Early Bird tickets now on sale for one of the most anticipated LGBTQ+ events of the year!
March 12, WEST HOLLYWOOD: Today, Christopher Street West (CSW), the 501(c)3 non-profit that produces the annual LA Pride Festival and Parade, is excited to announce that R&B sensation Kehlani and international pop star Tove Lo will headline the 2018 LA Pride Festival, owning the festival’s Park Stage on Saturday, June 9 and Sunday, June 10, respectively. These provocative female artists mark the first wave of performers being announced for this year’s LA Pride Festival, making its anticipated return to West Hollywood Park again this year.
Early Bird tickets are now on sale for a limited time only!
Kehlani / Saturday, June 9
GRAMMY®-nominated artist Kehlani embodies the title of her 2017 full-length debut album, SWEETSEXYSAVAGE. The critically acclaimed R&B pop songstress breathes life into those three words, and they represent a moment of self-actualization. Openly bisexual, the 22-year-old’s sincerity has become Kehlani’s signature since the 2014 release of her debut mixtape, Cloud 19. She opened up even more on 2015’s You Should Be Here. After hitting #5 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart and at #1 on the iTunes Top R&B Albums Chart, the mixtape garnered a 2016 GRAMMY® nod for “Best Urban Contemporary Album.” Upon release, it landed on Complex’s “Best Albums of 2015,” Noisey’s “50 Best Albums of 2015,” and Rolling Stone’s “20 Best R&B Albums of 2015.” Her appearance at the LA Pride Festival comes on the heels of marquee performances at Coachella and Governors Ball.
Tove Lo / Sunday, June 10
GRAMMY®-nominated, multi-platinum artist Tove Lo is known for being boldly outspoken in her art and proudly rewriting the rules of pop-starlet engagement. By exploring the darker side of life through her music, coupled with her provocative, nuanced and unabashedly empowering lyrics, the Swedish artist has dominated the scene since she entered the musical arena in 2014. Her RIAA platinum debut album, Queen Of The Clouds included 5x-platinum global #1 hit “Habits (Stay High)” and the triple-platinum follow-up “Talking Body.” Her second album, Lady Wood, also topped the U.S. Billboard 200 Charts in 2016, along with her most recent single “Disco Tits” (taken from her third studio album BLUE LIPS) which reached #1 on the Billboard Dance Charts in 2017. In addition to Coldplay (“Fun”) and Nick Jonas (“Close”), Tove Lo has been the featured artist on tracks by Years & Years (“Desire”), Broods (“Freak Of Nature”), Adam Lambert (“Rumors”), Flume (“Say It”), and Alesso (“Heroes”).
“The annual LA Pride Festival and Parade will be the climax of a week’s worth of vibrant celebrations across Los Angeles that honor our community’s heritage, salute those who have fought for our rights, and embrace the richness of our amazing city’s diverse LGBTQ+ community,” said Gregory Alexander, CSW Board Member and Programming Lead for the 2018 LA Pride Festival. “Kehlani and Tove Lo are two of the most daring women in music today. We’re excited to see how they’ll lead the raw and authentic voice of this year’s festival. They embody everything we mean when we say #JUSTBE at LA Pride.”
For the past 48 years, LA Pride has served as the “unofficial kick-off” to the LGBTQ+ Pride season across the U.S. and around the world. It’s a nod to the organization’s history and legacy of having organized the world’s first-ever permitted parade advocating for gay rights in 1970. The annual celebration consists of a week’s worth of events and programming (all to be announced very soon), concluding with the two-day LA Pride Festival (June 9-10) and the beloved LA Pride Parade (June 10). Check out the story in Billboard Pride.
Kehlani and Tove Lo will be joined by a diverse lineup of artists across the Festival’s three stages. Visit the LA Pride website to sign up for updates and be sure to follow LA Pride’s happenings on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Tickets Now On Sale!
Early Bird tickets are on sale for a limited time only! Get yours today.
Proceeds from ticket sales support events like the LA Pride Parade and city-wide programs like the CSW philanthropy, Casa del Sol, a joint project with APLA Health that provides low-income housing to people living with HIV/AIDS.
Want to attend the LA Pride Festival for free? Sign up for a 4-hour volunteer shift today! CSW also provides a limited number of free tickets to non-profit and community organizations. Please contact the LA Pride team today to see if your organization qualifies.
About Christopher Street West (CSW) & LA Pride
Christopher Street West (CSW), a 501(c)3 non-profit, organized the world’s first permitted parade advocating for gay rights on June 28, 1970, as a response to and in commemoration of the Stonewall Rebellion on Christopher Street in New York City the year prior. Since then, we have built a rich history as an active voice for the LGBTQ+ community across the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. Today, we continue to produce the globally-recognized LA Pride Parade and Festival every June in the City of West Hollywood. We also organize a number of events throughout the year with our non-profit, philanthropic, community, and corporate partners. Visit lapride.org for more information.
Media Contacts
Elsa Remak
CK&D Public Relations
[email protected]
Shayne Thomas
CSW Board Member
[email protected]
All requests for media credentials for the LA Pride Festival and the LA Pride Parade must be sent to [email protected] no later than Monday, June 4, 2018. Please note that we receive a large number of requests each year. Unfortunately, we cannot fulfill all requests – even though we’d love to be able to!
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