A Promising Festival Season for Queer Artists Across the UK: Who Will You See This Summer?
April 20, 2021The past year has crushed the dreams of the majority of festival-goers, with cancellations and closure following the pandemic. But, with the UK government planning to ease all lockdown rules by June 21st, a few festivals decided that this year, they will be going ahead and might just have saved 2021’s summer.
Despite a tough year for the music industry, we have still seen plenty of new music from queer artists all over the globe. But which are featured in the line ups for the upcoming festival season? Many festivals have sold out quicker than ever, showing how excited everyone is to be back in front of a stage. Yet there are a few that are still available, and there is always the option of grabbing a resold ticket. So, whether you were lucky enough to have booked your ticket in advance, or you’ll be trying to do so at the last minute, here is our guide to the queer artists performing across festivals this summer.
Happening at the end of August in Victoria Park, All Points East is the best festival alternative for Londoners who aren’t able to leave and camp for a few days. One of this year’s most exciting acts at All Points East is Arlo Parks. The 20-year-old artist has recently released her well-anticipated debut album, Collapsed in Sunbeams. The record aims at celebrating queer love and self-acceptance. It includes “Green Eyes”, a title featuring the queer star Clairo. She told DIVA Mag how most of the album had been written and recorded during the pandemic, making fans counting on her festival appearances to hear the songs live.
Låpsley is also not to be missed. After her well-received debut, she came back with Through Water at the beginning of the pandemic, making her performance one of the first times playing her latest album.
All Points East is also welcoming The XX’s frontwoman, Romy. On the side of the iconic band, Romy was already DJ-ing in queer nights and started writing for major pop artists such as Dua Lipa and King Princess. It didn’t come as a surprise when she released the electro-pop single “Lifetime” as a solo artist last year. The single was remixed by the Australian artist HAAi, who will also be performing at All Points East. The now London-based producer will be performing alongside the American Octo Octa, promising an incredible set following the release of her last album Resonant Body in 2019.
Arlo Parks
The famous festival happening simultaneously at Reading and Leeds is also able to take place this year. As per usual, the line-up includes very big names but this year is particularly inclusive of LGBTQ+ artists.
One of the big names of this edition is the blue icon Ashnikko. She was discovered by the world through TikTok during the summer of 2019 with her hit ‘STUPID’. Her recent mixtape ‘DEMIDEVIL’ features songs with queer icons, Princess Nokia and Grimes.
100gecs is also a recent breakthrough not to be missed at R&L. The duo is famous for having a majorly queer fanbase. They are the definition of hyperpop and already a big influence on other artists across their genre.
Every queer woman has, at some point, been asked “do you listen to Girl in Red?”. And we all know this is synonymous with “are you attracted to women?”. The 22-year-old Norwegian singer-songwriter is the phenomenon the lesbian community had been waiting for. She is releasing her debut album at the end of the month and will be performing at Reading & Leeds.
Another exciting act to catch at R&L is the indie rock singer Beabadoobee. She supported the likes of The 1975 and Clairo while releasing four EPs. She will be playing her debut Fake It Flowers. Reading & Leeds loves featuring rising indie rock acts, and the London-based band BLOXX is one of them. They are the exception in the big crowd of cis male-fronted indie bands and are worth a stop at their stage.
Ashnikko
End of the Road is the meeting place for lovers of more underground music. Led by the openly queer Adrianne Lenker, Big Thief’s performance is highly awaited at End of the Road. They sing indie rock for sad people under the rain and they are incredible at it. It is easy to get addicted to Adrianne’s authentic voice accompanied by their raw sound. As well as All Points East, Arlo Parks is performing at End of the Road ahead of her world tour.
The four-day event is a gold mine for the alternative music scene. It will be welcoming Perfume Genius, a chamber pop artist from Iowa exploring topics such as his sexuality and being gay in today’s world. With five albums on his name, Perfume Genius is already established in the genre and is likely to assure a memorable set. Big Joanie describe themselves as “Black Feminist Sistah Punk”. The London trio has reached big stages by being authentic to their label and make a great addition to the End of the Road line up.
Mighty Hoopla is the leading pop festival in the UK. They aim to provide “a focus for emerging and established LGBTQ+ artists and performers”. The special guest of this edition is the pop singer Becky Hill. Coming straight from the first edition of The Voice, she has released multiple hit singles such as ‘Lose Control’ and ‘Afterglow’. Mighty Hoopla also offers a line up with a range of performances. You’ll be able to find performers such as Ginny Lemon, the non-binary artist that stole our heart on Drag Race UK, the East London famous Gold Rush and John Sizzle, as well as comedy from Jayde Adams. Not to mention The United Kingdolls, featuring Drag Race UK royalty Lawrence Chaney, A’Whora, Tayce and Bimini, whose version of ‘UK Hun?’ made it to number 27 on the charts.
Ginny Lemon
This season is promising an unforgettable summer, with many artists performing new music for the first time and the inclusion of queer musicians better than ever. The last year hasn’t been great for live music, but we have all our fingers crossed that it’ll be back this summer. When we are finally allowed to enjoy music together again, make sure you're putting your support behind LGBTQ+ artists.