Gallery: Females in Focus 2025 by Michelle Pitiris

ALEKSIAH

“I see hopefully a lot more opportunities for different women in the music industry. I am so grateful to be given the spotlight and the opportunities that I have been given, it’s my dream come true, but I know so many women who are women of colour, differently abled, who deserve the exact same opportunities and I don’t feel like we’re there yet. I really hope that that can be happening extremely soon because they are so unbelievably talented. I hope to leave a legacy of acceptance. When I was younger and writing my music and very nervous for people to hear it, the first thing that got told to me was ‘you’re never gonna have things happen to you just based on the way that you look,’ and that really screwed with my head for 10 years. I want the young singer-songwriters of the future to know that your appearance doesn’t mean anything — your talent and your songwriting should speak for you as that is the most important thing.”

Michelle Pitiris

ANGIE MCMAHON

“My vision for the future of females and non-binary people in the music industry is that we all can feel supported, and the systems and structures are there to keep us safe and protect us and empower us. The legacy that I’m trying to leave behind right now is an invitation to trust your body and trust the cycles of nature and your instincts to guide you forward and not have to follow capitalist corporate rules to make art.”

Michelle Pitiris

ANNIE HAMILTON

“My vision for the future of women in the music industry is that women can just do their thing, make the art they want to make, say whatever they want to say, wear whatever the fuck they want to wear and be themselves, and not feel like they have to change themselves to conform into a standard of what the ‘music industry’ thinks is acceptable or desirable. And the legacy I would like to leave is to show women that there is no expiration date and it’s never too late to start making art and you’re not too old — just go for it. You don’t need permission to start, just start doing it and believe in yourself.”

Michelle Pitiris

BARKAA

“My vision for women in the music industry is where women are embraced and celebrated for who we are and we’re not just seen as females; we’re seen for the kick-ass artists that we are as women. And just to have space for us to be who we are where we don’t have to sexualise ourselves just to be palatable for the male gaze. The legacy that I want to leave behind for female artists is a Blak one, an unapologetic one, a radical one. I want my legacy to be left behind where people are still pumping my music even when I’m dead and gone.”

Michelle Pitiris

BECKAH AMANI

“My vision for the future of women in the music industry is one that is diverse, it is inclusive and that is bold.The legacy that I hope to leave is that you can do it your way, you can be yourself, you can tap into all your different sides of you and the music that you like, and that should be celebrated.”

Michelle Pitiris

HELEINA ZARA

“My vision is for women to feel comfortable in taking up space and to feel deserving of that space and not second guess themselves. I want my legacy to be for women to not feel pigeonholed and that they have the power to be whatever they want to be and to feel empowered in their authentic self.”

Michelle Pitiris

KAIIT

“My vision for the future of women in the music industry is ownership and pure autonomy over our bodies, over our creations. Over our songs, having ownership over our masters, being the owners of our labels. And I see a lot more women, a lot more femmes and gender non-conforming people as managers and creating our own teams. I also see a lot more undeniably safe spaces, for where we perform, who we’re interacting with. Especially for festivals and shows, I see a lot more intentional energy in coming to these spaces that aren’t so focused around alcohol as well. The legacy that I hope to leave for the next generation of women in music is representation. I hope that my work can be still viewed on whatever platform, and they can see the representation of it and see the people in the community that I very selectively chose to be a part of it, and to represent. So I hope that’s beautiful. And I also hope that my spirit and my kind heart is my legacy as well.”

Michelle Pitiris

MEG WASHINGTON

“My vision for the future of women in the music industry is seeing a new guard of legacy female artists in their fifties and sixties and above having solid, awesome careers. I hope to leave a legacy of change. I think that my career has been defined by a lot of really big changes, stylistically and across different genres. And I would like it if that could become normal.”

Michelle Pitiris

NYASSA

“I hope to see more women having their breakout moments like we’ve seen last year with Chappell Roan and Raye, who are artists who have been in the music industry for several years and are only just now getting the recognition they deserve. I hope to see more female artists having major success on their own terms. We have so much talent here in Australia, still waiting to be discovered by the rest of the whole world. The legacy I’d love to leave behind is that anything is possible if you believe in yourself.”

Michelle Pitiris

PHOEBE GO

“I hope to encourage more space to be made for women and non-binary people in the industry, to lead and to create. Through music and art, I hope to encourage us to be honest with ourselves and what we feel, and to actually feel those things that otherwise can be buried. I think music has a unique ability to give us relief and help us find beauty in the things that we otherwise bury.”

Michelle Pitiris

SIOBHAN COTCHIN

“My vision for the future is for women to continue to be included and celebrated in all areas of the music industry. Our voices are so powerful and have so much impact. I want us to continue to keep speaking out and being true to ourselves. In terms of my legacy, I just want to inspire the future generation to be authentic and unapologetically themselves. That’s what I strive to be as an artist and as a person as well. Just being true to myself. I just want the future generation to trust their gut and not care what anyone else thinks.”

Michelle Pitiris

Australia is positively bursting at the seams with talented women making world-class music in a dazzlingly diverse range of styles.

To celebrate the bold, vulnerable, honest, and boundary-pushing art they’re making — and to, of course, celebrate Women’s History Month — Rolling Stone AU/NZ photographed Barkaa, Meg Washington, Kaiit, Angie McMahon, and seven other local artists, asking them each two questions: what is their vision for the future of women in the music industry, and what is the legacy they’d like to leave behind for the female artists following in their footsteps.

Photography by Michelle Pitiris.