Bluegrass Pride, a Bay Area-based non-profit whose mission is to uplift LGBTQ+ musicians and creators in roots music, is proud to announce the second year of their immensely popular virtual festival and fundraising event, Porch Pride, which will take place all month long during June 2021. Over the course of Pride month, Porch Pride will feature performances by folks like Lavender Country, Rainbow Girls, Gangstagrass, Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, Jake Blount, Sunny War, and many more, plus a virtual Bluegrass Pride Brunch and open house, a beginner-friendly jam-along, and so much more. See a full schedule of events below.
In 2020, after the pandemic forced Bluegrass Pride to cancel their in-person, Pride Parade programming, the organization made the pivot online, hosting a two day livestream festival featuring upwards of 12 hours of music that raised more than $23,000 for the LGBTQ+ and allied artists on the lineup. This year, the Bluegrass Pride Board of Directors has expanded that two-day festival into a month-long event, kicking off on June 6th with Lavender Country Live with Bluegrass Pride hosted by critically acclaimed musician, scholar, and Bluegrass Pride board member Jake Blount. On the weekend of June 12, join BGP for their ever-popular, informal brunch gathering, open house, and information session – followed by a beginner-friendly jam-along featuring protest songs and movement music led by Nashville based queer singer-songwriter Luisa Lopez on June 13.
The final two weekends of Porch Pride 2021 will feature two virtual festivals. On June 19, BGP will partner with Brandi Pace and Decolonizing the Music Room on Juneteenth: A Rainbow Revival, a three-hour series of performances highlighting the seminal, trailblazing contributions of Black queer folks and trans folks to the Pride movement – and to bluegrass, old-time, and roots music. Juneteenth: A Rainbow Revival is proud to be a recipient of the IBMA Foundation’s inaugural Arnold Schultz Fund grants.
June 26 and 27 will see a return of Porch Pride proper, this time celebrating Bluegrass Pride’s fifth anniversary and once again featuring two days of live music, performances, songs, and fellowship with our members and fans, culminating in sets from Gangstagrass (June 26) and Rainbow Girls (June 27). See the full lineup below.
Porch Pride is the headline fundraising event for Bluegrass Pride, raising more than $23,000 in its first year. All of the event’s virtual programs are free to view and attend – and will be available to view on our website and channels after air – but we encourage each and every one of our fans, followers, and listeners to donate to support the musicians on our lineups and the ongoing work of Bluegrass Pride. You can support Porch Pride here. You can become a member of Bluegrass Pride here.
Porch Pride schedule of events:
June 6, 2021 at 1pm PDT / 4pm EDT – Lavender Country Live with Bluegrass Pride, hosted by Bluegrass Pride Board Member Jake Blount
June 12, 2021 at 1pm PDT / 4pm EDT – Bluegrass Pride Brunch & Information Session, an informal gathering and Q&A period hosted by Bluegrass Pride Board Members. Open to all members, fans, followers, and folks new to Bluegrass Pride, too.
June 13, 2021 at 1pm PDT / 4pm EDT – Beginner-Friendly Jam-Along with Luisa Lopez, “bring” your instruments and voice to play and sing along with protest songs and movement music. Lyrics and chord sheets provided.
June 19, 2021 at 3pm PDT / 6pm EDT – Juneteenth: A Rainbow Revival, featuring Sunny War, Jake Blount, Yasmin Williams, Faith Nolan, Jackie & Resa, Stephanie Anne Johnson, and Lenworth Poyser. An evening of musical performances curated by Brandi Pace of non-profit Decolonizing the Music Room that will highlight the essential contributions of Black queer, trans, and non-binary folks to roots music and the Pride movement.
June 26 & 27, 2021 at 3pm PDT / 6pm EDT – Porch Pride: 5th Anniversary Celebration. Our headline festival returns celebrating five years of Bluegrass Pride and featuring performances by:
Saturday, June 26:
Mya Byrne
Ben Garnett
Crys Matthews
BOOJUM
Po’ Ramblin’ Boys
Gangstagrass
Sunday, June 27:
Willi Carlisle
Maddie Witler
Chris Sexton
Hasee Ciaccio & Friends
Stephanie Anne Johnson
Rainbow Girls
More About Bluegrass Pride: Our mission is to recruit, encourage, and support LGBTQ+ bluegrassers of all levels, promoting their advancement and acceptance within all areas of the bluegrass music industry and musical community. We aim to uplift the genre of bluegrass as a whole to receive LGBTQ+ folks openly, and to promote allyship with all marginalized peoples within the industry and musical community. We do so by creating opportunities for community building and resources for musical skill development, such as concerts, jam sessions, showcases, festivals, parades, tutorials, recording, and more! Bluegrass Pride is a Section 501(c)(3) charitable organization, EIN 83-3224672. All donations are deemed tax-deductible absent any limitations on deductibility applicable to a particular taxpayer. More at https://bluegrasspride.net/
More About Decolonizing the Music Room: Decolonizing the Music Room is a nonprofit organization using research, training, and discourse to help music educators develop critical practices and center BBIA (Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian) voices, knowledge, and experiences in the field of music education. For more information, visit https://decolonizingthemusicroom.com/
