NASHVILLE, TN (4/4/2024) — The Nashville Pride Festival presented by Bridgestone, Nissan and Nashville CARES is proud to announce the Equality Main Stage entertainment lineup featuring multi-platinum-certified R&B disruptor singer, writer, and dancer, Tinashe, Grammy, Emmy and two-time Tony Award winner, Billy Porter, Swedish pop sensation, Icona Pop, high energy pop vocalist, Slayyyter, one of Rolling Stone’s Artists You Need to Know, G Flip, internationally-renowned drag superstar, recording artist, model, and actor, Shea Couleé, CMT’s Next Women of Country, Brooke Eden and more scheduled to perform.
The annual festival and parade is the largest LGBTQ+ event in Tennessee with an expected attendance of more than 150,000 people this year. The festival features over 240 vendors, food trucks, three stages of live entertainment with over 120 acts performing over two days, an extensive kids and family area, youth area, art installations and much more. Nashville’s own LGBTQ+ artists will be well represented on the festival’s multiple stages, with performances from Adam Mac, Denitia, Angie K, Marielle Kraft, Pet Envy, Fame & Fiction and more.
The weekend kicks off on Saturday, June 22 at 10 am with the free Nashville Pride Parade. The annual parade will take place on iconic Broadway starting at 8th Avenue and ending at 2nd Avenue. Thousands of people will come together on colorful floats, in cars and on foot as official participants of the parade with more than 40,000 people lining the streets of the parade route to be part of the celebration.
This year’s Pride Festival will be held on Saturday, June 22 and Sunday, June 23 at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park in Downtown Nashville. General Admission tickets are $10 per day or $15 for a Weekend Pass. One of the best ways to experience the festival is as a VIP, which includes a private bar, private bathrooms, food stations, pop-up treats, shade, seating and more. VIP Tickets presented by NPS Pharmacy are $150 for Saturday and $125 for Sunday with the VIP Weekend Pass available for only $229. VIP tickets are expected to sell out again this year, so attendees are encouraged to purchase early. Tickets are available by visiting NashvillePride.org.
The first official Nashville Pride took place in 1988 with 2023 marking the 35th Anniversary of the first Nashville Pride. However, LGBTQ+ celebrations in Nashville can be traced back to 1973 with a commitment to creating a safe, welcoming space where the LGBTQ+ community can come together throughout the years.
Music unites people to create an environment where individuals can celebrate love and community unapologetically. Nashville Pride always selects artists that understand the power that music possesses, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community. Past artists include FLETCHER, Fitz and the Tantrums, Lizzo, Tanya Tucker, Kim Petras, Orville Peck, Betty Who, JoJo, Wilson Phillips, Big Freedia, Ty Herndon, Lisa Loeb, Vanessa Carlton and En Vogue. Again this year, the majority of the 2024 featured artists are members of the LGBTQ+ community and have been active allies of the LGBTQ+ community.
"The 2024 Nashville Pride Festival & Parade will be a space where the queer community can join together in celebration of unity, love, and authenticity, and will also illustrate the beauty, strength, and resilience of the Middle Tennessee LGBTQ+ community," said Nicholas Gulick, President of the Nashville Pride Board of Directors. "Pride serves as a reminder that equality is a goal to strive for every day, and a reality that we must fiercely defend in every corner of our state."
To join in this historic event and stand up for the LGBTQ+ community, please visit NashvillePride.org for more information and tickets to the festival. Purchasing tickets in advance is encouraged for easy entry into the Festival. The Nashville Pride Parade is free to attend.
With over 100 acts performing, additional entertainment will be announced over the coming months. Select artists are available for interviews upon request leading up to the festival, as well as during the festival. Please reach out to Tracie Hitz at Tracie@GoodNeighborFestivals.com for interview inquiries. To apply for a Nashville Pride Festival Media Pass, please visit nashvillepride.org/media-opportunities.
The 2024 Nashville Pride Festival is presented by Bridgestone, Nissan and Nashville CARES and sponsored by NPS Pharmacy, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Amazon, AllianceBernstein, Jack Daniel’s Family of Brands, The Journeys Group and Genesco, Dollar General, Vanderbilt Health, Music City PrEP Clinic, Culture Shift Team, and WSMV News 4. For a full list of sponsors visit NashvillePride.org/Sponsors.
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Full Equality Stage Entertainment Lineup
Saturday
Tinashe
Slayyyter - Shea Couleé - Brooke Eden
Adam Mac - Denitia
Nashville in Harmony - Nashville Drag EXTRAvaganza
DJs: Jane Dupree - Manrelic - Afrosheen
Sunday
Billy Porter
Icona Pop - G Flip
Angie K - Marielle Kraft - Pet Envy - Fame & Fiction
DJs: Afrosheen
Rainbow Stage curated by RNBW Collective
Lineups to be announced at a late date.
Lineups subject to change.
About Nashville Pride
Nashville Pride is a celebration recognizing the past struggles and future possibilities of the LGBTQ+ community. Beyond that, Nashville Pride is a nonprofit organization focused on creating community and hosting various events for the Nashville and Middle Tennessee LGBTQ+ community.
Nashville Pride is working to achieve equal rights for all LGBTQ+ persons, which requires year-round efforts. When the Festival and Parade aren’t lining Nashville’s streets with love, color, and acceptance, the Nashville Pride board is engaging our community, coordinating advocacy and allyship, promoting diversity and inclusivity, and calling our local community to action.
The first Nashville Pride Parade was officially organized in June 1988, but pride events in the city of Nashville date back 50 years.
About Tinashe
Not only is she a multi-platinum-certified R&B disruptor singer, writer, and dancer, but she also produces, mixes, engineers, creative directs, and edits. As a result, she blazes past any and all boundaries taking full control of her independence as she revs up to release her latest project “Song For You”; a multi-track compilation featuring the likes of heavy hitters G-Eazy, 6LACK, Ms Banks, and more.
About Billy Porter
Named one of Time Magazine’s “100 most influential people” of 2020, Billy Porter is a Grammy, Emmy, and two-time Tony award winner. Porter began his music career in 1997 with the release of his self-titled (aka untitled) debut album, which spawned the Top 10 “Bubbling Under” single, “Show Me,” and the monster ballad, “Love Is on the Way,” which also appeared at the pivotal moment in the film, “First Wives Club”.
Porter scored his first #1 with “Love Yourself” in 2019 on the US Dance Club Songs Chart. In 2021, Porter covered Juliet Roberts’ club classic “Caught in the Middle” for Red Hot + Free, which supports underserved communities afflicted with HIV/AIDS. He was also enlisted by multi platinum international superstar, Jessie J for “I Want Love” and delivered a magical turn on Earth, Wind, and Fire’s iconic, “Shining Star”.
Porter is a veteran of the theater (Miss Saigon, Angels in America, Grease), and a two-time Tony winner, including “Best Leading Actor in a Musical” for Kinky Boots in 2013 and “Best Musical” as a producer for A Strange Loop in 2022. He also received a Grammy for the Kinky Boots Official Soundtrack in the category of “Best Musical Theater Album” in 2014. Porter took home the Emmy award for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series” in 2019 for his work as Pray Tell on Pose, making history as being the first openly gay man to do so.