In what is being billed as “one of the nation’s only music festivals specifically for queer women,” Lesbopalooza will be making its fifth run in Eugene on Friday and Saturday.
The festival, which will take place at the WOW Hall on Friday and in Agate Hall on Saturday, will feature a variety of local and national acts, including the Butchies and Station Wag.
Sponsored by the UO Women’s Center, Lesbopalooza has become a popular event since it began five years ago as a function of the LGBTQA and involved mostly local performers. After the Women’s Center took over three years ago, the event has grown to encompass national performing artists as well.
“We hope to create a positive space with this event,” Women’s Center LGBT Issues Coordinator Kirista Trask said. “We want to create an atmosphere that’s more celebratory than political. Most gatherings of this sort are concerned with what it means to be queer in this society. With this we want to celebrate being queer and have a more happy-go-lucky event.”
While the promoters expect the show to be popular, organizers of the production have faced problems. The original headliner, Bitch and Animal, broke up after signing on for the concert, subsequently canceling much of its tour, including the Lesbopalooza performance.
Though Canadian singer-songwriter Kinnie Starr signed on as a replacement, the show’s problems were not quite over. The WOW Hall, which the Women’s Center had intended to use for both the Friday and Saturday shows, had already booked Saturday night for a different performance. However, the center was able to book Agate Hall for the second night.
“The venue changes actually worked out pretty well,” Trask said. “Friday is now the upbeat rock show, which is good since that is what the WOW Hall is best for. Saturday become more of a groove-oriented show.”
With all the kinks worked out, organizers have high hopes for the festival.
“There has been a lot of interest this year, not just from the community but from the bands as well,” Women’s Center Public Relations Coordinator Sarah Wells said. “Bands contacted us asking about the performance rather than the other way around. I think this will be a really good way for the LGBTQ music community to get together and be known.”
The WOW Hall is also expecting good returns from the show.
“The show has done well every year that it has played here,” WOW Hall Program Manager Abe Nielsen said. “It will probably do as good or better than last year. Anyway, it’s an event that we really enjoy doing.”
Other performers include Demimonde Slumber Party, Chris Pureka, Magdalen Hsu-Li, Piper Mckenzie and Nicole Sangsuree.
Tickets for Lesbopalooza are available at the UO Ticket Office in the Erb Memorial Union. Tickets for students are $7 for one show and $12 for both shows. Tickets for the general public are $10 for one show and $16 for both. Both shows start at 7 p.m. and doors open at 6:30 p.m. The WOW Hall is located at 291 W. Eighth Ave. and Agate Hall is located at 1787 Agate St.