No Tricks, All Treats: Reva Kelly’s GrrrlBands Rocks Local 506 with Halloween Showcase and the Nonprofit’s Empowering Mission
By Pamir Kiciman
While living in Austin, Texas, Reva Kelly participated in a community music program that changed her life. She found friendship, confidence, community, and a creative outlet she didn't realize she was missing. “I watched people who had never considered themselves musicians get on stage and absolutely shine,” she told The Carrborean. After moving back to North Carolina, with the Riot Grrrl movement also close to her heart, Kelly felt compelled to create something with the DIY spirit of amplifying women's voices, challenging expectations, and encouraging people to pick up instruments.
Kelly is the founder and director of GrrrlBands, which launched in Carrboro in 2025 and has grown into a community that supports one another, makes music, and takes up space together. “Our mission is to create an accessible and supportive community where women and gender expansive adults connect, build confidence, and find belonging through music,” Kelly explained. “Music is the vehicle, but community is the destination.”
GrrrlBands’ main program brings adults of all experience levels together to form bands, learn songs, rehearse weekly, and ultimately perform live at a local venue. Auditions and previous band experience aren’t required.
“It was important to me that GrrrlBands be a nonprofit. I wanted to build something rooted in community, where we could offer scholarships, sliding-scale opportunities, and eventually remove as many financial barriers to participation as possible,” Kelly pointed out.
Participants sign up for a band centered around a particular artist, such as Heart, Fiona Apple, or Rage Against the Machine. They spend eight weeks learning songs together before performing at the particular season's showcase. During the eight weeks, experienced musicians guide rehearsals and help participants develop their skills. The next showcase in this format is on December 6 at Cat’s Cradle (300 E Main St.).
During Halloween week, GrrrlBands had a spooky showcase at another landmark live music venue, Local 506 (506 W Franklin St., Chapel Hill). Five bands played songs such as “Pet Sematary” by the Ramones; “Witchy Woman” by the Eagles; “Thriller” by Michael Jackson; and “Psycho Killer” by the Talking Heads.
Speaking with some of the fans the GrrrlBands community has already cultivated, it quickly became apparent the crowd included parents, spouses, friends of band members, and fellow community musicians who weren’t playing the Halloween showcase. Couples and groups of friends danced throughout the night; costumes were more thoughtful than usual and some quite elaborate; the fun everyone was having and the support for the bands were palpable.
What was most impressive was the common thread that emerged in conversations with parents: Whether their children were 27 or 40, each found a creative outlet, a safe place to belong and emerge from a quiet, shy shell, gain confidence in self-expression and social interactions, and perhaps return to the instrument they abandoned for various reasons years ago.
This was echoed by Kelly: “I’ve watched people come in nervous, unsure of themselves, and sometimes convinced they aren't real musicians. Eight weeks later, they're on stage in front of a cheering audience doing something they never imagined they'd have the courage to do.”
Between rehearsals and after showcases, participants form friendships, start making music together outside the program, go to each other's shows, and build relationships across generations and backgrounds.
The Halloween showcase proved that these aren’t just aspirations. Bands like Crypt Kicker 7, Goddamnsel, and Velma announced future gigs and album releases. The show opened with Hexmoans, a band put together for the event, featuring Kelly, two Grrrlbands teachers (Crystal Bright and Thalia Jailene) and a supporting cast of community musicians.
“We've had members form their own bands through GrrrlBands, including groups that have gone on to write and perform original music,” Kelly concluded.
The space at 111 W Main St. is the heart of GrrrlBands. It's a rehearsal and community space, with two equipped rehearsal rooms and a gathering area where members can hang out, collaborate, and get to know each other. The best way to reach the nonprofit is through www.grrrlbands.org, or by emailing info@grrrlbands.org.
*Correction, 11/3: Comments appearing in the original version of this article and attributed to a musician in Operation Monster Rump were removed at their request.
This article was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
