Ariana Grande will return to Manchester this August to play a headline show at their Pride Festival, but her booking has raised some questions about the place of straight artists in headlining queer celebrations and the lack of queer musicians in headliner roles.

with Conor Behan

Joining acts such as Years & Years and Kim Petras on the bill, Grande is a significant booking as she is one of 2019’s biggest pop stars with two hit albums in six months. This will also be her first time performing in the city since the One Love Manchester concert. That show was a response to the terrorist attack at her 2017 gig where fans were killed and injured. Despite its significance to the city, Grande’s slot fed into a wider conversation that emerged online - should Pride line-ups be headlined by straight cis performers?

Viral tweets questioned whether Grande’s appearance was an exploitation of LGBTQ audiences and whether slots should only go to performers from the queer community. Grande seemed willing to listen and responded to one particular comment saying, “I want to celebrate and support this community regardless of my identity or how people label me.” She also commented, “I do think there’s room for us to talk about these issues without equating a performance for an LGBTQ audience with exploitation of the LGTBQ community”. She ended by saying, “I’m not claiming to be the hero of the community or the face of the LGBTQ rights movement – I just wanna put on a show that make my LGBTQ fans feel special and celebrated and supported.” It’s important to find the nuance and context in these conversations in order to move the needle forward. In order to reach a point where Pride festivals can be filled up with LGBTQ acts that still have music-festival-sized, mainstream, pulling power, much work has to be done in allowing those acts to flourish all year round.

In the streaming era it can be harder for artists to make money through record sales but it can also democratise who has access to audiences. There are practical ways to support LGBTQ musicians: streaming their songs, buying music (physically or digitally), buying merch, or even getting in touch with local promoters to let them know you want to see your favourite act. When Olly Alexander talked about this topic, he ended his post by saying “can’t stress this enough – if more people listened to and supported LGBT+ artists – they’d get more slots.”

Grande’s intention to make her LGTBQ fans “feel special and celebrated and supported” at the gig is a noble one. And it alludes to the healing power of music for many people. It’s important to balance the protest roots of Pride while acknowledging the power in escapism and release. The day to day life of being LGBTQ isn’t an easy one. And we can allow ourselves the room to do better by our artists in the community while also enjoying music from allies who make us feel good. The right Pride party can allow us to recharge and replenish ourselves to continue to push for a better world.

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