Writing with Pride, a Celebration of LGBTQ+ Songwriters

The Grammy Museum offers livestreamed concert on May 16

The Grammy Museum in Los Angeles will collaborate with Producer Entertainment Group’s Digital Drag Fest for Writing With Pride, a livestreamed celebration of LGBTQ+ songwriters and performers in the music industry. The one-day digital event will feature the likes of former “Ru Paul’s Drag Race” contestants Trixie Mattel, Jinx Monsoon and Alaska, as well as others including esteemed songwriters Justin Tranter and Leland.

Fans can tune into the event beginning at 11 A.M. Pacific Standard Time on Saturday, May 16 via StageIt where the program will kick off with a panel including Tranter, Monsoon and Mattel. Later, the digital fest will see live performances and in-depth conversations from Bright Light Bright Light, Stephen Wrabel, Sharon Needles and BeBe Zahara Benet amongst others.

“It’s so important to spotlight songwriters in the LGBTQ+ community,” said Wrabel in a statement, “not only for the general exposure, but because we all have our own individual journeys that we are on… I think through music and lyric we can better understand each other’s hearts and heads and dreams and struggles. And events like this are such a beautiful way of sharing.”

Taking place on May 16th, the event will air on StageIt as a part of the successful Digital Drag Fest, which launched in March and will tentatively end on May 31st after being extended for a fourth time. Mattel, Tranter, and Leland will host a kick-off panel and performance in the afternoon before artists like Sharon Needles, Manila Luzon, and pop star Bright Light take the virtual stage to perform and tell the stories behind their songs.

“For me, LGBTQ+ visibility within the songwriting world is crucial. To know that someone is talking to your experience from your experience is something that doesn’t really cross your mind as a blessing until you realize you’re not in the majority,” says Rod Thomas, who DJs and performs under the alias Bright Light Bright Light. He released his new single “This Was My House” last week.

Additional information regarding scheduled artists and panelists is said to be announced at a later date. For more on the GRAMMY Museum, virtual exhibits and other additional programming, visit the museum’s site.