Princess Nokia, Saucy Santana to headline Pride Festival

San Diego Pride announced today the headliners of the 2023 Pride Festival: groundbreaking LGBTQ+ artists Princess Nokia and Saucy Santana. San Diego Pride Week will be packed with events leading up to the Pride Festival, which will be held in Balboa Park July 15-16, 2023.

This year’s theme is “Thrive!” highlighting the resilience and determination of the LGBTQ+ community to overcome challenges and celebrate their collective strength.

Princess Nokia is an experimental rapper who has been honing her craft since 2010. Their mother died when they were young and they were placed with a physically abusive foster mother for several years. After leaving the abusive situation to live with her grandmother, Princess Nokia began writing rhymes that eventually blossomed into her successful career today.

The bisexual musician first came to prominence while performing at gay nightclubs and remained an important part of gay club culture before bursting into the mainstream.

Princess Nokia, the Saturday headliner, said, “This year especially when threats to our rights are coming from every direction, it’s important that we come together to celebrate and reaffirm our pride and our identities. I cannot wait to see you all, and show the forces that would silence us that we stand united and that together we thrive!”

Saucy Santana is a rapper who released his first single “Walk Em Like A Dog” on Soundcloud in 2019. The former makeup artist has inspired a few TikTok challenges since then and his star continues to rise.

The Sunday headliner was injured in a drive-by shooting in Florida in 2019. He believes the shooting was spurred in part by homophobia.

“It’s time for us to rise above the challenges we are facing and embrace the strength and resilience that define our diverse community. Let’s stay loud, together in unity and love, and show the world that not only do we survive, we Thrive!” said Santana in a statement.

Santana is a recurring guest on the reality TV series “Love & Hip Hop: Miami” and has a duet with Madonna. The flamboyant star continues to release hits that are mainstays of gay clubs and challenges the limits of who can be a rapper.

“There is art in our advocacy and advocacy in our art. Our annual celebrations bring together hundreds of thousands of people who converge around LGBTQ arts and culture with clear social justice messages” said Fernando Z. López, Executive Director of San Diego Pride. “As LGBTQ people whose lives, events, art, and culture have increasingly been under legislative and violent threat, it is now more vital than ever to remember that creating civic and artistic spaces where our LGBTQ community can safely and authentically be ourselves is a social justice issue. These headliners, our brilliant local artists and musicians, and our entire community are ready to stand up, stand out, and help us all thrive!”

The two-day festival will showcase local LGBTQ+ and BIPOC artists across six stages, educational and art exhibits, local businesses, interactive cultural presentations, delicious food, HIV testing, and more. Previous festival headliners include Ashnikko, Baby Tate, Daya, Snow Tha Product, Melissa Etheridge, Kesha, Kim Petras, and TLC.

The San Diego Pride Parade, taking place July 15, 2023, is free and open to the public and annually attracts over 250,000 people from all over the world.

All proceeds from the festival and parade go to supporting San Diego Pride’s LGBTQ-centered philanthropy and year-round education and advocacy programs. As of 2022, San Diego Pride has donated over $3 million to local, national, and international LGBTQ-serving organizations.

Tickets for the Festival are available here.