Leikeli47, Maren Morris (Photo: John Sears – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0), Myki Meeks
The Capital Pride Alliance, organizer of the annual celebration of Pride in the nation’s capital, has announced that Grammy Award-winning, multi-platinum musical artist Maren Morris, will headline the 2026 Capital Pride Concert on Sunday, June 21.
Known for her music combining elements of country, pop, R&B, rock, and soul, Morris will be joined by acclaimed queer rapper Leikeli47, pop icon Lisa Lisa, the Toronto-based electronic musician and DJ Harrison — a two-time JUNO Award nominee, whose music appears on thesoundtrack for the gay-themed HBO series Heated Rivalry — and Myki Meeks, winner of Season 18 of RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Morris, who is bisexual, is known for her outspoken support of LGBTQ rights and has performed with drag entertainers, expressing opposition to anti-LGBTQ legislation, including the state of Tennessee’s law restricting drag performances in places where they might be viewed by children.
In 2023, during the pro-LGBTQ Love Rising benefit concert at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Morris introduced her son to drag performers and issued a challenge on social media, daring Tennessee law enforcement to arrest her. She has also previously appeared as a judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
“In a moment when LGBTQ+ people are being challenged across the country, the Capital Pride Concert is a space where our community is fully seen and heard,” Ryan Bos, CEO and president of Capital Pride Alliance, said in a statement. “Bringing Maren Morris to the stage reflects this year’s theme — ‘Exist. Resist. Have the Audacity!’ stands for using your platform and voice to push culture forward.”
The annual Pride concert, which takes place on the Capitol Stage, on Pennsylvania Avenue in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol Building, coincides with the annual Capital Pride Festival, which runs from noon to 10 p.m., and features live performances by local and international artists, food and drink vendors, and tabling by LGBTQ and local community organizations.
Following the Capitol Stage performances, which end around 8 p.m., the celebration will continue with the Capital Sunset Dance Party, featuring two hours of music spun by Pride favorite DJ Tracy Young, with dancing in the shadow of the Capitol against the backdrop of the night sky.
For more information on the Capital Pride Concert and Festival, or for a schedule of upcoming Pride events, visit capitalpride.org.
"Growing up, my family was politically aware," says Democratic California State Sen. Scott Wiener. "I remember in 1980, when Reagan was elected, I was 10 years old. I remember our house was a house of mourning that election night, and there was a sense in my home of just trepidation of what was going to happen because even though Reagan seems somewhat more benign than Trump, it was a very right-wing takeover.
"My family was very aware and attuned to what was happening, and especially as Jews, you're always attuned to who's taking over the government and what they could do."
Growing up in Southern New Jersey, in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Wiener, the son of an optometrist, was raised in a conservative Jewish family, with ancestors who fled the pogroms of Russia and Eastern Europe in the early 20th century before immigrating to the United States. While his hometown ultimately transitioned from a farm town into a more developed suburb, there was no local synagogue until Wiener's parents formed one with a dozen other Jewish families from the surrounding area.
Boston University's president is apologizing for a now-rescinded policy that prohibited Pride flags and pro-LGBTQ signs in windows and other publicly visible spaces on campus.
In the weeks since spring break ended on March 15, students and staff have protested the removal of Pride flags and pro-LGBTQ signs, including those displayed in individual professors' offices, to comply with the university's policy opposing displays that are not "content-neutral," as Metro Weekly previously reported.
The university has denied singling out symbols of LGBTQ identity.
A Kentucky bill that sought to bar transgender people from teaching has failed.
State Sen. Gex ("Jay") Williams (R-Verona) introduced SB 351 in early March to prevent transgender people from obtaining or keeping teaching certifications.
Under the bill, anyone reported to state education officials as potentially transgender would have been required to undergo medical exams and submit the results to obtain or renew a teaching license.
The bill also would have barred teaching certificates for anyone "who has been treated for or diagnosed with any disorder that is excluded from the American with Disabilities Act of 1990 by a licensed medical professional, as these disorders were defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders at the time."
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