Founded only two short years ago, Girls Who Rock is an annual concert in NYC that aims to bring together the strongest voices in technology, entertainment, and design to advocate and fund-raise for girls’ education worldwide. On Friday night, the group staged said concert at the Gramercy Theatre with proceeds from this year’s event benefiting She’s the First, a not-for-profit that focuses specifically on educating girls in the developing world.

Among the artists who performed were up-and-comers KimberlyNichole, Nikki Jean, and Eddy. Of the three newcomers, I was most impressed by KimberlyNichole, who opened with a rousing cover of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” and closed with inspiring take on Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana.” Still, Jean showed a certain penchant for songwriting that has pique my interest for her debut record, which is set for released on July 12th, and Eddy was like a ball of energy up on stage.

More seasoned performers Nina Sky and JoJo rounded out the lineup. I spoke with Nina Sky before the show and the sisters revealed that they had only first heard about the event a mere week before it was scheduled to take place, but they made a point of signing up. JoJo, however, has been involved with the organization for a while now, which was evident from her effusive praise for the event and its organizers. Both artists’ sets were great but, the night belonged to JoJo, who blew the roof off with her four song set. Down below I’ve embedded video footage of the 20-year old performing her new single “Jumping Trains” and a PSA she recorded for She’s the First. Anyone interested in donating to the charity can do so by visiting THIS LINK.

http://vimeo.com/13083615