King Princess To Headline 2019 San Diego Pride Festival

SAN DIEGO, CA – LGBTQ advocate, singer-songwriter and instrumentalist King Princess will headline San Diego's 2019 Pride Festival on Saturday, July 13 -- a two-day event, July 13-14, that includes a 5K, parade and festival with more than 90 musical acts across four stages.

The theme of this year’s festival, which also features singer Melissa Etheridge as Sunday's headliner, is “Stonewall 50: A Legacy of Liberation,” – intended to align with the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village in New York City and to honor that generation's LGBTQ activism efforts, according to the San Diego Pride organization.

“Playing San Diego Pride is a true honor," King Princess said. "Pride celebrations are a pillar of liberation and representation in our community and a reminder of our ability to bring happiness to one another through inclusion. ... Come rock with me and Melissa!”

In February 2018, King Princess released her debut single “1950” with the title song being a tribute to both the 1952 novel “The Price of Salt” by Patricia Highsmith and the LGBTQ community of that time who faced barriers in openly expressing themselves due to McCarthyism and the Lavender Scare, San Diego Pride said.

“The ability for compelling LGBTQ artists like King Princess to come right out the gate fully embracing their identity in their music, medium and public persona embodies how far we’ve come since the Stonewall Riots,” said San Diego Pride Executive Director Fernando López. “It’s an honor to have a queer rising star like King Princess headline at San Diego Pride’s Festival along with Melissa Etheridge and all the other iconic LGBTQ artists we’re eager to announce, all of whom approach their craft and our community with social justice in their hearts.”

Tickets for the San Diego Pride Festival are currently on sale at www.sdpride.org, with a limited number of King Princess meet-and-greet tickets available.

The San Diego Pride Parade takes place Saturday, July 13 at 10 a.m. and is free and open to the public.

The annual two-day festival draws more than 45,000 visitors with its food and vendor booths, educational and art exhibits and cultural presentations. The Pride Parade is the largest single-day civic event in the San Diego region and is the sixth largest Pride celebration in the United States, attracting more than 250,000 people, according to organizers.

San Diego Pride, formed in 1974 as a sponsored program of The Center for Social Services and incorporated as a nonprofit in 1994, produced the first Lesbian and Gay Parade in San Diego in 1975 to celebrate the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion on New York’s Christopher Street.

Proceeds from the festival and parade support San Diego Pride’s LGBTQ-centered philanthropy, education and advocacy programs.

• ALSO SEE: L’Auberge Del Mar's Opening Race-Day Bash: Tickets On Sale Soon