Bluegrass Pride, a Bay Area-based non-profit whose mission is to uplift LGBTQ+ musicians and creators in roots music, is proud to announce the second year of their immensely popular virtual festival and fundraising event, Porch Pride.  This month long festival and celebration takes place the entire month of June 2021.

Over the course of Pride month, Porch Pride will feature performances by folks like Lavender Country, Rainbow Girls, Gangstagrass, Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, Jake Blount, Sunny War, and many more, plus a virtual Bluegrass Pride Brunch and open house, a beginner-friendly jam-along, and so much more. 

 In 2020, after the pandemic forced Bluegrass Pride (BGP) to cancel their in-person, Pride Parade programming, the organization made the pivot online, hosting a two day livestream festival featuring upwards of 12 hours of music that raised more than $23,000 for the LGBTQ+ and allied artists on the lineup.

This year, the Bluegrass Pride Board of Directors has expanded that two-day festival into a month-long event, kicking off on June 6th with Lavender Country Live with Bluegrass Pride hosted by musician, scholar, and Bluegrass Pride board member Jake Blount.

On the weekend of June 12, join Blue Grass Pride for their ever-popular, informal brunch gathering, open house, and information session – followed by a beginner-friendly jam-along featuring protest songs and movement music led by Nashville based queer singer-songwriter Luisa Lopez on June 13.  The final two weekends of Porch Pride 2021 will feature two virtual festivals. On June 19, BGP will partner with Brandi Pace and Decolonizing the Music Room on Juneteenth: a three-hour series of performances highlighting the seminal, trailblazing contributions of Black queer folks and trans folks to the Pride movement – and to bluegrass, old-time, and roots music. Juneteenth: A Rainbow Revival is proud to be a recipient of the IBMA Foundation’s inaugural Arnold Schultz Fund grants. 

June 26 and 27 will see a return of Porch Pride proper, this time celebrating Bluegrass Pride’s fifth anniversary and once again featuring two days of live music, performances, songs, and fellowship with our members and fans, culminating in sets from Gangstagrass (June 26) and Rainbow Girls (June 27). 

Porch Pride is the headline fundraising event for Bluegrass Pride, raising more than $23,000 in its first year. All of the event’s virtual programs are free to view and attend – and will be available to view on our website and channels after air.  

We  encourage everyone to donate and support the musicians and the ongoing work of Bluegrass Pride.

Please consider supporting Porch Pride here, and becoming a member of Bluegrass Pride here.

• June 6 at  4PM  – Lavender Country Live with Bluegrass Pride, hosted by Bluegrass Pride Board Member Jake Blount

• June 12 at 4PM  – Bluegrass Pride Brunch & Information Session, an informal gathering and Q&A period hosted by Bluegrass Pride Board Members. Open to all members, fans, followers, and folks new to Bluegrass Pride, too.

• June 13 at 4PM - Beginner-Friendly Jam-Along with Luisa Lopez, “bring” your instruments and voice to play and sing along with protest songs and movement music. Lyrics and chord sheets provided.

• June 19 at 6PM – Juneteenth: A Rainbow Revival, featuring Sunny War, Jake Blount, Yasmin Williams, Faith Nolan, Jackie & Resa, Stephanie Anne Johnson, and Lenworth Poyser. An evening of musical performances curated by Brandi Pace of non-profit Decolonizing the Music Room that will highlight the essential contributions of Black queer, trans, and non-binary folks to roots music and the Pride movement.

• June 26 & 27 at 6PM – Porch Pride: 5th Anniversary Celebration. Our headline festival returns celebrating five years of Bluegrass Pride and featuring performances by:

To learn more about Bluegrass Price and Decolonizing the Music Room, please see the following web resources:

Bluegrass Pride:

Their  mission is to recruit, encourage, and support LGBTQ+ bluegrassers of all levels, promoting their advancement and acceptance within all areas of the bluegrass music industry and musical community. They aim to uplift the genre of bluegrass as a whole to receive LGBTQ+ folks openly, and to promote allyship with all marginalized peoples within the industry and musical community.  They do so by creating opportunities for community building and resources for musical skill development, such as concerts, jam sessions, showcases, festivals, parades, tutorials, recording, and more! Bluegrass Pride is a Section 501(c)(3) charitable organization. All donations are deemed tax-deductible. 

Decolonizing the Music Room:

Decolonizing the Music Room is a nonprofit organization using research, training, and discourse to help music educators develop critical practices and center BBIA (Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian) voices, knowledge, and experiences in the field of music education.