So Fierce Music Announces A Fierce & Fabulous Affair: Pride Ball Fundraiser Event
So Fierce Music Announces A Fierce & Fabulous Affair: Pride Ball Fundraiser Event
PRESS RELEASE – Founded by internationally renowned DJ/Producer Velvet Code, So Fierce Music is a Canadian-based entertainment and education hub that champions and supports under-served creators such as 2SLGBTQIA+ music artists.
So Fierce Music offers a range of services for artists including music and video production, distribution, marketing, promotion, online education, events, merchandising and management. The So Fierce roster includes Icesis Couture whose December 2021 release La Pusetta has over three million streams. Additionally, So Fierce has released tracks from Gisele Lullaby, Naomi Leone, Shay Dee and Mona Moore, each with hundreds of thousands of streams.
So Fierce Music is thrilled to announce A Fierce & Fabulous Affair: A Pride Ball, a gala fundraiser including a VIP Reception, music concert, and after-party at the El Mocambo in Toronto on June 17, 2023. The event features performances by Canada’s Drag Race winners Icesis Couture, Gisele Lullaby, plus surprise headliners to be announced at a later date. Limited discounted pre-sale tickets starting at $85 (including fees) are available here. Once these are sold out, tickets prices increase.
“We feel that the mainstream music industry has not given 2SLGBTQ+ artists enough opportunities. The lack of diversity, inclusion, and representation across the industry can lead to 2SLGBTQ+ artists not feeling worthy of success,” says Velvet Code, Founder and CEO of So Fierce Music. “This can lead to negative impacts in a creator’s life beyond their music career. We are here to help break the barrier to entry. We believe that talented artists should be celebrated and rewarded, not discriminated against based on their gender identity or sexual orientation. So Fierce Music provides support and a platform, free of judgment.”
A portion of the proceeds from the event support So Fierce Music’s non-profit organization, the YOU DO YOU Foundation as well as Rainbow Railroad. The Foundation supports 2SLGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Two-Spirit, Intersex, Asexual) and QBIPOC (Queer Black, Indigenous, People of Colour) music artists and musicians who are struggling in their lives with an opportunity create music and express themselves.
Many creators in the community experience poor mental health, addiction, lack of secure housing, and financial hardships. Many queer youths and 2SLGBTQ+ / QBIPOC artists simply can’t afford studio time or equipment, and don’t have the funding or connections to work with a producer. The YOU DO YOU Foundation helps them connect, communicate, and recover by bringing music into their lives.
The first recipient of the YOU DO YOU Foundation Artist Grant in 2022 was Brayo Bryans, an aspiring singer-songwriter and human rights activist from Uganda, East Africa. While in Uganda Brayo co-founded an organization that advocates for the rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ people, and also co-founded TUK (Talented Ugandan Kuchus), a group of talented 2SLGBTQIA+ artists used performing arts to sensitize LGBT issues in Uganda, while advocating for fundamental basic human rights.
Brayo organized an album launch party and a play performance with TUK at the National Theatre in Kampala, which was raided and shut down by the Ugandan police. Several years later Brayo had to flee Uganda and seek refuge in Canada away from persecution in his home country.
“Music has always been my refuge, therapy, healer and escape,” says Brayo Bryans. “Music has always been one of my tools to fight inequality and hate. It is my avenue to speak out against atrocities towards the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. It is my tool to spread love and joy, to give hope to the hopeless, and courage to those who have lost it. If I have the opportunity to use music to uplift everyone in the world, I would feel complete.”
YOU DO YOU Foundation has provided Bryans with financial and musical support for his upcoming EP, which is slated to be released this spring. Bryans will be on the main stage at A Fierce and Fabulous Affair: Pride Ball on June 17, 2023.
For more information on So Fierce Music, upcoming music releases, the YOU DO YOU Foundation and A Fierce & Fabulous Affair: Pride Ball, please visit sofiercemusic.com