In just two years, Galway’s Shark School have already cemented themselves as a mainstay of the Irish scene. As well as performing at festivals across the country and supporting celebrated Irish acts – including NewDad and Elaine Malone – they’ve also curated a female-centred line-up for Femme Fest at the Róisín Dubh.

Their garage-rock sound translates wonderfully to the stage, where the band are at their most anarchic. Centring on the songwriting of frontwoman Nora Staunton and bassist Peggy Forde, the Sharks have rapidly gained a devoted following, crafting a collection of gritty, grunge-infused punk tracks with vibrant pop undertones

Recovering from a whirlwind year, Nora and Peggy are still in disbelief at how far they’ve come.

“Everything we’ve done has been absolutely surreal,” Nora reflects. “To the point where I’m just like, ‘What the heck?’ From supporting Pillow Queens and Elaine Malone to everything else, I just can’t believe it. I think someone must have fed me LSD and put me in a simulation because none of this feels real.”

Fresh from their second, sold-out edition of Femme Fest, Nora and Peggy are still reeling from the electrifying night when they call into Hot Press.

“It was the best day ever, and everything we wanted it to be,” Nora tells me. “Since me and Peggy met, we were always talking about how sick we are of every single gig having a male-centred line-up. It’s exhausting and discouraging to see that every time you go to a show. So we were always dreaming of doing something like this to hopefully inspire more bands, so that we can keep doing it over and over again.”

 

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In an industry that still struggles with gender equality, the female-fronted rock band decided to take matters into their own hands with Femme Fest. The impetus for the festival stemmed from their experiences on the live circuit.

“I’m very torn on it, because right now, there are so many badass female and queer artists and bands that are absolutely rocking it,” says Peggy. “But when you boil it down to a more localised level, there’s still a lack of equality. I love all these really big female bands and they’re doing so much for smaller bands.

“But I think it’s easy to look at them and think they represent the entire scene. The smaller-scale acts still suffer, even when it comes to how you’re treated by sound techs at gigs and in green rooms. It still feels a bit under where it should be.”

As far as mission statements go, the intention behind Femme Fest is creating a place of inclusivity.

“I was more focused on the crowd than getting the bands onboard,” Nora recalls. “I was talking with a friend about this last week, where I asked her what she thought about men being at Femme Fest, and she said they shouldn’t have been there. In my view, they should be, because the only way we can make everything equal is to not exclude people on account of their gender.

“Eventually, we’ll all just go to an inclusive gig and it won’t have to be Femme Fest. It won’t have to be all girls, it will just be a gig where we all feel safe. That’s the mission statement. It might take 10,000 years to do it, but that’s the future we need to see.”

As for the next year, Shark School are very ambitious.

“We have a to-do list for 2025 and only one thing on it,” Nora winks. “World domination”.