..."For now, Echeverria notes, those running music labels in Madison are mostly white men.

“Way more female and non-binary musicians are hitting the stage and making music, but most of the behind-the-scenes [aspects of] music haven’t followed yet in terms of gender diversity,” Echeverria says. “From venue owners, [to] sound engineers and label and record company owners, white men are still largely shaping what music is chosen for distribution...”

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"It’s not just that the people on the stage are normally male. (It’s also) the producers, the songwriters, the engineers, the people who are running the record labels, the people who are running the venues," she said. "Those are all also incredibly male-dominated fields. They’re putting out a certain perspective, and it makes it harder for women to enter into different levels of the music scene..."

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"The club name, coined by Denman, is inspired by the type of guitar amp that she uses when she plays gigs. A half stack is not quite as loud as a full-stack amp, but if you put a microphone in front of it, the sound becomes powerful enough to fill any concert hall. The group’s first three meetings focused on networking, resource-sharing and musical collaboration. The founders plan to continue raising the profile of local non-male musicians, and hope some new musical projects will also emerge..."

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"One reason Half-Stack places so much emphasis on inclusive booking is that it’s not only advantageous to the music scene, but mandatory for a healthy community. A diverse bill yields a generally more interesting and worthwhile experience for everyone involved, and goes hand in hand with pushing the scene forward through sharing varied perspectives through creative expression. Most importantly, a diverse bill is essential to making everyone attending and listening feel welcome..."

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