Yel Menró Brings Ladies Night Home to Spokane

Spokane is about to experience Ladies Night live and in full color.

Fresh off the release of her new EP Ladies Night, Yel Menró is set to headline her first Spokane show with Ladies Night: After Dark on September 27.

This show is a milestone performance that blends celebration, collaboration, and a bold vision for what the city’s music scene can be.

The EP itself lays the groundwork: a collection of fun, sexy, vibey tracks inspired by the rituals of a night out, from getting ready with friends to hitting the dance floor. Translating that sound into a live setting, Yel aims to turn the stage into an immersive experience that mirrors those highs. Sometimes the best parts of the night are the moments you spend getting ready with your best friends, music blasting, and really celebrating what girlhood is. Everyone knows what a true ladies night feels like - and Yel hopes to bring that to life not just with her music but with the live show as well.

What makes the show stand out is its lineup. Ladies Night: After Dark is built around an all-female bill, a rarity in Spokane, and extends the collaborative spirit that shaped the EP’s creation. From the performers to the vendors, the night is designed to highlight women’s voices and presence in a scene where they are often underrepresented. The sheer power and creativity that lies within Spokane’s music scene should not go unnoticed, and Yel is creating a space where it will not only be recognized and celebrated, but to continue on with her music and shows, and anyone else that should find themselves inspired by it.

For Yel, the show is also a homecoming. After time spent out of state honing her craft and learning how to navigate the industry, returning to Spokane with her biggest project yet is a full-circle moment. It represents growth, resilience, and the chance to set a new bar for live music in the city. Though we are small on the map, music knows no bounds.

More than just a release show, Ladies Night: After Dark is positioned as a cultural marker. It’s an opportunity to create a night people will remember, to elevate the visibility of female artists, and to carve out space for collaboration and community within Spokane’s music scene. Yel is setting the bar for what live shows can be here in Spokane - no matter the venue, genre, or vibe, the connections we can make and collaborate on can create the best energy and have people wanting more when they head home after a night out.

With Ladies Night already out in the world and momentum building around this upcoming performance, Yel Menró is entering a new chapter. One defined by bigger stages, stronger collaborations, and a sound that continues to evolve.

For Spokane, September 27 is more than just a concert; it’s a statement about where the city’s scene is heading and who’s helping lead the way.

Get tickets for Ladies Night: After Dark here (September 27 at Placeholder Studios in Spokane, WA) featuring an all female lineup including: Jaeda, Dria the Gr8, DJ Lex, & more!

And stream her new EP Ladies Night!

Here’s to the nights we’ll always remember and the music that makes it.

The Stories We Carry: Vikki Gilmore on Family, Memory, and “Getting Old”

Independent since day one, Gilmore has been writing her life into music for nearly a decade. Her latest single captures both her growth as an artist and her roots in family storytelling.

In the indie folk world, some songs feel less like recordings and more like conversations you might have with an old friend: quiet, tender, and raw - reminders of humanity, and storytelling that moves. Montreal-based artist Vikki Gilmore writes songs that reflect that throughout. For nearly a decade, she’s been honing her craft as a storyteller, weaving together reflections on love, identity, and growth with the kind of lyrical impact that lingers long after the last note. 

The cover image to Getting Old, which features Vikki's grandmother in her youth

Her latest single, “Getting Old,” is one of those songs that makes you reflect, and feel the emotion throughout your body. Built on understated instrumentation and heartfelt lyrics, it captures a moment of realization that feels universal: the sudden awareness that the people who raised us, guided us, and grounded us were once young themselves.

For Gilmore, that realization came through her relationship with her grandmother, a figure of strength in her family, but also, as she came to see, a woman who once had the same wide-open dreams, friendships, and uncertainties as any of us. It’s hard to think about yourself and what you’ll be doing in 60 years, and it’s harder to reflect on the fact that the elders in our lives once thought similarly. We talked about the fact that our grandmothers were also just girls in their 20’s.

“I love my grandma. She’s the most incredible woman in the world,” Gilmore said during our conversation. That love radiates through “Getting Old,” which she describes as both a tribute and a meditation on the passage of time. It’s a song about family, yes,  but also about perspective, identity, and how we see ourselves at different stages of life. That signs of aging, the stories we gain, and the experiences we will pass down is never a burden, but a gift we carry with us each day. 

A Tribute in Song

Gilmore’s grandmother worked as a surgical nurse, raised six children, and built a lasting partnership with Vikki’s grandfather. To Vikki, she’s always been the family’s anchor. But in recent years, her grandmother began sharing more stories from her youth, often sparked by photos tucked away in old albums: snapshots of college roommates laughing, afternoons spent sunbathing on a dorm deck, and glimpses of a young woman navigating independence. Just like the experiences Vikki, and every other young woman can attest to. Things we often don’t reflect on enough. 

“You’re just like, awesome, grandma - you were just a girl,” Gilmore recalled with a laugh. That realization became the emotional seed for “Getting Old.” It’s not only a portrait of her grandmother, but a reminder that we all carry within us the different versions of who we’ve been.

Keeping It Simple

Musically, Gilmore chose to keep “Getting Old” as bare and honest as possible. She recorded with a longtime collaborator, who encouraged her to let the lyrics breathe. A friend added pedal steel to lend the track a nostalgic glow, while soft piano lines round out the sound. The result is something warm, intimate, and timeless, like sitting in the corner of a living room, listening to a story being passed down.

“It feels like you’re singing in your living room,” she said. “That’s what I wanted with the production.”

The feeling shines through in production and lyric, and it reaches deep into emotions and heart. It’s reminiscent of warm summer days, looking at old photos, taking in the life you hope to lead. The song’s theme is honest, and super important in today's day in age - we all can take a step back and reflect and slow down. 

An Artist in Motion

For Gilmore, songwriting has always been a way of journaling. A process of untangling complex emotions and turning them into something shareable. Independent since the beginning, she’s taught herself every piece of the artist puzzle: writing, recording, video editing, and marketing. Over the past year, her persistence has begun to pay off with festival slots, support opportunities, and a growing presence in the indie folk community.

Gilmore explains that writing to her is a way of making sense of what she’s feeling - and hoping that it resonates with people in some way. 

And with “Getting Old,” it certainly does.

A Universal Message

The song arrives at a time when conversations around age often skew toward fear. Especially in such a digital age, we get to see glimpses of everyone's lives, which in turn comes with the pressure to look younger, to meet milestones by a certain time, to measure worth against numbers. Gilmore’s music offers a counterpoint: an embrace of aging, memory, and the stories that connect us across generations.

“I can’t even imagine being in my 90s, looking back at my 20s,” she reflected. Yet through her grandmother’s lens, she caught a glimpse of how those decades fold into one another, how the joy and struggles of youth eventually turn into cherished stories.

That’s the message at the heart of “Getting Old.” It’s not about loss or struggle, it’s about recognition. About honoring the fact that we are all, at every stage, still in the process of becoming.

As Vikki Gilmore continues to shape her career, she seems intent on creating songs that don’t just fill the air but linger in the heart. With “Getting Old,” she offers a piece of her family’s story and in doing so, invites us to reflect on our own.

You can find Getting Old wherever you stream your music, and follow Vikki Gilmore on her socials to stay up to date on new music, shows, and more!

Bumbershoot 2025: For the Fans, For the Northwest

We reeled in the summer this past Labor Day weekend in Seattle at the iconic Bumbershoot festival, celebrating 52 years of music, fashion, art, community, and all the people who make the Northwest scene so incredible. No signs of rain, plenty of sun, and back to back to back sets of incredible music made for a memorable weekend for all who showed out.

Indigo De Souza

The main stage - known as the Fountain stage - featured standout performances from Indigo De Souza, Say She She, Bright Eyes, Car Seat Headrest, and headliners Weezer to ring in day 1.

Weezer

Weezer fans showed up - some waiting at the main stage since doors opened. Waiting for the moment they took the stage and got the crowd on their feet, with a combination of songs across their entire discography, alongside their tried and true songs everyone knows and danced to.

Aurora

Day 2 brought in stellar performances from Bebe Stockwell, The Linda Lindas, Digable Planets (maybe one of our favorite sets), Jenelle Monae, and Aurora headlining to close out the festival.

Mural and Vera stages were also packed with incredibe talent and vibrant sets. We caught performances by Bibliotka, Amelia Day and The Cloves, Avery Cochrane, and The Jaws of Brooklyn at the Vera stage, inside the Vera Project. Each performace packed the room and filled the air with good vibes. Whether you were a fan or not, there's no doubt that you left the room adding each artist to your Spotify rotation.

Biblioteka

The Mural stage had standout performances from Kyle Dion, Scowl, Tank and the Bangas, Vika and The Velvets, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, and The Murder City Devils. Bob the Drag Queen closed out the stage with a fantastic DJ set filled with classic hits, colorful lighting, and high spirited banter.

Scowl

Of course, it wouldn't be Bumbershoot without the art, local vendors, fashion, Bumbermania, and Gravity Park! In between sets, no matter where you wander, there's a little bit of something for everyone across the Seattle Center's campus. Levity Arts showed off their incredible acrobatics, and even hosted workshops to join them in the fun. We also loved exploring the Fashion District, with vendors selling clothes, jewelry, haircuts, and more!

Levity Arts

Bumbershoot definitely delivered this year. A perfect festival to wrap up the summer season and enjoy the talented community we have here in the PNW.

Already dreaming about next years lineup!