Big Freedia, Snow Tha Product, Todrick Hall and Debby Holiday will headline the two-day festival. DJ Jamie J. Sanchez will spin four hours of dance music on Sunday afternoon for anyone left standing after Big Freedia blows out the Saturday main stage. The worldwide ambassador of New Orleans bounce has been on a gospel kick lately — she's dropping a new album Aug. 8 — as if she needed to enlist any holy spirits to get people moving.
Mexican-Californian rapper Snow Tha Product likewise is a party in a bottle. She swerves between Spanish and English faster than rolled r's. Todrick Hall is an ostentatiously versatile showman with multiple Broadway credits as well as runs on "American Idol," "RuPaul's Drag Race," and a West End show, "Burlesque," that for all appearances looked like a sweaty, sexy shitshow. Debby Holiday hasn't enjoyed quite that level of exposure, but leans into big house beats and old-school disco sounds that will give you a chance to lean into fellow old-school disco dancers and maybe take them back to your house.
The annual festival will run the weekend of October 18 and 19 at Steele Indian School Park in central Phoenix. The parade starts at 10 a.m. on Sunday at Thomas Road and Third Street, heading north to the park.
The mayor will be in the parade, which is how you know it's legit. The festival likewise will have festival features: food and drink, space to dance, dedicated spots for wellness and for kids, a cooling tent and a relaxation area specifically for seniors, where presumably you can chat about old-school disco with people who know what's what.
Unlike in recent years, the festival will offer VIPs an air-conditioned section and access right in front of the main stage, as well as drinks and discounts. Don't worry — you don't need to actually be very important to be a VIP. You just need to pay more money. General admission tickets start at $34 for a single festival date and $55 for both days. VIP tickets are $119 for a single day and $171 for both days. You can also pay $55 for a meet-and-greet with Big Freedia or Todrick Hall. Lock in your tickets at phoenixpride.org.
The organizers acknowledged in a press release that 2025 has been a rough year for LGBTQIA+ people, and that this, the 44th Phoenix Pride, is a way to get everyone together and have a great time despite all the nonsense. Unspoken but implied is that it's been a rough year for a lot of straights, as well, especially if they're the kind of straights who don't want to see harm befall gay and queer and trans people. So everyone gets this chance to enjoy an inclusive weekend with dancing and visible abs and maybe a little hearing loss — the kinds of shenanigans that make life rewarding.
“The American LGBTQ+ community continues to face a period of increased discrimination, hate, and marginalization under the current presidential administration," Daniel Eckstrom, the president of the Phoenix Pride Board of Directors, said in a media release. "Bringing our community together to celebrate Pride is an act of open and active defiance of that administration." As you'll no doubt hear Big Freedia say more than once at her set: hallelujah.
Here are the daily music lineups for the festival:
Saturday, October 18
• Snow Tha Product – 7:15 p.m.
• Big Freedia – 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 19
• DJ Jamie J. Sanchez – 12 to 4 p.m.
• Debby Holiday – 6:30 p.m.
• Todrick Hall – 7:45 p.m.
