‘Join the BOOBment’

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

The world could always use a little more Sideboob. The band featuring Katelyn and Laurie Shook, of Sandpoint’s own Shook Twins, is one part side project, one part ’90s pop cover band, one part female empowerment project and a lot of sparkly fun. The group will play a special Halloween-themed dance party show at The Hive on Saturday, Nov. 1, starting at 9 p.m. with tickets available for $25 in advance or $30 the day of the show.

Sideboob performing live. Courtesy photo.

The group’s origins are almost as fascinating as their costumes. The Shook Twins were regulars at the Northwest String Summit, in North Plains, Ore.; but, in 2015, the event only booked a total of five women.

“So, Mimi Naja of Fruition, had the thought of having a little after-hours gal jam and she coined the term ‘Sideboob,’” Katelyn told the Reader.

The band included Naja, both Shook Twins, Allie Kral from Yonder Mountain String Band, Bridget and Bonnie of Elephant Revival, and Kat Fountain.

“After that jam, we decided to encourage the festival promoters to book us a set the next year,” Katelyn said. “We drew such a huge crowd that we proved that people do want to see women play together!”

In 2019, Sideboob headlined the main stage and invited 36 women to join the performance.

“That was the first time in 18 years that String Summit had ever booked a female-fronted band for a headlining set,” Katelyn said.

Since then, Sideboob has used its platform to not only play pop covers from the ’90s, but promote female-led bands in an industry where men still outnumber women on stage.

“The BOOBment is all about empowering women,” Katelyn said. “We’re not just a cover band! Sure, we do only play covers, but they are only songs by females and only women playing them on stage.”

Each show, Sideboob reaches out to every woman booked within bands that the Shook Twins played festivals with, inviting them to guest star with Sideboob on stage. When they play Halloween shows, which are extra sparkly and filled with dance numbers, Sideboob reaches out to local women in bands to join on stage.

The core members of Sideboob have changed over the years, but the lineup now includes Katelyn and Laurie Shook, as well as Megan Letts of Mama Magnolia as lead vocalists, Kat Fountain, Liz Chibucos, Carmen Paradise and Andy Murphy rounding out the core band members. Local Sandpoint guests invited to play on stage at The Hive show will be Keely Gray, Alex Cope, Meg Turner, Sarah Edmonds, Cadie Archer and Kristy Osmunson — all females who either play music in or are from Sandpoint.

Sideboob’s set list always includes those popular female-led songs that everyone in the audience will know all the words to.

“We’re talking Paula Abdul, Mariah Carey, the Cranberries, Cher and Spice Girls to name a few,” said Katelyn. “We try to learn a new setlist every year. … These are the songs and artists that we millennials grew up on and inspired us to want to be singers/musicians in the first place. Plus, it’s just so much fun to have everyone in the crowd belting the lyrics at us (even the guys) since ’90s music lives deep in all of our brains.”

While Sideboob shows are about empowerment, they’re first and foremost about fun. The members dress in sparkly gowns and costumes, encouraging anyone attending the show to “dress in ‘90s sparkly attire.”

Come down and “join the BOOBment,” with Sideboob at The Hive. Purchase tickets at livefromthehive.com while they last.