Queer love and diversity are celebrated this week during Oslo Pride, with bustling public life, parades and concerts. Music has always been important to the gay movement. “Party is politics,” says Reidar Engesbak.
/ 21/06/2019 / Kristian DugstadThis story was published in connection with the celebration of Oslo Pride 2019.
In Oslo, rainbow flags are everywhere. On social media, companies and organizations have adorned well-known logos with rainbow colors. In Spikersuppa, in the center of the capital, tens of thousands visit Pride Park, and the celebration of queer love and diversity colors the city.
The struggle of the gay movement has yielded results in the 50 years that have passed since the riots at the Stonewall Inn nightclub in 1969. The riots marked the start of Pride celebrations around the world, and music has played an important role from the beginning.
– Music, film and books are the media through which queer people often see themselves for the first time in a heteronormative society. Music has functioned as a struggle, identity builder, expression of emotions and much more, says Reidar Engesbak, journalist and editor at Blikk nett.
Blikk is a magazine for gay, lesbian, bisexual, intersex, transgender and queer people. As editor of the online edition, Engesbak works with daily news coverage – often about queer music and culture.
– There is a long list of artists and songs that have been important to the gay movement, both from queer and allied sides. With the disco era came iconic artists like disco queen Sylvester: queer, black, extravagant and extremely open. Madonna was early with her AIDS commitment, and stuffed the LGBT issue down the throats of both fans and opponents. Freddy Mercury, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand and many more.
Music is still central today, and the concert program is an important part of the Pride celebrations in Oslo this week.
– In recent years, there has been a debate about whether Pride is a party or politics. Is it too much party and too little politics? Considering that the riots started outside the Stonewall Inn, the answer is obvious. Party is politics and vice versa, and music has always been the focus. It is the music that we can gather around, be it in parades, demonstrations or on the dance floor.
Songwriter and artist Tom Hugo Hermansen performs with the group KEiiNO during the Paradeshow after this year's Pride parade. He is known for representing Norway in Eurovision earlier this spring. Last year, his song "Family" was named Pride song of the year by Oslo Pride.
– There are probably many who have found comfort and support in music throughout. Music binds people together, and there are no numbers on how many people met to dance and party.
Creating music has always been an important part of Hermansen's identity, but he believes he would have come out of the closet sooner if it weren't for music.
– I had an idea that I had to fit into the artist role, and be the girls' Jens. It was an internal struggle to accept myself. I was so afraid of ruining my opportunities that it took me a long time to come out of the closet. Now I see that it's just nonsense – I write much better songs now, when I can be myself.
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The audience in Pride Park will experience both politics and music. Saturday's Paradeshow is just one of the events on the Main Stage. Former booking manager at Oslo Pride, Bente Jørgensen, helped build this part of the celebration for several years.
– When I started in 2014, there was little focus on the musical aspect of Pride. I took the job on one condition: that I was allowed to take artist booking seriously. We wanted more people to discover Pride Park, and I was sure that the audience would follow, as long as we delivered the music.
And she was right. Attendance at Oslo Pride and Pride Park has grown significantly in recent years. Jørgensen was in charge of bookings from 2014 to 2017, and worked diligently to offer a good and appropriate concert program.
– We were keen to showcase diversity and queer artists. We had names like Fay Wildhagen, Biru Baby and Beglomeg. I remember when Silvana Imam played in 2016. The concert was at the same time as the VG-lista Topp 20 at Rådhusplassen, and we were afraid that people wouldn't come. It was packed.
Like Engesbak, Jørgensen believes that it is impossible to separate politics and music when it comes to Pride and the gay movement.
– You can also see that in the artists. Many take the opportunity to say some catchy words when they play, she says.
Among the artists playing during Pride this week, many are openly gay themselves. Engesbak believes it is important for the gay movement to look out for them today.
– I think of the whole spectrum: Lesbian, gay, bi, trans and non-binary. A good example is Hayley Kiyoko, who is called the lesbian Jesus. She is openly queer and has a large fan base. The same goes for John Grant. Years and Years fronted by Ollie Alexander is also an important band.
Rainbow flags are waving in the wind in Oslo, and the queer community is joined by many outsiders in this week's celebration. Many artists also want to show support for the gay movement. Enegesbak believes it is important to ask why. He points to Taylor Swift, who recently released the music video "You Need To Calm Down", with many queer personalities and celebrities.
– Top it, but no matter how much she fronts the issue, it's all about selling herself. She's been sitting quietly in the boat for many years and said little about LGBT rights. Now the wind is blowing to fight destructive forces and Swift is taking advantage of that – knowing full well that it won't hurt her wallet. Call me cynical, but Swift could be called the same, he says.
