For nearly two decades, Ladyfag has been one of the defining figures of New York City nightlife. I first learned of her through Battle Hymn, her long-running, larger-than-life Manhattan party that, on any given night, feels like a who’s who of the city’s most illustrious queer DJs, artists, and personalities. In 2018, she brought that same vision to the festival world with LadyLand, an ambitious attempt to create something New York had never really seen before: a large-scale queer music festival, or a “gay Coachella” of sorts.
Today, the festival prides itself on booking artists right before they blow up. Its inaugural lineup included SOPHIE, a booking many New Yorkers now remember as one of the few chances they had to see the legendary producer perform live.
But if LadyLand was born during a period of optimism for queer culture, it now exists in a very different reality. New York has become increasingly unaffordable, nightlife faces mounting pressures, and queer and trans rights are once again under political attack across the country. Against that backdrop, I had an honest conversation with Ladyfag not just about this year’s festival, but also about what it takes to sustain queer spaces in a moment when both the city and the community are being tested.
So.Gay: LadyLand has become one of the defining queer events in New York each June. How do you approach curating the lineup each year?
Ladyfag: I’d love to romanticize it, but curation is equal parts the things you want and what’s actually available at that moment. We take it really seriously. We try to uplift people we think deserve uplifting and people we think have real talent. We want a balance of artists that are icons in the community, artists who are having a major moment, and artists who might be on the verge of something bigger.
We also have three stages, so each one serves a different purpose. The main stage speaks for itself. The second stage is a mix of bigger DJs and emerging live performers. And then the third stage is really our nightclub inside the festival. That’s where we get to spotlight local heroes, queer nightlife talent, and the artists who make our community what it is.
So.Gay: What was especially important to you when putting together this year’s festival?
Ladyfag: Given the political climate, it felt extra important this year to have a trans headliner. I’m really proud of that. Obviously [Kim Petras is] much bigger than just being a trans artist, but it’s also a bit of a “fuck you” to the festivals that don’t have trans headliners.
We actually had her at our very first LadyLand in 2018. She didn’t even have an album out yet. I remember standing on the side of the stage thinking, “She’s going to be a star.” Now she’s coming back as our headliner. It’s a really special full-circle moment for the festival.
So.Gay: You decided to make LadyLand a one-day festival this year. What went into that decision?
Ladyfag: All of it is connected. The political climate, the economy, the reality that people are exhausted and broke. It just doesn’t feel like the moment for something bigger.
We’ve always tried to keep tickets as affordable as possible, and this year we lowered them again. What people don’t always realize is that LadyLand isn’t some huge money-making machine. I do it because I believe in it. It’s truly a labor of love. If people don’t support it, I honestly don’t know how much longer something like this can survive. That’s just the reality of independent queer events right now.
So.Gay: Along those lines, what are some of the biggest challenges facing queer nightlife today?
Ladyfag: There’s definitely more saturation than there used to be. There are more parties, more clubs, more events. In a lot of ways that’s a good thing because New York feels alive. It makes people want to go out. It makes people want to come here.
But it’s also harder than ever to get sponsors, investors, and partners involved. Companies don’t feel financially secure, and a lot of them are also nervous about putting their names behind queer events right now. So you end up in this situation where costs keep rising, support keeps shrinking, and people themselves are feeling financially stretched.
So.Gay: After everything you’ve seen in nightlife, what gives you hope right now?
Ladyfag: I think people need togetherness more than ever. I don’t mean that in a cliché way. I mean people genuinely want to be around other people who understand them and who maybe need the same escape that they do. I always say that Pride is political. The world is burning around us, and partying alone isn’t activism. But I also don’t think queer joy should be discounted. Being in a room with thousands of queer people, releasing some of that joy and energy together, that’s important, too.
Nothing can replace live experiences. You can watch a million clips online, but if you weren’t there, you weren’t there. Seeing artists grow in real time, seeing communities come together in person, that’s the magic of nightlife. Whatever happens in the next few years, I don’t think that is going anywhere.
