San Diego CA— San Diego Pride announced today that LGBTQ advocate, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer King Princess will headline the 2019 Pride Festival on Saturday, July 13. The San Diego Pride Parade and Festival will take place July 13 – 14 and includes over 90 musical acts across four stages, featuring breakthrough local and international LGBTQ artists. This year’s theme is “Stonewall 50: A Legacy of Liberation,” aligned with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, to honor and reflect on the Stonewall generation, their activism, and all that the LGBTQ community has gained through their efforts.“
Playing San Diego Pride is a true honor. Pride celebrations are a pillar of liberation and representation in our community and a reminder of our ability to bring happiness to one another through inclusion,” said King Princess. “It’s about giving each other a home in which we can share our truest expression of self without judgment. Our founding mother Marsha fought to give us our space to express ourselves freely and to celebrate our love. I’m honored to be a part of this loving community. Come rock with me and Melissa!”
In February 2018, King Princess released her debut single “1950” with the title song being a tribute to both the 1952 novel “The Price of Salt” by Patricia Highsmith and the LGBTQ community of that time who faced barriers in expressing their queerness openly due to McCarthyism and the Lavender Scare.
“The ability for compelling LGBTQ artists like King Princess to come right out the gate fully embracing their identity in their music, medium, and public persona embodies how far we’ve come since the Stonewall Riots,” said San Diego Pride Executive Director Fernando López. “It’s an honor to have a queer rising star like King Princess headline at San Diego Pride’s Festival along with Melissa Etheridge and all the other iconic LGBTQ artists we’re eager to announce, all of whom approach their craft and our community with social justice in their hearts.
”Previous San Diego Pride performers include Ke$ha, TLC, Kathy Griffin, JoJo, Kim Petras, Margaret Cho, En Vogue, Estelle, Ruby Rose and Big Freedia. The annual two-day festival draws in over 45,000 visitors and offers vendor booths, educational and art exhibits, cultural presentations, delicious food booths and more. The Pride Parade is the largest single-day civic event in the San Diego region and is the sixth largest Pride celebration in the United States, attracting over 250,000 people.
San Diego Pride was formed in 1974 as a sponsored program of The Center for Social Services which produced the first Lesbian and Gay Parade in San Diego in 1975 to celebrate the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion on New York’s Christopher Street. San Diego Pride was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 1994.
Tickets for the San Diego Pride Festival are currently on sale at www.sdpride.org. A limited number of King Princess meet-and-greet tickets are available. The San Diego Pride Parade takes place Saturday, July 13 at 10:00 a.m. and is free and open to the public. All proceeds from the festival and parade support San Diego Pride’s LGBTQ-centered philanthropy and year-round education and advocacy programs. Invite your friends on Facebook at www.bit.ly/sdpf19.