This is my daughter on stage with The Red Bricks, one of the bands formed at this year’s Girls Rock Glasgow summer school. She’s the one with arms aloft. Sorry about the picture quality, it’s from a video.

The concert is the culmination of the nine-day event during which girls aged 7 to 16 form bands, make merchandise and become even more kick-ass: in addition to the music content there are sessions on consent, on LGBT+ issues, on mindfulness and on body positivity.

It’s really inspiring and heartwarming to see so many girls and young women doing the kind of thing girls and young women are so often discouraged from doing: being seen and heard, expressing themselves and making a huge noise. While not every attendee will go on to be a musician I think every one of them will be positively affected by the experience.

Girls Rock doesn’t just run in Glasgow; it’s in cities throughout the UK and US. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Here’s a link to the Glasgow one so you can bookmark it for next year.