Thirteen LGBTQIA+ Pride Bands Come Together for Loud & Proud: A Celebration of Pride Bands from Coast to Coast
Contact: Brandon Moss & Alejandro Rios
Directors of Marketing
San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band
marketing@sfprideband.org
San Francisco, CA — The San Francisco Lesbian Gay/Freedom Band (SFLGFB), the Official Band of the City and County of San Francisco, is excited to announce Loud & Proud: A Celebration of Pride Bands from Coast to Coast! A first-of-its-kind virtual pride concert, Loud & Proud brings together thirteen LGBTQIA+ pride bands from across the country for a unique event in honor of pride season.
“With so many local pride festivities canceled this year because of COVID-19, we wanted to create a special event where we could all come together virtually to celebrate,” says Chris Hewes, one of the Loud & Proud concert organizers. “For many of us, this past year has been a struggle because we’ve felt so isolated from our friends and family. We hope this concert can help bring everyone a little closer together.”
Over the past year, the SFLGFB has created three concerts and numerous individual performances using an innovative, all-virtual approach. Each week, the Band rehearses using virtual meeting software, with Artistic Directors Pete Nowlen and Mike Wong creating prepared rehearsal recordings for each musician to practice along with in their own home. When it comes time to create the performance, each musician records their part separately and then submits it to the Band’s technical team, who then compile each recording into a multi-track video.
“It’s a laborious process, but it’s worth all the effort for the feeling of getting to perform as a band when we otherwise can’t come together,” says Julie Williamson, Co-President of the SFLGFB. “Because everything is happening virtually, we’re excited for the unique opportunity to share the stage with our friends from other pride bands from across the country!”
Loud & Proud features new performances from participating bands, boasting an exciting mixture of pop, symphonic, classical, and modern selections. The virtual show will culminate by bringing musicians from across the country together for one joint performance of the symphonic piece Deus Ex Machina by renowned gay composer Randall Standridge.
The thirteen participating LGBTQIA+ pride bands are:
- San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band; San Francisco, CA
- Mile High Freedom Bands; Denver, CO
- The Lesbian & Gay Big Apple Corps; New York City, NY
- South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble; Ft. Lauderdale, FL
- DC’s Different Drummers; Washington, DC
- Desert Winds Freedom Band; Palm Springs, CA
- Gay Freedom Band of Los Angeles; Los Angeles, CA
- Central Florida Sounds of Freedom Band & Color Guard; Orlando, FL
- Mid America Freedom Band; Kansas City, MO
- Blazing River Freedom Band; Cleveland, OH
- Triangle Pride Band; Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill, NC
- Queen City Freedom Band; Cincinnati, OH
- Encantada: The Band of Enchantment; Santa Fe, NM
Loud & Proud will stream live via YouTube on Saturday, June 26th, during what would normally be Pride Weekend for many cities across the country. The virtual concert will be streamed twice, at 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT and 10pm EDT / 7pm PDT. Registration is free, and available at www.LoudAndProudConcert.com. Net proceeds from donations made at registration or during the concert will be shared evenly between all thirteen groups.
About Loud & Proud: A Celebration of Pride Bands from Coast to Coast: A first-of-its-kind nationwide virtual pride concert, Loud & Proud celebrates all of the talent, joy, and community found within LGBTQIA+ bands across the country. Created collaboratively between all of the participating bands and coordinated by the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, Loud & Proud features an exciting mixture of pop, symphonic, classical, and modern selections. For more information, visit www.LoudAndProudConcert.com.
About the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band: The San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band (SFLGFB) is the first openly-gay musical organization in the world, inspiring the formation of LGBTQIA+ bands, choruses and performing groups around the globe. Founded in 1978 by Jon Sims at the height of Anita Bryant’s anti-gay crusade, the Band has made music to build understanding among communities of all sexual orientations and identities for more than four decades. In 2018, in honor of its 40th anniversary, the Band was named the Official Band of the City and County of San Francisco by the City’s Supervisors and Mayor London Breed. For more information, visit www.SFLGFB.org.