In the spotlight for pride: Performers at gay pride celebrations around the country talk about why these festivals are important to them.Tracing roots back to the Stonewall riots Stonewall riots (June 28, 1969) Series of violent confrontations between police and gay rights activists in New York City. In response to the second raid in a week by police on the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar in Greenwich Village that had been selling liquor without a of 1969, the gay pride observance has become a festive summer ritual, from the dance-floor diva headliners and tuneful singer-songwriters onstage to the thumping bass lines audible for miles around. The talented musicians lined up to perform at pride events this summer should give revelers plenty of cause to celebrate. And as homophobia persists in communities and government institutions nationwide, many of these musicians say it's more important than ever to tap into the spirit of the Stonewall stone·wall v. stone·walled, stone·wall·ing, stone·walls v.intr. 1. Informal a. pioneers.--Sara Marcus ALBUQUERQUE: Ultra Nate Dance diva Ultra Nate has played so many pride events globally that she's "lost count!" she notes with a laugh. "It's always a great chance to support the gay community, which has been a great supporter of my music, and I hope they continue to make me a part of these events for a long time." She at least has June covered with Albuquerque Pride. "I plan to show them that I love and appreciate them as much as they've appreciated me through the years," she says. "It's a great feeling to see a crowd of people thoroughly enjoying your songs and live performance--there's a synergy in that relationship that transcends the moment."--Lawrence Ferber ATLANTA: Amy Ray Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964 in Decatur, Georgia, U.S.)[1], is a singer-songwriter and member of the Indigo Girls. Ray grew up in Decatur, and went on to begin college at Vanderbilt University. "Every show is a pride festival for us," quips Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They got their start in Atlanta as a regular act at The Little 5 Points Pub and were tangentially part of the Athens, Georgia college rock scene that included The B-52's, Pylon, R.E.M. . "But it's a really hard political time right now, so we were more proactive this year about making sure our tour schedule didn't conflict with pride." Despite Ray's despair about the political landscape, she still sees cause for celebration. "There's more of a dialogue in pop culture than there's ever been about being queer," she says, "and more dialogue about transgender transgender or transgendered adj. Transsexual. issues. It's to be celebrated that the movement has come this far."--S.M. BOSTON: Chezwick While Boston Pride will feature performers including disco diva Thelma Houston and electro-rock band Chezwick, the festival is scaling down its musical roster to make more space for political speakers such as Boston mayor Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (born December 27, 1942) is the mayor of Boston, Massachusetts, United States and the city's first Italian-American mayor. Biography Born in Readville, a part of Boston's Hyde Park neighborhood, Menino was educated at Chamberlayne Junior College (AA, . According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the festival's entertainment chair, Shannon Lank lank adj. lank·er, lank·est 1. Long and lean. See Synonyms at lean2. 2. Long, straight, and limp: lank and floppy hair. , "It's time It's Time was a successful political campaign run by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) under Gough Whitlam at the 1972 election in Australia. Campaigning on the perceived need for change after 23 years of conservative (Liberal Party of Australia) government, Labor put forward a to remind the community that even though we won a major battle with marriage [in Massachusetts], there are still other battles that need to be fought to achieve complete equality."--S.M. LOS ANGELES: Deborah Gibson "If I had to go through my formative years without being able to express fully who I was, I would definitely want parades, festivals, and celebrations once I was able to be myself and be around like-minded people," admits Deborah Gibson, who has performed at gay events and venues--including New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of City's legendary Dance on the Pier--since she was an electric youth of 16. As for her upcoming L.A. Pride appearance? "I might throw in a song or two about being who you are and not caring what other people think," she says. "But for the most part I want to take people back in time, do some of the oldies Oldies is a generic term commonly used to describe a radio format that usually concentrates on Top 40 music from the '50s, '60s and '70s. Oldies are typically from R&B, pop and rock music genres. , add to the celebratory aspects of the day, and show my continued support for the gay community."--L.F. MILWAUKEE: Tret TRET, weights and measures. An allowance made for the water or dust that may be mixed with any commodity. It differs from tare. (q.v.) Fure Singer-songwriter Tret Fure, a pioneering artist in womyn's music since the 1970s, has played at plenty of pride events in her career. But to her, this year feels different. A few months ago, just after Fure celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary with her partner, the state of Oregon (where she had been wed) voided void·ed adj. Heraldry Having the central area cut out or left vacant, leaving an outline or narrow border: a voided lozenge. her marriage, along with those of thousands of other same-sex couples. "It's a scary time," Fure says. "More than ever, we need pride celebrations to remind ourselves that we are not the evil that the religious right is trying to portray us as."--S.M. MINNEAPOLIS: Ari Gold "Doing pride festivals is a perfect match for what I do," says pop singer Ari Gold, "since I've made my being an out artist such an important part of my work." Gold is making the most of pride season this year, playing at events in Providence, R.I.; Boston; Minneapolis; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Rehoboth Beach, Del. "I do a few different types of shows, but there's definitely an energy during pride season that can't be matched," he says. "It's our time."--S.M. PROVIDENCE, R.I.: Namoli Brennet Arizona-based singer-songwriter Namoli Brennet sings about her transgender experience to mixed audiences all year round. But at pride performances--and she's playing at least four this June throughout the Northeast--her audience connects more viscerally. "The struggle with gender presentation is such a big part of being gay or lesbian," she says. "But transgender is probably 30 years behind where gay and lesbian issues are. People don't necessarily get it or know what it is, but they're coming around."--S.M. SAN FRANCISCO: San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is the second largest opera company in North America. It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881-1953). The Opening Night Gala of the San Francisco Opera is widely considered to be one of the most memorable events of the year for opera patrons. Divas and pride are by no means a new combination, but the formula will get a unique twist in San Francisco on June 25, when the city's world-class opera company takes the stage. The San Francisco Opera is no stranger to gay issues; in 1995 the company coproduced the world premiere of Harvey Milk, about the openly gay San Francisco city supervisor who was assassinated as·sas·si·nate tr.v. as·sas·si·nat·ed, as·sas·si·nat·ing, as·sas·si·nates 1. To murder (a prominent person) by surprise attack, as for political reasons. 2. in 1978. --S.M. TORONTO: Carole Pope and Rough Trade "A lot of people came out to a number 1 hit in Canada that I was singing about another woman," recalls lesbian Canadian musician Carole Pope. She's referring to 1980's "High School Confidential" by her new wave outfit, Rough Trade. Reuniting with Rough Trade band mate Kevan Staples, Pope will perform that ditty dit·ty n. pl. dit·ties A simple song. [Middle English dite, a literary composition, from Old French dite, from Latin dict and many other '80s tunes at Pride Toronto. Will politics also fit into the set? "I don't want to make it too political," she says. "I don't think we should forget politics, but we should definitely celebrate. It's our thing, our time. And there won't be any Republicans in Toronto!" Ah, Canada. --L.F. WASHINGTON, D.C.: Frenchie Davis Frenchie Davis, currently appearing in Rent on Broadway, considers gays capital to her career-so she's coming to the nation's capital to show her appreciation. "Before American Idol was ever on TV," says the second-season semifinalist, "or people knew who I was, my biggest supporters and fans were members of the gay community. Now that I've had a bit of success, I enjoy coming back to my original fan base." Davis, who attended D.C.'s Howard University, landed her first professional gigs at the local gay clubs, "so it's especially important to me to be performing at Capital Pride. I hope that people enjoy themselves, and I hope I contribute to that."--L.F. Heroic Paris? When you think about notable figures in the gay and lesbian community, certain names leap to mind: Larry Kramer. Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin. Paris Hilton? It must be so, since the hotel heiress--and star of House of Wax--and her mother, Kathy, have been chosen as grand marshals for Los Angeles's Christopher Street West Christopher Street West (CSW) is the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) Pride Parade and Festival held in June in West Hollywood, California, USA. Named after New York City's famed Christopher Street, the site of the Stonewall Rebellion. pride parade. But while both may be homo-friendly, one has to wonder what went on at the planning meeting where these two were chosen to lead one of the world's largest gay pride parades. Did the CSW CSW Commission on the Status of Women CSW Christian Solidarity Worldwide CSW Clinical Social Worker CSW College of the Southwest (New Mexico) CSW Cambridge SoundWorks (audio manufacturer) folks deliberately set out to make themselves and the parade look vapid? Or is L.A. Pride shrewdly counting on getting buckets of press coverage--like this item-through its attachment to 2005's overexposed o·ver·ex·pose tr.v. o·ver·ex·posed, o·ver·ex·pos·ing, o·ver·ex·pos·es 1. To expose too long or too much: Don't overexpose the children to television. 2. It Girl?--Alonso Duralde Black gay pride Once just a tiny subset of a much larger movement, black gay pride organizers now have their own coalition, the international Federation of Black Prides, which is currently overseeing two dozen black gay pride events in cities small and large around the world, drawing an estimated 200,000 total attendees this year. Washington, D.C.'s 15th annual event launched the black gay pride season in May, but these events are now happening or are still to come: Boston June 8-12 Memphis, Tenn. June 17-19 New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. June 21-26 Chicago July 1-4 Los Angeles July 1-4 Tampa, Fla. July 14-17 Charlotte, N.C. July 15-17 Detroit July 27-31 Toronto July 28-30 Pittsburgh July 29-31 Cleveland August 1-7 Indianapolis August 5-7 Jacksonville, Fla. August 5-7 Minneapolis August 11-14 St. Louis August 19-21 Oakland, Calif. August 16-21 San Diego August 27 Atlanta August 31-September 5 Dallas September 30 October 2 Jackson, Miss. October 6-9 Baltimore October 7-9 Nashville October 28-30 New Orleans November 26-28 |
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