Melissa Etheridge to Perform at WorldPride 2014 Joins Opening Ceremonies in a Call for Unity, Peace, Love and Celebration
Toronto, Ontario (PRWEB) March 11, 2014 -- WorldPride 2014 Toronto (WP14TO) announces Grammy Award winner Melissa Etheridge to join festival at the opening ceremonies. Soon after releasing her anthem “Uprising of Love” for Love, Peace and Unity in support of the LGBTQ community in Russia, Melissa confirmed her performance at the WorldPride 2014 Toronto opening ceremonies in Nathan Philips Square on June 20, 2014.
When Melissa Etheridge learned of the Russian government’s mistreatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, the iconic roots-rocker did what she does best: wrote a song. The new anthem quickly became the inspiration for a new celebrity coalition by the same name, Uprising of Love, an organization in support of the safety and dignity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Russians. As a result, 100% of all proceeds from the song go toward the Russia Freedom Fund, which is one of the only ways to make immediate and direct financial contributions to LGBT activists in Russia.
"The lyrics of 'Uprising of Love' came from such a personal and passionate spot in my soul and I'm more than excited to share this anthem with the world,” says Ms. Etheridge. “Love is intangible and unpredictable, but it's the one feeling that is universally experienced and desired by all.”
WorldPride 2014 Toronto is an international celebration incorporating activism, education, and the history and culture of global LGBTTQQ2SA* communities. Highlighting Canada’s continued progress in human rights, WP14TO also celebrates the diversity and dynamism of Toronto, one of the world’s most progressive and liveable cities.
“WorldPride is connected to a much larger movement that allows us to link our local communities to a global struggle in support of Human Rights for the LGBTQ community no matter where they are in the world,” says TK, WorldPride Art & Culture Manager. Pride in Toronto is already one of the largest arts and culture festivals in North America, and this once in a lifetime event will bring people together from around the world for the biggest Pride celebration ever.”
Earlier in her recording career, Etheridge acknowledged her sexual orientation when it was considered less than prudent to do so. A powerful songwriter who delivers her message with gale-force vocals and an aggressively strummed guitar, she is a child of the sixties, a decade when songwriters frequently, and fervently, documented injustice and demanded social and political change through music. Currently, Melissa Etheridge is preparing to hit the road directly after SXSW for a limited run of live dates in an intimate theater setting. These ten upcoming U.S. shows are a rare opportunity to see Etheridge perform in a striped-down atmosphere, rotating between electric and acoustic guitar, piano, and harmonica. Melissa will be performing new and old material, including “Come To My Window”, “I’m The Only One”, “I Run For Life”, and many more. The Grammy Award winning artist will also be releasing a new album in fall/winter 2014.
More announcements will follow so stay tuned.
About WorldPride 2014 Toronto and Pride Toronto
WorldPride 2014 Toronto is an international celebration taking place from June 20 – 29, 2014 that incorporates activism, education, and the history and culture of global LGBTTIQQ2SA* communities. WorldPride 2014 Toronto is presented by Pride Toronto, producer of Canada’s largest annual festival of LGBTTIQQ2SA culture and human rights, under license from InterPride.
Pride Toronto is the not-for-profit organization that hosts the city’s Pride Festival, an annual event in downtown Toronto during the last week of June and one of the premier arts and cultural festivals in Canada. It is also one of the largest Pride celebrations in the world with an estimated attendance of over one million people. It celebrates the history, courage, diversity and future of Toronto's LGBTTIQQ2SA communities.
*LGBTTIQQ2SA is an abbreviation used to represent a broad array of identities such as, but not limited to, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, intersex, queer, questioning, two-spirited, and allies.
For more information visit http://www.worldpridetoronto.com.
Get Social with Melissa Etheridge:
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Please contact:
Trevor Hampden, Trevor(at)pridetoronto(dot)com
Communications Manager, WorldPride 2014 Toronto
(647) 465-6718
Trevor Hampden, Pride Toronto, +1 (647) 465-6718, [email protected]
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