Cambridge Pride 2023

Cambridge Pride:

In June 1969, the Stonewall Uprising took place, which saw a huge step taken in the liberation movement of those in the LGBTQ+ 
community. In the years since pride month has become a bigger and bigger feature across global communities, celebrating the 
progression that has been made in this liberation, celebrating the love and individuality of all those in the LGBTQ+ community, and most importantly acting as a form of protest around the disgusting discrimination of those within the LGBQT+ community that still takes place to this day.

Cambridge Pride has become one of the fastest growing pride events, with around 10,000 people attending throughout the day. This year's event was yet another perfect celebration of the love, unity and acceptance of all those in the LGBQT+ community, whilst ever 
losing the message that the fight isn't over

 

Grace Petrie:

Choosing a musician to play at Pride can't come more perfectly than Grace Petrie. The self-acclaimed Proud Butch Lesbian' is 
unashamedly outspoken, and when your morals are as well directed as Grace's, that is a brilliant thing. 

Accompanied by the brilliant Ben Moss, Grace opened her set with a crowd-pleasing rendition of 'Storm to Weather' that immediately proved her pedigree as a musician. This was followed by a hilarious, yet depressingly accurate, summary of the state of UK politics, which led into a flawless rendition of 'Farwell to Welfare'. Grace then reminded everyone that while pride should definitely be a celebration of LGBTQ+ people, it is still a protest and there is still so much more work to be done. This led into the perfect setting for pride' which reflected on the brilliant progress made, but emphasises the work still left to do.

Grace continued her all important message of liberation, hope and love by declaring there will never be true liberation for 'LGB' without supporting liberation of 'T, a brilliant stance against transphobia which was fully supported by the now extremely lively crowd. Grace then began playing arguably her most famous song Black Tie' which received a huge response from her audience, chanting back the song as if it was the most important song ever written, and when you acknowledge the message behind it, a fair argument could be made for it being just that.

Grace closed her set with an epic performance of 'Northbound which had all of Jesus Green clapping along in exuberance. A song about being determined to get to your destination no matter what you have to encounter to get there sums up the message behind Pride to 
perfection, which clearly resonated with those in attendance

By the time Grace and Ben played their final notes it was abundantly clear that everyone in attendance were one with each other, pulled closer by a musician at the top of her game. She could have easily headlined the whole day, and the way the crowd took to her set, she could have played for hours straight without any complaints

Grace's lyrical prowess and ability to create countless catchy songs, whilst tackling some of the most widespread problems we face as a society today, is an ability protests singers strive their whole careers for - yet there can be no doubt Grace Petrie knows the recipe

Sherika Sherard:

Opening her set with Lonely in a Crowded Room immediately introduced those unfamiliar with Sherika Sherard exactly what to expect, the epitome of everything music should be; a way to express your deepest and most personal feelings, whist starting important 
conversations about life. 

For me, Sherika's song 'No One's Getting Out Alive' was the highlight of the set, a hard-hitting ballad that tells an inspired message of not wasting your life, embracing who you are, and living life to the fullest in a way that is true to yourself. 

Sherika closed her set with ' Give Me A Job', a song about battling hardship and persevering through life, a common theme in Sherika's music, and a perfect message to leave in the crowd's mind
 

Lara Gisborne:

Lara Gisborne took to the stage in a packed-out Community Hive and had all eyes on her. Lara's unique method of using stories and places to inspire her song writing process make you feel like you are listening to an author tell you the most magical tale.

Lara's set featured a catalogue of stunning songs, sang to perfection and accompanied by her high-level guitar playing, that created a 
serene atmosphere for all in attendance.

Listening to Lara perform made it easy to lose all sense of what is going on around you and be fully engrossed in the escapism her music provides. Her music feels like great big warm hug that tells you no matter what is going on in the world, everything will be okay

Colonel Spanky's Love Ensemble:

On a scorching day in the middle of summer, there can be few sounds more perfect than the funky stylings of Colonel Spanky's Love Ensemble. The Cambridge based group brought high energy and enthusiasm like no others to the stage that had everyone up on their feet dancing.

Opening their set with a brass-backed 'Vengaboys' medley, the band quickly became fan favourites. What followed was set of non-stop bops, featuring a host of LGBTQ+ anthems like 'I'm Coming Out'

The combination of their incredible instrumentals, the brilliant vocals of lead-singer Jazz, and the feeling that every band member was having the time of their life, meant this really was a feel-good performance that will stick long in the memories of everyone in attendance,

The Divas & The Mawmas:

Cambridge has one of the fastest growing drag scenes in the country, and after watching the campy brilliance of The Divas & The Mawmas, it is clear why. The group, consisting on the day of Aria the Kween, Stelia Jobs and Prossie Tot, took to the stage with high-
energy and never let it drop.

Their performance started off with an individual lip-sync from each queen, before the trio took to the stage together, bringing the 
performance to a whole new level.

The group treated the crowd with a UK debut of their Euro Lip-Sync competition entry of 'Fireworks', alongside a passionate performance of Colour by MNEK, which saw each member of The Divas & The Mawmas hold up a different pride flag, emphasising the incredible love and unity the drag community brings to all

Alexa Vox:

Alexa Vox claims to be 'The Patron Saint of Cabaret, but her performance at Cambridge pride proved she is just as much sinner as she is saint, in the best way possible.

As the backing track for opening song 'It's Raining Men' played out, Alexa took to the stage proudly declaring Trans women aren't just women, they are wonder women", which was greeted by a huge roar from those in attendance; This crowd energy did not dip the whole performance.

Alexa's set included brilliant renditions of 'Relax, 'Padam Padam' and a whole host of Erasure's hits, being delivered in a way that 
highlights everything we love about cabaret.

The performance conveyed positivity in every way possible, creating an inclusive party that anyone could get on board with.