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Iconic singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge to headline San Diego Pride Festival

Posted at 1:48 PM, Mar 15, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-15 16:54:38-04

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge will headline 45th annual San Diego Pride Festival this summer on July 14.

Tickets for the festival can be found here, ranging from $20 to $200 for the VIP option. A limited number of meet-and-greet tickets were offered, but don't appear to be available on the website.

“To my LGBTQ fans in San Diego and around the world, I have so much to thank you for,” said Etheridge. “You are the proof that we can become the change we wish to see. This community makes me a better person every day and this year at San Diego Pride, we will raise our spirits to the heavens and rock ‘til we drop!”

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More than 90 musical acts across four stages are planned for the two-day festival. This year's theme is "Stonewall 50: A Legacy of Liberation" to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots and its effect on the LGBTQ community.

“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that launched the modern-day LGBTQ civil rights movement, our Pride theme is A Legacy of Liberation, and I can think of no one better to embody that spirit than Melissa Etheridge,” said Fernando López, executive director of San Diego Pride. “Her decades of meaningful music and inspired advocacy continue to connect the LGBTQ community and carve a better path forward both here and around the world.”

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Etheridge, a rock icon and avid LGBTQ advocate, joins a list of previous headliners including Ke$ha, TLC, Kathy Griffin, JoJo, Margaret Cho, and others.

Etheridge's "I'm the Only One" peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #8 in 1995 and spent 40 weeks on the chart. Eight of her other songs have cracked the Top 100 since 1989.

Her new album, “The Medicine Show,” will be released April 12.

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San Diego Pride's festival draws more than 40,000 visitors and features vendors, educational and art exhibits, and cultural presentations. The San Diego Pride Parade is billed as the largest single-day civic event in San Diego and one of the largest pride parades in the country.

Proceeds from the festival and parade benefit San Diego Pride's education and advocacy programs.