America’s First FLINTA Festival

By Bella Gonzalez

Austin’s music scene is constantly shifting. Beneath the surface, a quieter revolution has been unfolding, led by femme and queer DJs.

At the heart of this movement is DJ Hip Stir, founder of BABEATX and creator of BABESTOCK.

What started as one woman searching for community has become a blueprint for building scenes from the ground up.

“I didn’t see what I needed, so I made it” - DJ Hipstir

From Hanoi to Austin: Finding Her Way Back to Community

Before Austin, there was Hanoi.

While living in Vietnam, DJ Hip Stir spotted a Facebook ad for @phothegirls, a femme DJ collective offering classes and a sense of community. 

“That first class changed everything,” she says. “I remember thinking, oh my god, I finally found it.”

It was there that she fell deeper into house, refining her sound alongside other Flintas—which stands for Fem, Lesbian, Intersex, Non-Binary, Trans, and Agender. 

An endearing term I have now added to my encyloqueerdia!

“She Touched My Hand”: Meeting Peggy Gou 

During DJ Hip Stir’s time in Vietnam, her favorite DJ: Peggy Gou, was headlining in Bangkok.

By the time she arrived, the air inside had already thickened—heat clinging to skin, bass vibrating through the floor like a second pulse. People stood shoulder to shoulder, waiting. Not talking, not moving much. Just waiting. The low hum of anticipation stretched tight, like the inhale before a scream.

For her, Peggy wasn’t just a DJ. She was proof. Proof that artistic freedom didn’t have to be negotiated or softened. 

DJ Hip Stir stood in the middle of the crowd, swallowed whole. Her chest tightened with it. 

Proof that a woman could stand at the center of it all…visible, undeniable, and in control.

Then Peggy stepped up to the decks.

The shift was palpable. Like a knot loosening the room’s spine.

Ocean!

Night!

Stars!

Song!

Moment!

As the speakers drew their first breaths

The crowd exhaled.

Shoulders dropped. Heads tilted back. Bodies softened, then began to move in tandem. A slow current forming, pulling everyone into its undertow. 

Peggy, feeling the energy from the crowd, leaned down from the booth, reaching beyond the barrier that separated icon from observer.

Her hand found Kelsea’s.

Skin met skin. Brief. Electric.

Not long enough to hold, but long enough to change something.

(Hip Stir's first DJ gig in Austin at an apartment rooftop in 2021)

“It sounds small,” she says, laughing. “But in that moment, it felt like she passed something to me.”

“It was like  ‘Oh. This is real. This is possible.’”

That moment stayed with her through every move, every doubt, every late-night planning session.

So when she moved to Hanoi in 2021 to Austin, she assumed she’d find something similar.

Instead, she found almost nothing.

“I kept looking. And it was just… crickets.”

She took it upon herself to bring some noise to the scene.

Building Babes From Scratch

( The very first Babestock team (2024) from left to right, back row: Hip Stir, Clink!, DJ Loa, Gabi Cerrato, Steph, Lauren Light, front row: Mia D, Golebahar)

She started researching every week. Digging through lineups, racking down artists and inviting them to a Discord server. Slowly, carefully, she built a network.

In 2022, DJ Hip Stir launched BABEATX, inspired by Pho The Girls. 

Calling Out Inequality and Creating Alternatives

One turning point came when DJ Hip Stir analyzed the 2022 lineup for Seismic Dance Event, one of Austin’s biggest EDM festivals. Nearly 80% of the artists were men.

She made a graphic. She posted it.

And the backlash was bold.

Venue owners pushed back. People made excuses, got defensive.

But it got the scene talking, and controversy turned into a conversation.

“It raised awareness,” she says. “And venues started wanting to be part of the change.”

DJ Hip Stir was charged by the moment and brought  BABESTOCK to life.

Now entering its third year, BABESTOCK is believed to be America’s first electronic festival fully centered on FLINTA artists. 

Now pause, did you read that? FIRST. 

Talk about pulling an uno-reserve on a scene currently dominated by machismo and, arguably, BO. 

BABESTOCK takes place every June at Cheer Up Charlie’s, a women-owned venue in Austin’s queer district. 

Seeing a pattern here? ✨

This is a festival:

• Organized 

• Booked 

• Performed 

• And supported by FLINTA engineers and staff

The vibe is unmistakable. You’ll see first-time DJs sharing stages with veterans. Strangers becoming collaborators.