Toronto's inaugural sapphic Super Bowl, lavender wild, arrived at RBC Echo Beach in the nick of time, with the first weekend of Pride Month beginning just after a downpour of rain cleared the sweltering heatwave from days before. As festival attendees and performers would continue to do throughout the one-day event's duration, organizers began the day with a delightful stereotype: handing out crystals and carabiners to guests upon arrival.
It was that kind of self-referential joy in LGBTQIA+ identity that remained a keystone of the event, with the insular grounds rife with people running into their exes, overheard conversations about astrology, plenty of delicious vegan food worth lining up for — and surprisingly minimal chatter about Netflix's queer season of The Ultimatum, despite the presence of multiple Xanders, Vanessas and Mals.
It was also an all-ages event, meaning this was a safe space for young queers to enter their community for the first time, catch their very first drag show, kiss their partners without fear of violence or disapproving family and peers, experience their first-ever concert, and be free to be themselves.
Though lavender wild still has plenty of room to grow by its next season, the festival's first iteration was an excellent proof of concept and a delight all around, its lineup offering a small selection of big-name international sapphic performers and local queer heroes alike.
Drag Performances
After Tangerine's opening slot, an early-afternoon drag show brought together the fiery powers of Sanjina, Manny Dingo, Gay Jesus, Miss Moço and the Virgo Queen, warming up the waterside Rising Stage and riling the crowd up for the party to come. With hosting duties covered by Marisa Rosa Grant, the party began with plenty of glitter and wardrobe changes, lip-syncs to Beyoncé, Calvin Harris and Ingrid Andress, a tribute to the late Tina Turner, and more.
myst milano.
"If you're not a bad bitch, you're not going to relate to this," the Toronto-via-Edmonton rapper-DJ warned partway through their set. That sentiment would prove to be true, with nary a body not in motion as the emcee, decked out in future-fairy threads and a blazing microphone, commanded the Rising Stage by force — something Torontonians should be familiar with, if they're not already.
G Flip
With their Instagram followers already primed for a Chrishell sighting, the Melbourne multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer-songwriter known as G Flip leaned into the theme of the day. They started their set at the Sun Stage by cracking jokes about couples getting married after meeting at their performance (takes one to know one?), delivering a butt-rock-meets-Counting Crows setlist, and, at one point, moving to centre stage for a "cheeky drum solo" while the audience waited on backstage operations.
The set was a tour of G Flip's mega-hits, with the musician donning a floor-length kilt before a quick costume change, revealing a pair of Guns N' Roses-style leather pants for a mix of "Hyperfine," "Be Your Man," "Waste of Space," "GAY 4 ME," "Drink Too Much," "Lover" (about when you're "definitely not friends" after a breakup), a cover of Amy Winehouse's "Valerie," and the debut of their new song "Worst Person Alive." Announcing that lavender wild was their first-ever Canadian festival, G Flip was pleased to share that the event was also their first-ever LGBT-focused festival, much to the simultaneous celebration and cognizance of all involved.
The Aces
Arriving as an interprovincial forest fire-hazed sunset began rather appropriately behind the Sun Stage, Provo, UT-bred Mormon Church defectors the Aces — decked out in boygenius-reminiscent uniforms — brought the goofy indie rock gusto. Landing somewhere between the sonic universes of Paramore and Weezer, and singing about heartbreak, mental health and being "like, so gay" (with the exception of a "spicy ally," bassist McKenna Petty), the quartet revelled in queer joy, reclaiming rock 'n' roll for the gays with their songs "I Can Break Your Heart Too" and "I've Loved You for So Long," as well as a rework of the Who's "My Generation" with subbed-in lyrics about changing pronouns.
Hayley Kiyoko
Lesbian Jesus's much-anticipated performance exploded with break-neck choreography, with backup dancers lending as much to the show as Kiyoko herself. Requisite plays of "Girls Like Girls" and "For the Girls" got the entire Sun Stage audience moving, even if both tracks are a tad Bechdel-bleary.
Wreckno
"It's Wreckno, bitch." By far the highlight of the festival, and fresh off their North American and Australian tours, Michigan's bass/EDM rising star Wreckno brought an outrageous performance to the Rising Stage, spinning everything from Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" to Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice's "Princess Diana," Kim Petras's "Horsey," Far East Movement's "Like a G6" and Dev's "Bass Down Low," as well as Drag Race favourites with headbanging velocity. Taking to the mic intermittently, the emcee rapped their originals with ferocity, jumping to the front of the decks for "DL" and their team-up with GRiZ, "Medusa." The audience lost their shit for the entirety of Wreckno's hour-long set, with the artist tying up their hair before things heated up for "Delusional," dedicated, naturally, to "all my delusional bitches out there" as they belted the truth: "I got way too much drip to be stuck in a cubicle."
girl in red
"I got my period today so you're really getting girl in red," the Norwegian enigma born Marie Ulven Ringheim shared partway through her festival-closing set. Despite a few lyrical hiccups during "Seratonin" that the artist, fresh off her inclusion on Taylor Swift's Eras tour, attributed to ADD and a recent car crash, Ringheim delivered a fireworks-capped set of bangers, including "You Stupid Bitch," "Bad Idea!" and "We Fell in Love in October."
It was that kind of self-referential joy in LGBTQIA+ identity that remained a keystone of the event, with the insular grounds rife with people running into their exes, overheard conversations about astrology, plenty of delicious vegan food worth lining up for — and surprisingly minimal chatter about Netflix's queer season of The Ultimatum, despite the presence of multiple Xanders, Vanessas and Mals.
It was also an all-ages event, meaning this was a safe space for young queers to enter their community for the first time, catch their very first drag show, kiss their partners without fear of violence or disapproving family and peers, experience their first-ever concert, and be free to be themselves.
Though lavender wild still has plenty of room to grow by its next season, the festival's first iteration was an excellent proof of concept and a delight all around, its lineup offering a small selection of big-name international sapphic performers and local queer heroes alike.
Drag Performances
After Tangerine's opening slot, an early-afternoon drag show brought together the fiery powers of Sanjina, Manny Dingo, Gay Jesus, Miss Moço and the Virgo Queen, warming up the waterside Rising Stage and riling the crowd up for the party to come. With hosting duties covered by Marisa Rosa Grant, the party began with plenty of glitter and wardrobe changes, lip-syncs to Beyoncé, Calvin Harris and Ingrid Andress, a tribute to the late Tina Turner, and more.
myst milano.
"If you're not a bad bitch, you're not going to relate to this," the Toronto-via-Edmonton rapper-DJ warned partway through their set. That sentiment would prove to be true, with nary a body not in motion as the emcee, decked out in future-fairy threads and a blazing microphone, commanded the Rising Stage by force — something Torontonians should be familiar with, if they're not already.
G Flip
With their Instagram followers already primed for a Chrishell sighting, the Melbourne multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer-songwriter known as G Flip leaned into the theme of the day. They started their set at the Sun Stage by cracking jokes about couples getting married after meeting at their performance (takes one to know one?), delivering a butt-rock-meets-Counting Crows setlist, and, at one point, moving to centre stage for a "cheeky drum solo" while the audience waited on backstage operations.
The set was a tour of G Flip's mega-hits, with the musician donning a floor-length kilt before a quick costume change, revealing a pair of Guns N' Roses-style leather pants for a mix of "Hyperfine," "Be Your Man," "Waste of Space," "GAY 4 ME," "Drink Too Much," "Lover" (about when you're "definitely not friends" after a breakup), a cover of Amy Winehouse's "Valerie," and the debut of their new song "Worst Person Alive." Announcing that lavender wild was their first-ever Canadian festival, G Flip was pleased to share that the event was also their first-ever LGBT-focused festival, much to the simultaneous celebration and cognizance of all involved.
The Aces
Arriving as an interprovincial forest fire-hazed sunset began rather appropriately behind the Sun Stage, Provo, UT-bred Mormon Church defectors the Aces — decked out in boygenius-reminiscent uniforms — brought the goofy indie rock gusto. Landing somewhere between the sonic universes of Paramore and Weezer, and singing about heartbreak, mental health and being "like, so gay" (with the exception of a "spicy ally," bassist McKenna Petty), the quartet revelled in queer joy, reclaiming rock 'n' roll for the gays with their songs "I Can Break Your Heart Too" and "I've Loved You for So Long," as well as a rework of the Who's "My Generation" with subbed-in lyrics about changing pronouns.
Hayley Kiyoko
Lesbian Jesus's much-anticipated performance exploded with break-neck choreography, with backup dancers lending as much to the show as Kiyoko herself. Requisite plays of "Girls Like Girls" and "For the Girls" got the entire Sun Stage audience moving, even if both tracks are a tad Bechdel-bleary.
Wreckno
"It's Wreckno, bitch." By far the highlight of the festival, and fresh off their North American and Australian tours, Michigan's bass/EDM rising star Wreckno brought an outrageous performance to the Rising Stage, spinning everything from Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" to Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice's "Princess Diana," Kim Petras's "Horsey," Far East Movement's "Like a G6" and Dev's "Bass Down Low," as well as Drag Race favourites with headbanging velocity. Taking to the mic intermittently, the emcee rapped their originals with ferocity, jumping to the front of the decks for "DL" and their team-up with GRiZ, "Medusa." The audience lost their shit for the entirety of Wreckno's hour-long set, with the artist tying up their hair before things heated up for "Delusional," dedicated, naturally, to "all my delusional bitches out there" as they belted the truth: "I got way too much drip to be stuck in a cubicle."
girl in red
"I got my period today so you're really getting girl in red," the Norwegian enigma born Marie Ulven Ringheim shared partway through her festival-closing set. Despite a few lyrical hiccups during "Seratonin" that the artist, fresh off her inclusion on Taylor Swift's Eras tour, attributed to ADD and a recent car crash, Ringheim delivered a fireworks-capped set of bangers, including "You Stupid Bitch," "Bad Idea!" and "We Fell in Love in October."