Meet Virtual Pride’s 2021 LGBTQIA+ Artist Lineup

The Queen of Bounce music, Big Freedia, a New Orleans-based hip-hop artist and worldwide ambassador of bounce music. After a series of cult hit singles during the mid 2000’s, she was tapped for a reality show, Big Freedia Bounces Back on Fuse TV. The docuseries followed the life of a choirboy turned bounce rapper and remains the highest rated original series on the network.

It was only a matter of time until Big Freedia caught the attention of iconic artists including Beyoncé and Drake. She was featured on both Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning single, “Formation” and Drake’s “Nice For What.” Big Freedia released the critically acclaimed album, ‘3rd Ward Bounce’ (which featured Lizzo among others) on Asylum Records in 2018. In the summer of 2019, the Queen of Bounce debuted her limited run ice cream flavor ‘Big Freedia’s Bouncin’ Beignets’ with the ice cream giant Ben & Jerry’s. She graced the cover of Billboard Magazine , and was invited by Vogue Magazine to be the official host of the Iive Instagram stream for the Met Gala. In October 2019, Big Freedia and multi-platinum pop artist Kesha released their new pop single “Raising Hell.” The song remains on the pop radio charts and the two performed the hit song on Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! Big Freedia’s latest single “Louder” from her forthcoming project dropped in November. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed memoir, Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva! on Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster.

Mary Lambert – In 2012, Mary Lambert was working three restaurant jobs when her life changed. An aspiring singer-songwriter, cellist, spoken word artist, and graduated with a Bachelors of Music Composition from Cornish College of the Arts, she had begun to establish herself around Seattle, performing slam poetry and fusing a talk-singing style into her intimate performances. She received a phone call from a friend who was working with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on their debut album, The Heist. Macklemore and Lewis were struggling to write a chorus for their new song, a marriage-equality anthem, called “Same Love”. Lambert had three hours to write the hook, and the result was the transcendent chorus to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ triple-platinum hit “Same Love,” which Lambert wrote from her vantage point of being both a Christian and a lesbian.

Writing and singing the hook led to two Grammy nominations for “Song Of The Year” and “Album Of The Year”, as well as the iconic performance alongside pop legend Madonna at the 2014 Grammys. Mary then signed with Capitol Records, where she released her debut album “Heart on My Sleeve” produced by Eric Rosse (Sara Bareilles, Tori Amos) and Benny Cassette (Kanye West). Her smash single, “Secrets” launched to No. 1 on the Billboard Dance charts, and was certified RIAA Gold in 2015. The New York Times called her debut album “refreshing and severely personal”.

Perfume Genius, known early as a poster-wraith for notorious, joyous, tortured and free boys, girls and their fellow travelers. The first two albums by Perfume Genius consisted largely of exquisite and cruelly abbreviated songs seemingly sung in the dark at a piano with all the silences left in. The most recent album, 2014’s Too Bright, stepped out saucily onto a bigger stage, expressing, with the production help of Adrian Utley, emotions arranged all along the slippery continuum from rage to irony to love. Now here we have seized the vocabulary of the full expression of all music.

mxmtoon – On her 2019 album the masquerade, 19-year-old singer/songwriter mxmtoon delivers what she calls "rhyming diary entries": an off-the-cuff account of her most private thoughts and feelings.On her latest offering dawn, the first of 2 EP's the be released this year, we see her embrace life with astounding clarity, pushing her sound further than ever before and embracing lush soundscapes and pulsing beats. It's body-moving music for the heart and soul, a soothing and intimate collection of songs inviting us further into mxmtoon's fascinating, quixotic sonic world.

Hosted by…

We’re also SO excited to have the amazing drag queen extraordinaire Betty Wetter act as the event’s hostess with the mostess! And the one and only Cookie Couture will be joining us for some fun, games, and surprises.

Artists you won’t want to miss!

We LOVE our music, and we love all other artists! You won’t want to miss these amazing LGTBQIA+ performances:

DJ dark_wiley – Markeith Wiley aka DJ dark_wiley is a multi-dimensional performing artist who started to Dj 5 or so years ago. Before pandemic they played these parties. Rapture at The Timbre Room, Legendary at Pony, The SAM Remix, Heels at The Cha Cha Lounge and Beauty Boys Go Boo! Their own night Dance Floor Feelings happens every 2nd Saturday at Vermillion and have been in rotation with Night Crush at Re-Bar.

Simone Pin - Simone Pin Productions is a Seattle based women of color owned production company, co-founded by Shadae Simone and Annya Pin. They are passionate about creating shows that include a diverse cast, and showcases the beauty, strength and sex appeal of performers of all shapes, sizes and ethnicities. They strongly believe in providing artists with a professional work environment where they can train, grow and feel valued. Their mission is to entertain and present our audience with an experience that is innovative, sexy and powerful.

Seattle Ladies Choir - The Seattle Ladies Choir is made up of 50+ members with varying musical experience, from shower singers to professional musicians. It is a non-audition choir that strives to provide a supportive community for members and to connect through music. The choir votes each season on a repertoire of contemporary, secular music in a wide range including rock, folk, and pop, and aims to perform at a professional level twice per year. The choir is open to all self-identified women, and adheres to practices that are inclusive, safe, and supportive, while embracing an eclectic core.

Registration is OPEN!
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