My annual trip across the pond for the legendary queer women’s event, The Dinah Shore Weekend, is always the highlight of my year but, because of You Know What, I had to stay home in Scotland and ask Aude Thouret, our gal on the ground in California, to set fair for Palm Springs to join hordes of happy women who love women, including the model, actress and singer Cara Delevingne.
The Dinah, as the cool kids call it, is the world’s longest running and largest music festival and event for LGBTQ+ women, non-binary and trans people as well as respectful, well-behaved straight allies.
Macy Gray was the highlight, closing her show by inviting Mariah Hanson, founder and producer of The Dinah to the stage to say congratulations. Macy then added in a spontaneous performance of the Golden Girls theme song, “Thank You for Being a Friend”.
One of the fastest rising artists to keep your eyes on, Tommy Genesis, headlined the Friday Pool Party at The Hilton Hotel. Tommy Genesis is in a self-described “fetish rapper” whose lyrics confront traditional notions of sex and sexuality.
Saturday’s Pool party welcomed DOECHII, who hit the audience with witty punchlines, vulnerable honesty and her signature look. she was amazing, and it’s no surprise that she has begun to dominate the internet over the past year with “Yucky Blucky Fruitcake”, generating over 20 million streams and sending waves through TikTok.
The Sunday pool party crowd fell in love with SoCal vocalist, producer, and multi-instrumentalist St. Panther, who has solidified herself as one to watch after being named “Best New Artist” by Los Angeles radio staple KCRW and placed in rotation on BBC Radio 1 with legendary DJs Annie Mac saying, “I love her, I love the music.”
While The Dinah has been spearheading music careers, it has, most importantly, also been transforming lives and making a difference in and for the LGBT community. The event provides an unparalleled one-of-a-kind experience for a women who come every year from all over the world to enjoy the freedom to be who they truly are without fearing the judgment of others.
Thankfully, with travel restrictions between the UK and America now lifted, I won’t have to rely on second hand reports and, if our editor agrees (pur-leeeeze) I’ll be heading for the sunny west coast in 2022.
Visit The Dinah here.
Can’t wait for next year’s Dinah Shore Weekend? Head to Ireland for Valentines weekend instead. More here.
