A surprisingly impressive lineup just dropped from local Austin, Texas music festival Illfest. Featuring over 50 EDM artists over 4 stages, and not complete without crazy visuals and art installations, this will for sure be the place to be in September.
We’re most excited to see Louis the Child, Jai Wolf, Slander, and Boogie T on Saturday, and Cheat Codes, Chromeo, Griz, Madeon and Kayzo on Sunday. Check out the lineup below for the full list of acts, and head to https://www.illfest.com/ to grab tickets.
Nashville celebrated Pride the weekend of June 25th, and the grounds of Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park were filled with all sorts of joy, colors, and love. The near 100 degree temperatures along with high humidity made for a sweaty weekend, but no less of a fun one.
We also were treated to several drag shows, one of which was kicked off with a performance to music from Bring It On,which had people in the crowd singing and dancing along.
And as we headed into the evening, headliner Walk the Moon took the stage. Lead vocalist Nicholas Petricca shared with us that it was his first Pride since coming out, and Nashville was sure to respond with love and cheers.
The mood during Pride wasn’t always joyous, as the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v Wade had been announced less than 24 hours prior. Petricca acknowledged this, as most artists did, saying “Even in the face of impossible things, I believe in us.”
Day 2 began just as sweltering as the day before, with some cloudy skies providing no relief. But these beautiful faces were still smiling, laughing, and dancing!
The Rainbow Stage featured artists like Rosemary Joaquin and Gia Woods, who both sang to the crowd that looked out over the entire park.
The afternoon brought us Bantug and Sienna Liggins on the Equality Stage, getting the ever-growing crowd out of the shade and onto the lawn.
Following Michaela Jae was Vincint, who, much to the delight of the audience, spent almost half of his performance in the crowd. He sang to individuals and had everyone make space for a runway where Pride-goers gave their best walk.
Before the final act, host and drag queen obSINity came out in a tank that said “Tanya Mother Tucker” on it in rainbow letters, preparing us for the final act of the festival. But before she announced Tanya Tucker, obSINity had a few final words for us. “Love who you are.” Cheers and tears alike filled the park with her moving speech.
And as the sun began to set, Nashville was treated with the headliner of the evening, Tanya Tucker. She came out with a bang, wearing a plumage of rainbow feathers and sparkling all over. The drag queens came out during her second song to share the stage, and it felt like a perfect way to conclude the festival.
Until next June! But remember, Pride is for every day.
Life is Beautiful music festival was this past weekend in Las Vegas, back since 2019 and better than ever. Check out the gallery below for a full recap of all the fun. Images by Megan Dirksen and Gaby Deimeke.
Nashville danced all weekend long during the Deep Tropics music, art, and style festival, paying no mind to the sweltering heat. It was a collective agreement that we were all grateful to be together, sharing love and sweating it out on the dance floor after a year where we were all so far apart.
Photos by Lauren Hayes.
One of the coolest parts about Deep Tropics was that it was set to be the greenest festival in the world. If you were there you noticed there were zero trash cans. That’s right! Everything was compostable or recyclable, including all the cutlery and even free ash try pouches. The commitment to being sustainable was refreshing to see, and it was incredible to see so many attendees who were passionate about the environment as well.
Whethan closing out Day 1.
The Friday lineup included Clozee and Whethan on the Meru main stage, and the amphitheater was packed for both of their sets.
Young Bae and Hourglass on Day 2 of Deep Tropics.
Hourglass kicked us off on Saturday. The crowd was slowly trickling in, but she had everyone up and dancing and ready for Day 2 in no time. Cassian and Young Bae followed on the main stage while people flaunted their outfits and much-needed fans.
Qemist and Daily Bread on the Congo Soundsystem stage.
And let’s not forget about the Congo Soundsystem stage! This stage was close to the heart of Tennessee. Memphis-native Qemist performed, as well as several hip-hop artists from Nashville such as A.B. Eastwood, $avvy, Brian Brown, and Tim Gent. The energy around this stage was always a vibe no matter who was playing!
As the night rolled around, more and more people streamed in. Bubbles filled the air, the VIP section was bouncing, and folks were captivated by the poi spinners around the park. Unfortunately, Moon Boots had to cancel on Saturday, whom I know many fans were looking forward to. But CharlestheFirst and Claude VonStroke kept the spirits alive, so any momentary sadness at that news was soon forgotten.
Deep Tropics was an incredible way to close out summer and celebrate the return of music festivals. Hopefully this helped pave the way to making all festivals sustainable, showing that we can do all of our favorite things while saving the planet, too. See you all next year!
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