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Concerts

Toronto Queer Music Festival Lavender Wild Gets Slayyyter, Rebecca Black for Summer Dance Party

Ari Hicks, Makayla Couture and more will take the stage at History for a sweaty August event, with proceeds going towards 2SLGBTQI+ charity The Get Real Movement as well as Toronto's Glad Day Bookshop, the oldest queer bookstore in the world.

Slayyyter

Slayyyter

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With Pride month in full swing, Toronto queer music festival Lavender Wild has announced a sizzling new event for later this summer.

"Starfucker" singer Slayyyter will headline the August 24 celebration at Toronto's History club, with queer musician and "Friday" singer Rebecca Black DJing, while Canadian drag queens Makayla Couture and Naomi Leone also bringing their star quality to the stage.


Proceeds from the event will go towards 2SLGBTQI+ charity The Get Real Movement, which combats discrimination in schools and workplaces, as well as to Toronto's Glad Day Bookshop, the world's oldest queer bookstore. Glad Day is facing possible eviction and fundraising to keep its doors open as it plans its next era.

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Lavender Wild, an initiative of Live Nation, had its first edition in 2023, which was less dance focused, bringing international stars like Hayley Kiyoko, G Flip and Girl In Red to Toronto, as well as programming Canadian artists like myst milano. and Shawnee Kish. The festival prioritizes hiring 2SLGBTQI+ labour on-stage and off, including videographers, vendors, photographers and more.

The 2024 edition will swap last year's Echo Beach location for History, promising to be a sweet and sweaty night at the club.

Tickets go on sale Friday, June 21 on the Lavender Wild site.

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Savan Kotecha at the premiere of "The Idea of You" held at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 29, 2024 in New York City.
Kristina Bumphrey/Variety

Savan Kotecha at the premiere of "The Idea of You" held at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 29, 2024 in New York City.

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"I remember sending it to Max Martin, going, 'look at this!'" the hit songwriter-producer recalls of the 2012 pop hit currently topping Billboard's global charts.

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Over the course of his over 20-year-long career, Justin Bieber is far from the only superstar Kotecha has written for. His credits include songs for Britney Spears, One Direction, Lizzo and Katy Perry. And after some time away to focus on his family (“I was so deep in it and I felt like I was missing my kids’ childhood… If I was in the middle of writing a song, I would be tweaking until two in the morning,” he says), he returned to churning out hits. He co-wrote 2025 hits for Ed Sheeran (“Azizam”) and Tate McRae (“It’s OK I’m OK”) among others.

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