Decibelle Festival features Miss Kittin, The Gits, Michelle Tea and more

[Above: Miss Kittin]

Running Sept. 23-27, the 2008 Decibelle Festival may have ditched its slightly squirm-worthy former moniker, Estrojam, but the five-day event’s goal of uniting women in the arts and highlighting their accomplishments remains firm.

Music is central to Decibelle, and this year's festival is no exception. Iconic Parisian electronic maven Miss Kittin, touring for the first time in five years on the strength of her recent Grace EP, headlines the femme-tastic festival and should stroke some nostalgia from the Chicago crowd for her past work with hometown electro/house legend Felix Da Housecat.
 
In its 6th year, the festival is featuring a male-fronted act for the first time: Brooklyn’s lush, bedroom dance pop wunderkind Plushgun. Infectious pop melodies burrow in a bed of lush synths and bouncy backbeats, ensuring that boys and girls alike will forget the barriers between the sexes and shake it as one human kind at the 23-year-old’s Funky Buddha Lounge set Tuesday.

Music may get the blood pumping at Decibelle, but it’s myriad other artistic disciplines shining the spotlight on what the ladies have on their resumes and in their collective back pockets. Kerri O’Kane’s revelatory rockumentary, The Gits, follows the captivating career and heartbreaking death of mesmerizing Gits frontwoman Mia Zapata, and debuts at Wicker Park’s Nightengale Theater on Friday.
 
On the textual front, acclaimed queer-rights feminist author Michelle Tea headlines Decibelle’s Literary Night at Andersonville’s Women And Children First bookstore Friday. Tea has famously addressed touchy subjects like prostitution, class, race, and abortion rights with panache and a flair for frank, personable discussion.

As in the past, Decibelle organizers have teamed up with a few worthy organizations to raise awareness about an issue affecting women today. Among this year’s beneficiaries are the Young Women’s Empowerment Project, which offers counseling and health services to women involved in the sex industry, and the FAIR Fund, a group educating young people about humanity issues like sex trafficking and sexual assault.
 
Through literature, film, music, and the age-old art of conversation, the Decibelle festival will once again bring together talented ladies and the women and men who appreciate them. For ticket information and a full schedule, visit Decibelle.org.

Related Links:
Initial Coachella 2007 Lineup Announced
Felix Da Housecat feat. Miss Kittin - "Madame Hollywood" on YouTube
The Gits movie trailer