KEXP Celebrates Pride

Join KEXP for Pride! Featuring a special lineup throughout Pride Weekend June 24th-26th.

We’ll kick it off with a special edition of Friday Night with DJ Riz. Then join us from 12-6 PM Pacific on Saturday with Larry Rose and Kennady Quille. We’ll cap off the big celebration LIVE from Pride on Capitol Hill at the Wildrose on Sunday from 12-6 PM Pacific with Reverend Dollars, Kennady Quille, and special guest DJ Summersoft.

Made possible with support from Tomboy X.

KEXP Recommended Pride Events

Past Pride Podcasts and Mixes

For this week's Songs of the Day, KEXP is featuring songs chosen to celebrate Pride, as curated by KEXP's DJ Riz and a very special guest (and former KEXP DJ) El Toro.

Midnight in a Perfect World

Midnight in a Perfect World, KEXP’s weekly hour-long guest DJ show, airs Fridays at midnight. This multi-genre program features eclectic sets by a rotating cast of international and local DJ’s, each building upon a party vibe to kick off your weekend. Show producer DJ Alex has compiled a selection of LGBTQIA+ and Black Trans artists who have hosted the show. Check out their exclusive sets in the archives below:

Black Trans Lives Matter

In light of the recent murders of Riah Milton, Dominique "Rem'mie" Fells, Tony McDade, and Nina Pop, we're listing ways you can learn more and support #BlackTransLivesMatter. Check out the resources below.

#BlackTransLivesMatter

The Okra Project: a collective that seeks to address the global crisis faced by Black Trans people by bringing home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources to Black Trans People.
Emergency Release Fund: a grassroots movement that provides mutual aid in getting LGBTQ+ and medically vulnerable individuals out of Rikers Island and ICE detention.
Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative: a Black Trans and Queer led collaborative whose mission is grounded in their commitment toward ending the crisis of passive genocide, incarceration, and criminalization of Black Trans women, Trans/Queer people, and the larger Black community.
G.L.I.T.S.: Gays & Lesbians Living In a Transgender Society is a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting the LGBTQIA community internationally.
For the Gworls: a collective that helps Black transgender people pay their rent and gender-affirming surgeries.
The Marsha P. Johnson Institute: named for a prominent figure in the Stonewall uprising of 1969, the MPJI protects and defends the human rights of Black transgender people.
Black Trans Travel Fund: a mutual-aid based organization committed to uplifting the narratives and supporting the livelihoods of Black trans women.
TGI Justice Project: the Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project works to "forge a culture of resistance and resilience to strengthen us for the fight against human rights abuses, imprisonment, police violence, racism, poverty, and societal pressures."
Black Trans Femmes in the Arts: a collective that organizes performances, galleries, workshops, and talks to connect Black trans femme artists with resources and opportunities.
Sylvia Rivera Law Project: a collective organization that works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence.

Resources

KEXP has compiled a list of LGBTQIA+ organizations that promote equality and help protect basic rights for the community.

Northwest:

Pride Foundation: this Seattle-based organization "inspires giving to expand opportunities and advance full equality for LGBTQ people across the Northwest."
Lambert House: "a safe place for LGBTQ youth ages 11 to 22 to make friends and be in community. Lambert House empowers LGBTQ youth through the development of leadership, social, and life skills."
Gay City: Gay City's mission is to "cultivate access and connections to promote self-determination, liberation, and joy in our communities."

Nationwide:

The Trevor Project: a nationwide organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.
PFLAG: the first and largest organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents and families, and allies.
Human Rights Campaign Foundation: the HRC foundation "improves the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people by working to increase understanding and encourage the adoption of LGBTQ-inclusive policies and practices."

Interviews + Articles:

Check out some articles in the KEXP archives spotlighting LGBTQIA+ artists.

Interviews Sound and Vision

Sound & Vision: Looking Back at Pioneering Trans Blues Artist Jackie Shane

Jackie Shane was a Black trans soul singer who performed in the 60s. In 1971, she walked away from her career and basically disappeared.

Sound and Vision

Sound & Vision: LGBT Music and the South

The southern United States is considered to be the conservative bible belt of the country. It’s also home to the highest percentage of LGBT people in the U.S. KEXP's Sound & Vision explores the LGBT music scene in the South.

Sound and Vision

Sound & Vision: Lavender Country, The First Openly-Gay Country Band in the World

KEXP talks to Patrick Haggerty, frontman for Lavender Country, the nation’s first openly gay country band.

Interviews

The Power and Importance of Music Within Seattle's Drag Scene

KEXP spoke with local leading drag artists Arson Nicki, Cucci Binaca, Sam I'Am, and Beau Degas about the art of drag and the role music plays in their lives, on and off the stage

Interviews Local Music

Seattle's Supremely Lovable Adra Boo on Pride and Playing GAYEXP

We caught up with the musical dynamo to preview the gig and to ask her who she’s listening to these days, how her identity as a queer woman informs her art, and when she started singing.