Editor’s Note: RVA Magazine is proud to partner with Virginia PrideFest, happening Saturday, September 12, and to produce the annual Pride Guide celebrating Richmond and Virginia’s LGBTQ+ community.
We’d also like to thank the following sponsors who made the 2026 Pride Guide possible: Virginia Museum of History & Culture, Virginia MOCA, Virginia Repertory Theatre, Richmond Triangle Players, Health Brigade, Godfrey’s, Chrysler Museum of Art, and River Fox Realty.
Virginia PrideFest returns Saturday, September 12, from noon to 8 p.m. The state’s largest LGBTQ+ festival draws tens of thousands of attendees to the free event each year and one of the festival’s biggest attractions is its musical performances, with artists flooding the crowd with music of all genres. PrideFest has four headliners for the Kroger Mainstage this year: queer pop singer David Archuleta, bisexual pop singer Madison Rose, gay country artist Chris Housman, and drag queen A’keria Davenport.
The headliners are joined by several performers from the DMV.
One of those artists is Natalia “Nat” Ramos from Virginia Beach. Nat is a Latin R&B singer who started seriously making music during the pandemic, when she started working with a friend of hers who was also a music producer. Before making music, it was still an integral part of their work as a dancer.
“Seeing both of those worlds meet was really, really nice because I was able to see what I wanted to do with my life,” Nat said. “Because when I was a dancer, I was like, ‘Oh, I want to do more than that.’”
Nat said she is excited to play PrideFest for the first time, not only for the exposure, but for the opportunity to help the community in any way they can as an artist, a local Virginian, and a proud lesbian.
“You never know how much of an impact you can be to someone, especially with Pride,” Nat said. “Even though people see it now more for entertainment, I feel like the meaning of it all is knowing how we can still be able to create a space of love for those who are seeking it.”
Nat hopes to share the love on the main stage with her community, as she believes they’ve fought very hard for safe spaces, especially Black and Brown queer communities.
The ’90s/2000s pop-punk cover band What’s Our Age Again (pictured above) will return to PrideFest for the second time this year.
Founding member and guitarist Saverio Morea started the Richmond-based band in 2019, while lead singer Andrew Saunders joined the band earlier this year and is known as a deejay at Barcode, Richmond’s longest-standing gay bar. Saunders said he feels blessed and thankful for the opportunity to perform at Pride this year.
“Pride is huge for us,” Saunders said. “It’s a beautiful, wonderful crowd. Everybody has a great time. Everybody gets to experience their true selves.”
Saunders shared the same sentiment when looking back on a memory of performing at Pride with a different musical project a few years ago.
“I had a young girl very close to the front of the stage who was hearing [the song] with everything in her,” Saunders said. “She had this beautiful giant smile. You could just tell in this moment, like tears running down her face. It’s like, this was the day for her that she felt seen, that this was her experience. It was just this beautiful day, like getting to see these people and participate, and it’s such a great event.”
For guitarist Saverio, this will be his first time both performing at and attending PrideFest. He hopes to bring his kids and his wife, who is part of the community, and explore the festival after the show. And if you’re looking to rock with the gang some more, catch their next show the following weekend on Sept. 19 at the Great American Ranch in Midlothian.
Another artist gracing the stage for their second year is singer Teshia LeSane, who describes the music she creates as inspirational soul R&B. LeSane is a Richmond native and started singing at 5 years old in her church choir. She found music to be something that motivated and helped her get through her childhood, not only as a Black woman growing up in the city, but as a lesbian as well. She hopes to inspire people with her music.
“It can be really dark, you know? Not just in the LGBTQ+ world, but in the world, period,” LeSane said. “So to be able to shed a little bit of light, that’s what I look to do with my music.”
LeSane said that getting to perform at PrideFest means everything to her, as she feels like artists from the area don’t always get the call to do festivals here. PrideFest was something that was always secretly on her bucket list.
“So when I got the call, I was like, ‘The universe is listening, the universe is hearing me,’” LeSane said. “It’s just like one of those things, like, ‘Wow,’ when you’re working really hard, you don’t realize that people are actually watching.”
LeSane is also the proud co-owner of Harlym Blue’Z in Brookland Park, the only Black queer woman-owned entertainment venue in Richmond, and wants to continue to be a beacon of hope in the community.
One of the artists coming from out of town is Ari Voxx, who is a D.C.-based artist. Voxx considers her music to be dreamy indie pop and started her solo music career back in 2020 so she could create music that is more authentic to who she is.
The singer is a Pride festival veteran, having performed at five different Prides, but this year will be her first time at Virginia PrideFest. While Voxx is looking forward to connecting with other local musicians and creatives, she said performing at PrideFest also feels like acceptance.
As a queer Black woman, she feels like there aren’t many places where she can feel seen, welcomed, and connected. Voxx believes more artists like her should be platformed at Pride festivals and is happy to be representing Black queer female artists.
Voxx hopes that she can connect to people with her music, as a lot of her songs have themes around depression and anxiety.
“Whenever people come up to me after a performance and are like, ‘Yo, I felt seen, thank you for that,’ I mean, that feels really good,” Voxx said. “So that’s the best I can really hope for, that someone connects to what I’m expressing.”
She feels Pride is especially important for people in the LGBTQ+ community given what’s going on in the world right now.
“It’s important to have these kinds of spaces and events and Pride that remind us why we’re here, like why we’re doing this,” Voxx said. “We can see other people in our community and kind of come together and laugh and cry and all that stuff because, you know, we may not get that on the day-to-day.”
Other artists taking the stage include the Chapstix, rappers Trio P and Young Shiloh, DJ Reflexion, and multiple drag performances from drag kings and queens all across the state.
With a nearly all-queer lineup for the stage this year, PrideFest is a space for inclusivity, love, and belonging.
Written by by Sapphira Mohammed
Main photo of What’s Our Age Again lead singer Andrew Saunders by Rob St. Amand
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Virginia PrideFest 2026 | Our Pride. Our Joy. Our Resistance!
Sept. 12, 2026 | Noon–8 p.m.
12:00 p.m. — PrideFest Opening with DJ Reflexion
12:15 p.m. — Richmond Allied Voices
12:20 p.m. — VA Pride Court, Black Pride RVA Court, and Mx Manchester
12:55 p.m. — The Chapstix
1:25 p.m. — Ari Voxx
1:45 p.m. — Haus of Envy, Mr. and Miss Hampton Roads Unity
2:05 p.m. — Nat
2:25 p.m. — Teshia LeSane & Sound
2:55 p.m. — Trio
3:15 p.m. — Madison Rose
3:55 p.m. — Special Guest Speakers, Scholarship Award, Firework Awards
4:30 p.m. — Parade of Colors
4:40 p.m. — PrideFest Halftime Show
5:10 p.m. — Mx. Capital Pride, It’s Reigning Men
5:30 p.m. — Chris Housman
6:00 p.m. — Godfrey’s Angels, Mr. and Miss Godfrey’s
6:10 p.m. — What’s Our Age Again?
6:40 p.m. — Young Shiloh
7:00 p.m. — A’Keria Chanel Davenport
7:10 p.m. — David Archuleta
8:00 p.m. — Closing Remarks and Thank You
Virginia Pride Week 2026
Saturday, Sept. 5
8 p.m.–1 a.m. — Choose Your Own Kick Off! | Multiple Locations
Sunday, Sept. 6
3–7 p.m. — Pride Patio Party | Babe’s
Monday, Sept. 7
4–7 p.m. — Pride Rooftop Party | New York Deli
Tuesday, Sept. 8
6–8 p.m. — Pride in Action | Diversity Richmond
Wednesday, Sept. 9
7–9 p.m. — Pride Honors | Godfrey’s
Thursday, Sept. 10
8 p.m.–1 a.m. — Pride Karaoke | Barcode
Friday, Sept. 11
6 p.m.–1 a.m. — Pride After Dark | Thirsty’s
Saturday, Sept. 12
Noon–8 p.m. — PrideFest | Midtown Green, 2401 W. Leigh St.
Sunday, Sept. 13
2–7 p.m. — Pride Closing Party: Sunny Tea | New York Deli
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