean to be a female performer in today’s world. Bending the rules and crossing their genres, these women bring an energy to the Bonnaroo stage that the festival would be sorely lacking if they weren’t around. Check out the current lineup to see who else might catch your eye.