Sat. March 10

Rock 'n' roll is not exactly an equal opportunity employer when it comes to gender, but rock bands aren't the all-male bastion they used to be. (Mostly.) Tina Weymouth was Talking Heads bassist in 1977 and that was a gas. England gave us all-female post-punk groups, the Au Pairs and the Slits. Before these acts, there was the Runaways, an all-girl band that might have been manufactured and packaged by Kim Fowley, but gained a certain notoriety nonetheless - for nothing if not the salacious come-on of "Cherry Bomb." It spawned, most notably, Joan Jett (who still plays "Cherry Bomb") and less notably Cherrie Curry and Lita Ford. Before the Runaways, there was Fanny, which was the first all-girl band to release a full length CD on a major label. David Bowie, for one, loved 'em - calling them "colossal" and "wonderful." Fanny, which has a boxed set on Rhino, is to be honored by ROCKRGRL with a "Women of Valor" award at Berklee Performance Center on April 20. (There were more than a few Fanny lineups, so we're not sure who's showing.) Leading up to that: Berklee's two-night Battle of the All-Female Bands, which concludes Saturday March 10. They're free, they start at 9:45 and take palce at the Berklee Cafe. On Saturday, it's ANMA, Aurora, Le Bon Pur, Alia and (in photo) Zili Misik. (The bands, each featuring students of alumnae of the college, play in the order listed and each set is 20 minutes.) We have no idea what kind of quality you're getting but if you're curious, the price is right and you never know. (The finals take place at the Middle East April 7 at 1 p.m.) The winner plays with Fanny at BPC.

150 Massachusetts Ave., 617-747-2004 berklee.edu