ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Gritty in Pink, a national music platform dedicated to empowering women in music, is bringing its first-ever Pennsylvania show to Allentown on Tuesday, June 10.
The “Warped Warm-Up” concert will be held at The Arrow at Archer Music Hall as an official pre-party for the upcoming Warped Tour revival.
The event will feature Gritty in Pink’s house band performing Warped Tour-themed cover songs. Attendees can expect live renditions of songs by Paramore, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Linkin Park, Avril Lavigne and more.
The Vans Warped Tour is returning for its 30th anniversary this year, with three events in Washington, D.C.; Long Beach, California; and Orlando, Florida. The two-day festivals will feature lineups that include both veteran and emerging bands.
“It’s a Gritty in Pink Warped warm-up presented by Mad Hippie — an official pre-party for Warped Tour,” said Gritty in Pink founder Shira Yevin. “We’re so excited. It’s coming back after 30 years.”
This will be the first Gritty in Pink performance in the Lehigh Valley.
“We need help spreading the word — it’s a new market for us,” Yevin said. “But I went to Penn, so PA is close to my heart. I’m really excited to bring this show over there.”
Yevin is no stranger to the Warped Tour world. In the early 2000s, her band Shiragirl “crashed the male-dominated tour in a pink RV,” creating an all-female-fronted stage that featured artists like Paramore and Joan Jett early in their careers.
“That moment set me on a lifelong crusade to carve out space for women in music and other male-dominated industries,” she said.
That mission continued in 2020, when she founded Gritty in Pink in Los Angeles as a jam session series featuring top female musicians. The brand is now a national platform that includes InPink.com, a site where companies can hire women freelancers in the music industry.
Live Nation is a lead investor, and Warped Tour founder Kevin Lyman serves as a mentor and adviser to Yevin.
In addition to live music, the event includes a chance for fans to win guest list passes to Warped Tour in Washington, D.C., which is currently sold out.
“We’re giving away a pair of Warped Tour guest list tickets,” Yevin said. “We want someone from the show to win.”
The first 100 attendees through the door will receive free gift bags from Mad Hippie. Gritty in Pink also partnered with She Is The Music to host a Pennsylvania-based talent search for local performers to play at the event.
“Sweet Pill is a Philly band, and we’re excited to feature them,” Yevin said. “There’s really something for everyone here.”
Gritty in Pink will also host an on-site installation at this year’s Warped Tour events called the “Gritty Garage,” offering resources for women in music and artist meet-and-greets.
The June 10 event at The Arrow at Archer Music Hall begins at 7 p.m. Tickets are $31 each and are available to purchase online.