Prague Pride Festival 2023: Queer Music Everywhere You Look!

This year’s edition of the Prague Pride festival will offer the most extensive music program in its history. During the seven days, there will be performances by, for example, the rising Irish rock star, Ailbhe Reddy, popular Austrian singer Mavi Phoenix and Icelandic rapper Ragga Holm. Below, musical dramaturgs Šimon and Jana will give you a detailed overview of the exciting news, headliners and your favorite traditional events that Prague Pride organizes every year. We believe that everyone will find interesting events in the program!

This year, the theme of the entire festival will be traditions. But that doesn’t mean that we’ll only focus on folk music this time, even though folk music will be featured. In fact, DJ iDJa will show how to mix traditional Sami instruments with techno during the opening. We will be reflecting and commenting on or directly creating traditions in many different ways this year, thanks to new events such as Pride Club and Evening of Listening, thanks to the lyrics and sound palettes of the performers themselves or thanks to the rich contexts presented by the musicians who will appear in the program. This year, we will shine the spotlight on individuals who create traditions within their communities and who show that traditions can change or shift in ways that benefit all.

Our whole team and especially the dramaturgs are doing their best to listen to the needs of festival-goers and in response to the feedback from previous years, we are happy to announce two big new additions to the program this year – a new venue, Pride Club, on Střelecký Island, where you’ll be able to dance every night starting at 10 pm, and the Evening of Listening event for a quieter contemplation while listening to more serious acoustic music genres. Tickets for the concert and for the parties are available now at GoOut. (https://goout.net/en/pride-club-opening-night/szvofdw/, https://goout.net/en/poslechovy-vecer-joska-and-kiki%2Bero/szgubaw/) In purchasing a ticket, you will be supporting the running of the entire festival. We thank you in advance for your support and hope that these new events catch your eye.

On Monday, right after the opening of Prague Pride, we will together with Radio Wave open the new venue, Pride Club, and Tom Aspaul will perform his DJ set. You may remember him from the previous edition of the festival, during which he headlined one of the most talked-about performances at Letná. The British singer, producer and songwriter, who had one of his songs covered by Kylie Minogue herself, will join us following the conclusion of his successful world tour of Europe and North America. Rising DJ star and trans femme diva Lil Autotune, and hyper-pop duo Terra and Kewu, who released their new album Sugar & Sleaze earlier this year, will also perform alongside him on Monday night. AXT from the Ukrainian group Motsion will end the party with his DJ set.

From Tuesday to Thursday, we invite you to parties curated by the promoters of the best queer parties in Prague – Bobr, Pioneer Prague or the duo Slipy will present their favorite resident and other DJs. On Tuesday, you can dance to sets put on by Innocence, Viki Valda and Kistenn. Wednesday’s selection by the duo Slipy will bring dense techno beats courtesy of DJs Subgate, Cubix, Andriy Kostyukov from the Ukrainian group Motsion and Michael Koko. Finally, under the direction of Pioneer Prague, Adamatron will get everyone dancing in a B2B set with Petrunna, Eva Porating and PSJ on Thursday. As such, Pride Club will highlight the diversity of queer music and allow festival-goers to explore different genres such as house, techno, pop, soul, funk and disco, which will all be the main focus of Friday’s Pride Discothèque event. The Discothèque will seamlessly follow after Nora Waacking Inferno, which will take place earlier in the evening on an outdoor Pride Village stage. You can look forward to DJ Jeffology, DJ Cou and DJ Cashmeer and their vinyl session that will last all night.

If you’re not into partying and are more interested in acoustic music, we have good news for you. That’s exactly what the new Evening of Listening on Wednesday is all about. It will provide a venue for music that calls for concentration and quieter contemplation, with an emphasis on queer musicians, of course. For its first edition, we decided to present Prague duo Joska & Kiki and one of the outstanding Slovak discoveries of recent years, the singer ERØ. Come and discover powerful folk compositions, as well as a fusion of jazz, soul and R’n’B in the pleasant setting of Život 90. We remind you that the tickets are already available now on GoOut. (https://goout.net/en/poslechovy-vecer-joska-and-kiki%2Bero/szgubaw/)

ERØ – NASPÄŤ TAM prod. LOSOSOUND (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRUBU8r-lXo

Every year we strive to ensure that the opening of Prague Pride brings something unexpected, interesting, and totally queer and fun at the same time. This year will be no different, as the stage will be flooded with a mix of Latino hyper-pop, guitar rock, and a Sami fusion of techno and folk.

The main star of the evening will be Irish musician Ailbhe Reddy, whose debut album Personal History was described by Clash magazine as more of a work of art than an album. “It’s such a strong debut. Her vulnerability is awe-inspiring and relatable.” Her ability to create intensely moving alt-folk melodies and lyrics was later confirmed on her fresh second album Endless Affair, which will hopefully move you as much as it moved us. However, she won’t be onstage alone.

What happens when an indigenous artist from the Arctic arrives in Berghain is what the Sami DJ iDJa tried to musicalize and visualize as part of a project called Techno Áchčči. This producer and DJ from Norway will present the Sami musical tradition in a nightclub package during his set that won’t let anyone keep their cool. You will discover, for example, what sounds can be made with a duhpátlávka or the ways in which classic Sami songs can be combined with disco house

The longest trip to the festival will be made by Juana Rozas. This Buenos Aires musician will captivate you with her blend of hyperpop, gabber and house with elements of Argentine folklore. On Střelecký Island, you will primarily hear tracks from her new album Vladi, which tells a story inspired by the horror films of Dario Argento and Ari Aster. The central theme of the tracks is addiction, if you consider, as Rozas herself says, romance and love to be a drug.

The evening will be opened by Czech DJ and promoter Henriette, a constant of the Prague Pride program who has been organizing the Freedom Night party since 2004. All genres will thus come alive in Pride Village on Monday, and don’t forget that starting from 10 pm, you can continue at Pride Club a few meters away.

Pride Village will be in full swing Monday through Sunday, thanks to each and every one of the 1,097 people who donated to the online fundraiser. Thanks to them, we were able to prepare a rich program full of musical performances, lectures, stand-ups, workshops and other activities. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to learn, relax or meet your friends.

On Tuesday, in addition to the traditional Pride Jukebox, there will be drag performances by House of Chaos, Crazy Goddess and a travesti show by the duo Wendy Adkins & Julia Landis to make your evening even more enjoyable. On Wednesday, Ripple, Cherw, Aze, Trinedat, Spiritual & Mc Sublime, Liquerus, Excentric and Ciro will play their drum and bass sets selected by the Let It Roll festival for you to dance and listen to. On Thursday, the stage will be dedicated to the HateFree Culture project and on Friday, House of Nora will teach you basic waacking moves, accompanied by Dj Cashmeere. Just to remind you, the program continues with Pride Discothèque immediately afterwards at Pride Club, where you’ll be able to put your newly acquired dance moves to good use.

We are of course taking a break from Pride Village on Saturday, but on Sunday we’ll be back at it and you can look forward to the popular Pride Picnic, during which you can reminisce about the past week and especially about the joyful experience of the Saturday parade and Pride Park. In addition, appearing onstage with a live set will be the electronic duo Vinium, DJ duo Raketa95, the artist S.N.R.I. and the promoter of the Pinkies event, producer Pink Concrete.

Once again this year, Pride Park will make for an unforgettable climax to the festival. Do you remember the performances of Lukas Graham, Girli or Tom Aspaul last year? We certainly do, and we hope it will be no different for this year’s line-up, which will feature performances on six stages that will showcase queer culture from all around the country as well as Europe in all its diversity.

We’re dedicated to making sure everyone can experience Pride Park as a celebration of identity, love, and queer traditions in the unique safe-space we’re working with you to create. It’s one of the reasons why we’re excited that this year’s Pride Park program is the queerest ever. Last year you could enjoy five stages, but  this time there will be one more! With each stage comes a rich spectrum of opinions, approaches to creation and ways of self-expression.

Just like in previous years, we’ve been working hard to put together a program that is as diverse as possible, trying to cover as much of what the LGBTQAI+ music scene has to offer in a limited amount of time, and we’re very excited about the selection for this edition of the festival. It not only encompasses the theme of traditions, but also opens fundamental themes of (self-)love, pride, necessity of care and the need for political and social activism. Moreover, the vast majority of the performers from abroad will be playing in Czechia for the very first time, which is something you simply cannot miss.

On the main Rainbow Stage, you will find international headliners. Starting at 3 pm, you’ll be dancing to the set of Norwegian DJ Slindre, and then you will be treated to an incredible show by the trans activist, beatboxer and rapper Lia Şahin, who is coming from Hamburg, where she’s involved in the Rap for Refugees initiative. Fans of R&B and pop will be in for a treat too, as the Spanish–Swiss visual artist and musician Laskaar will be coming onstage at 6 pm. Then we’ll turn it up a notch and welcome to the stage Ragga Holm, the Icelandic rapper, radio host and member of the cult hip-hop band The Daughters of Reykjavík, accompanied by Steina. The culmination will be a performance by the successful trans singer and rapper known as Mavi Phoenix, who has received the prestigious Amadeus Music Award in his native Austria in addition to several nominations. Onstage, he will mainly perform songs from his brand new third album ‘biggest asshole in the room’.

What’s new on the Czech music and drag scenes? You’ll find out on Red Stage, featuring Mary C, Homeoffice, Black Tar Jesus, or the band Favorite Obsession and queer-ally rapper Dominik Grey.

Then from 8 pm onwards it’s time for drag. As part of the All Around the Drag World show you will see Cassiopeia, Creative Swine, Chad Clitt, Metaxa, Miss Blacktail, Miss Chief, Rudy, Taura, Chanel, Mara Del G and the stage moderator, Finiji DarkAngel.

Last year, Yellow Stage was one of the liveliest and most popular stages. We consider the emphasis on the constants of the club scene and resident DJs of successful queer parties to be one of the main pillars of the program this year. From 3 pm to 10 pm, Tasya, Hrrhrrrrhrr, NCOL, Zey and New Magic Media will take turns onstage with their sets. The motto of this stage is “emancipation through dance” and we can’t wait to get Letná moving with us.

For the past three years, we have been trying to make a different country the focus of the program each year. In the past, it was Germany (Ixa, Killa Baba, Ena Lind and Sophie Ruston), Poland (Oramics collective: Kitty Sarcasm, Amnesiac, Carolle Suss, Young Majli), and now it’s time to take a look at Ukraine. Under the Prague Metronome, Green Stage will become a figurative showcase of the finest Ukrainian techno as performed by Gael, Vani Vachi and Little Vanya.

Orange (Is the New Black) Stage was created in cooperation with the Ara Art association and will host diverse performances by Romani artists from both Czechia and Slovakia. Appearing will be Edit Band, Dj Zdeněk Lega, Tommy Běla, Richard Ricco Šarközi, Gitana and the Slovak scene’s discovery of the year – Vojtik, whose hit Detviansky sen has already reached more than 140,000 views on YouTube. The audience will also experience the first ever Pride fashion show of the works of Kevin Bagár. All moderated by Crazy Goddess.

Finally, the new sixth stage will be Blue Stage, where the popular duo Henriette and Vilém will delight you with their DJ set, DJ Rufus Khan will be celebrating his birthday onstage and the resident DJ of LeClan Club, DJ WhiteCat, will be performing as well. Because of that, Letná will be full of music this year, but that’s not the only thing you can experience in Pride Park. We recommend you also visit the non-profit organizations’ market called JarmarQ, the inflatable pink church, or meet up with friends and relax in the park after the parade ends.

An integral part of the Prague Pride program is the FLINTA* party Bobr and the official festival afterparty, which we are calling Magion this year.

Bobr (“beaver”) was born out of the need to have a queer party centered on lesbians* and to support lesbian culture in a broader sense. We welcome all people who resonate with this intention as long as they are close to lesbian culture or are at its center. We also invite queer women, femmes, we welcome trans and/or non-binary people, and all other allies who respect and celebrate our goal. In the eighth edition of this event, which will take place on Friday, August 11 at the Radlická – kulturní sportovna venue, you can look forward to performances by queer activist and DJ Elskë, Ostrava-based promoter, and techno and progressive house lover Inkä, French club scene star Bambi, who, in addition to her innovative sets, has also been involved in promoting safe-spaces and sex-positivity within the French non-profit organization Consentis, and Ústí-based queer Dj Hrrhrrrrhrrr, from whom you can expect a live mix of FLINTA* tracks from across all genres. Those who have been there in past years know that this party is not to be missed!

Every year since 2016, together with Pioneer Prague, we have been organizing the Dirty Dirty Dancing event. But, as the spiritual father of the event Míra Valeš says, it’s time to move on to a new adventure called Magion. This afterparty, which will be the climax of Pride week, has a packed line-up that is sure to be a hit with everyone.

This February Šimon returned from Berghain with a tip for a DJ who he thought must appear on the Prague Pride program and who now will appear at Magion. The DJ is Kikelomo, a Berlin-based Brit who plays captivating, eclectic mixes of house, funk, techno and afrobeat in her sets. Another big DJ name and a representative of the German scene is ND_Baumecker, from the creative duo Barker & Baumecker, who will be accompanied by a house set by the São Paulo native and resident of the Brazilian party Mamba Negra, Gezender. Czechia will be represented by DJs Nill Garçon, Marie Pravda and Raphael Kosmos. The party will take place in the former 19th century Benedictine convent Gabriel Loci in Smíchov. (https://goout.net/en/magion-prides-official-afterparty-ndbaumecker%2Bkikelomo%2Bmore/szpqcbw/)

If you’re still unsatisfied, there’s no need to worry. Prague will be ultra queer not just at the festival venues, but all over the city. So check out the websites of clubs like Friends, Termix or Heaven, or head to OMG, G Sound+ or Freedom Night. Throughout the entire week you’ll also have the chance to see numerous performances by a number of drag queens and drag kings, so make sure to support them at their events as well, or check out the festival website and choose from over 180 additional events. All the debates, workshops, exhibitions, author readings, screenings and other interesting events are waiting for you.

Prague Pride has been actively professionalizing itself over the years, and we have been trying to do so also in terms of dramaturgy across the entire program. As musical dramaturgs, we believe that it is crucial that the line-up evolves every year and does not stagnate, with the same names being repeated on the same stages year after year. Our aim is to discover new names each year and to give a platform to other people who have not appeared on our program yet. At the same time, we must not and do not want to forget about the artists who are an integral part of (not only) Czech LGBTQAI+ cultural communities.

However, this isn’t always easy and painless. That’s why we’d like to thank all those who communicate with us with interest and understanding, whether through social media or through official email communication. We value your interest, and we are sorry ourselves that we are often unable to provide a free slot for your performances. We hope that you will not give up on us and come to the festival and support the performing artists even if you are not among them this year. We can also reveal that in preparation for the next edition we are introducing several additional sub-systems that will help us to ensure an even more diverse program, not only in terms of genres, but also in terms of an even richer representation of different identity groups. This is what we currently see as our priority.

Last but not least, we hope that when you’re looking at this year’s music program, you have a smile on your face and a warm feeling of excitement and anticipation in your heart. After all, that is our ultimate goal. Be sure to check out our official Spotify playlist featuring the festival performers’ music ahead of time, and we’ll see you at Prague Pride!

(https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3oFja68NZ8QJVpZZZigFRn?si=e86a70e9317e42be)