Imagine a world without the charismatic stage presence and vocals of Freddie Mercury, the piercing scream and Harley-riding antics of Rob Halford, the electrifyingly powerful vocals of Lzzy Hale or the punk rock anthems of Billy Joe Armstrong. These are all queer artists who have defined generations with their music, so why is rock and metal music not given more of a spotlight during Pride celebrations? We started Pride Rock to change this.
The idea for Pride Rock came from one fateful evening in 2019 over a pint in a beer garden. A friend of mine asked me if I would ever be interested in putting on a rock and metal event for the Brighton Pride weekend as I was the only person he knew that worked in the music industry. He explained to me that while he absolutely loved the Pride weekend and all its celebrations, he never felt truly represented because he would rather wear a black Rammstein T-shirt, headbanging to his favourite rock and metal anthems.
Unfortunately, the pandemic struck a few short months after that drink; while everyone was stuck in their houses, it gave us a good amount of time to ponder the notion of Pride Rock and how it could fit within the main Pride celebrations.
During this time, we came across a case study by Luminate entitled Power of LGBTQ+ Music, highlighting that 46% of the people surveyed listened to rock music on a weekly basis - that dwarfed pop, which was listened to weekly by 34%. It further begged the question: why do we not hear more rock, punk, and metal at Pride?
We knew we had to change this: on August 4, 2023, we launched our first Pride Rock event, featuring Hot Milk as headliners, with main support from InMe and my band Stone Angels kickstarting the celebrations.
It was a fantastic night, a near sell-out, and in the run-up to the show, Hot Milk frontwoman Han Mee, who identifies as bisexual, really captured the spirit and importance of our event when she said: “I never really felt like I fit in at Pride. Always felt like I was too alternative or wasn’t like… 'queer enough', I guess? I dunno. I have always struggled with my place in everything. But this year we’re saying ‘fuck it’ and we’re helping bring the first-ever Brighton Pride Rock to life.”
Since our launch, we've had an outpouring of support from members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and our event has not only been able to give a platform to highlight queer artists but also allies within the alternative music scene. We feel it's important for us to be able to provide a safe space for members of the Pride community who want to rock out.
This year marks our third event in Brighton, and we're ecstatic that we have the incredible Sophie Lloyd headlining the show, with fiery DIY punk artist BEX as main support. The opening slot on the bill is being decided by public vote and out of the hundreds of bands that applied, we narrowed it down to nine acts. In under a week, we received over 1,000 votes!
It's important to remember that Pride at its heart is a protest and that rock, metal and punk music have a rich history in embracing the same rebellious, counter-culture spirit. Given the recent ruling by the UK Supreme Court affecting the Trans community and the anti-trans rhetoric it has emboldened, it feels more important than ever to stand up and advocate for the queer community. Pride Rock will be doing just that.
Pride Rock 2025 takes place Friday August 1 at Chalk in Brighton. You can buy tickets HERE. For more information on Pride Rock, follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
