Soundtracking a journey through time alongside the iconic women who made their name in the rock scene, Reine Beau takes you on a musical journey that’s enlightening, heartwarming and thoroughly captivating from start to finish.
Taking you through the stories of each remarkable woman who changed the rock landscape and why their legacies should still mean so much, Reine flawlessly embodies each icon with flair.
Wasting no time, she stage dived straight into Joan Jett’s ‘Bad Reputation’, and it was instantly clear the audience was in for a treat. With Reine’s powerhouse performance, the tight precision of The Night Owl Band, and engaging crowd interaction from the very first note, the energy was instantly electric.
Did you know the woman who arguably started it all and laid the foundations for women in rock was Sister Rosetta Tharpe? A gospel church singer from the age of six, she was among one of the first women to grab an electronic guitar in the 1930s. A trailblazer in music, yet to my shame, a name I’d never heard before and would instantly be researching after the show.
Janis Joplin, a name we all know, and one who is most widely recognised as the most famous female in rock, rising to stardom in the 1960s and posthumously being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. But what about Suzi Quatro? Storming the 1970s with a powerhouse solo career and her work with The Pleasure Seekers?
Before each song, a quote and image of the rock goddess in question appears on a giant screen behind the band which helps set the tone before the next song as one by one, Reine and her band bring each legend into the spotlight, flawlessly performing and embodying every icon, from Stevie Nicks to Pat Benatar, as if they were sharing the very same stage.
This show isn’t just performance-led, it’s also packed with fascinating facts about rock’s iconic women. We learn how Tina Turner went viral at the age of 41, while the crowd were on their feet for ‘Proud Mary’, and who knew whilst belting out Patti Smith’s famed anthem ‘Because the Night’ that it was written by her and Bruce Springsteen?
I left this show not just with a huge smile, but with a sense of awe, wonder, and deep respect for the women who laid the foundations of rock and roll.
Not only those in the past, but tonight for Reine Beau, who fronted the night flawlessly and delivered each song as if it were her own. And you’d believe it, too.
Nearly a century on, a glance at any 2025 festival poster shows that the fight for women in music is far from over. This show doesn’t just shine a light on the past, it reminds us how little things have changed and how vital it is to keep championing women in music and celebrating those who continue to break down boundaries in the scene.
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Women of Rock runs at theSpace at Surgeons’ Hall Grand Theatre at 18:40 until August 23rd.
Main Image:@lifewithaview