Out & About Festival – Day 1

Love. Talent. Pride. Music.

Date: June 24th, 2023

Venue: Wolf Trap

Vienna, VA

How do you bottle up the feelings of love, acceptance, joy, confidence, and talent? The answer is simple. You can’t and you shouldn’t. Love should never be contained or restrained to the thoughts or opinions of any singular person or party. Love should be constant and accepting of all. Love should be amplified more in a world that tries to muffle, mute or modify its meaning. When we love people for who they are and accept that anyone can love anyone, the world becomes stronger. That focus on love and acceptance is exactly what Wolf Trap set out to achieve when they created the Out & About Festival, a festival celebrating Pride and in support of the LGBTQIA+ community in a time when human rights continue to be stripped away and at risk. The Out & About Festival features artists of the LGBTQIA+ community as well as Allies in the music industry and local to the area. The festival spanned across two days and two stages and featured 5 acts each evening with the incredible Brandi Carlile being the headlining act at the end of each evening. 

This two-day festival made for a beautiful end to the month of June and the month of Pride. While the heat, humidity, and a tad bit of rain made themselves very known, both of these days were filled with incredible people, organizations, and artists all coming together to celebrate great music as well as each other, and above all… Love. Day one took place on Saturday, June 24th and featured Bad Moves, Jake Wesley Rogers, Rufus Wainwright, Yola, and Brandi Carlile. So we made our way to the Meadow Stage, conveniently located in a meadow, for the first act of the afternoon.

Bad Moves

The first to get the festival rocking was the local DC band, Bad Moves. Certainly a local fan favorite, this four-piece group knows how to rock. Consisting of guitarists Katie Park and David Combs, bassist Emma Cleveland, and drummer Daoud Tyler-Ameen they blended punk with rock and really got the crowd moving as they made their way into the festival. Though a bit of rain made its appearance about halfway through their set, it only lasted a short time as they continued to introduce fans new and old to their existing music as well as a few new songs. You can check out their latest album Untenable right now on your favorite streaming service.

Jake Wesley Rogers

If you’ve been with us for a little bit here at Shutter 16 Magazine, you know the next artist is not only a fan favorite but a staff favorite. Jake Wesley Rogers appeared on our radar years ago with his release of “Momentary,” a fitting song also for this festival as it gives nods to trailblazers within the LGBTQIA+ community such as “Marsha P., Harvey Milk” and Oscar Wilde. Rogers has been found in the spotlight more over the last few years as his songs find a way to naturally translate the experiences and perspective of Rogers into powerful, moving, and often catchy, pop ballads. When we first saw him live as the opening act for Panic! at the Disco, we were even more hooked than we already were. His style mixed with his stage presence and musical focus are an instant recipe for a major superstar. In fact, when Sir Elton John learned about him he described Rogers as the “bastard child of me and Brandi Carlile” so it was only fitting his talents find their way to this celebration of love headlined by Brandi Carlile. 

As he took to the stage, he and his yellow feathered jacket made themselves known with the energy and excitement that took over the crowd. By the time Rogers’ set began the rain had gone away and he reminded the crowd “the sun is out and so are we”. Through his set, he gave us the perfect mix of his growing collection of songs from the upbeat, foot-tapping hit of “Middle of Love” to the power of love and loss found in “My Mistake”, the latter of which ended with a stripped-back acapella moment that sent goosebumps throughout our body. 

After a quick wardrobe change, it was time to break out the moves and spoken poetry with “Call it Love” before introducing fans to an unreleased song that’s sure to be a hit once released called “Hot Gospel”. Who knows, maybe you’ll find that one on his debut album. *wink wink*. As the set came to a close he made mention of the impact that following acts Rufus Wainwright and Brandi Carlile had on him as an artist and noted how iconic the day was. He then invited us all on a trip, far far away, by way of his song “Pluto”.

Rufus Wainwright 

There are few people as skilled and thoughtful of their music choices as Rufus Wainwright. Not only is he a lyrical genius but a classically trained mastermind that can translate stories into almost any genre, including operas. He’s become a true musical influencer that many may not always recognize, but chances are you’ve come across a song that’s been impacted or composed by him. From his impacts on theater and film in the likes of “Complainte de la Butte” from Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge! to his most recent album Folkocracy which reimagines folk songs with some of the biggest names in the business. Songs like “Cotton Eyed Joe” whose album release features Chaka Khan but on the evening of this show were brought to life accompanied by fellow artist Yola. 

He also introduced us to new music by way of songs such as “Old Song” and the newly released “Dear World”. Recognizing his space on a stage in Virginia, it was only fitting that he performed the geographically connected “Shenandoah”. Before he closed out his beautiful set he welcomed Brandi Carlile to the stage as they performed their song “Down in the Willow Garden” obviously ending in a roaring applause and showing of love from the audience. 

Yola

From England to Nashville, vocally mesmerizing artist Yola has earned multiple Grammy nominations over the last few years, and from the very first note you hear, it’s clear why. From her debut as a solo artist with Walk Through Fire to her most recent album Stand For Myself she finds beautiful ways to blend genres while transporting you into her world of rhythmic sounds, melodies, and lyrics. Her musical talents and advocacy also recently landed her a role portraying “the Godmother of rock and roll”, Sister Rosetta Tharpe in Baz Luhrmann’s film Elvis.

Her talents shine brightest in a live format as her vocals and songwriting find themselves at a whole other level while songs like “Dancing Away In Tears” and “Break The Bough” get the crowd dancing and swaying along. Other songs like “Be My Friend” accompanied by Brandi Carlile this evening made for a special moment of connection amongst the fans. 

To close out her set she gave us an incredible cover of Anita Baker’s “Sweet Love” as well as Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” before ending the evening with the final and title track off her latest album with “Stand For Myself”. 

Brandi Carlile

To round out the evening, it was time to welcome the featured guest of the festival, and the one who has so many connections to all of the artists across the festival if you haven’t been able to tell already, the wonderful, incredible, wildly talented, and huge ball of positivity and joy… Brandi Carlile. Her music has spanned across now almost two decades but only in recent years has she truly been given the focus and recognition she deserves. As a part of the LGBTQIA+ community her and her wife constantly show their support and love for those in the community and beyond and that support is equally shared back as her fan base continues to grow and ranges from ages young to old. 

As her and her band took to the stage they immediately drew the attention of the crowd as most acts may start with an electric intro, she began her set with a three-part harmony that’s become iconic in her music, accompanied by twins Phil and Tim Hanseroth as they began to sing “Stay Gentle” from her latest album In These Silent Days. Immediately following, the band withdrew as Carlile stood alone on the stage as she celebrated pride and performed a beautiful rendition of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and the colors of the rainbow shined bright through the venue. 

Following that powerful kickoff, it was time to kick it into gear with high-energy moments within “Broken Horses” and “The Things I Regret”. What followed was a personal favorite and the song that introduced me (Derek) to Carlile many years ago with “The Eye,” again emphasizing the talent of the band and the power of three-part harmony. 

When you headline a festival two nights in a row, fans may wonder if the show will be the same. The great thing about Carlile is that she puts on one hell of a show no matter what and she recognizes the moment and the talent she’s surrounded by. That’s why the latter half of her set featured moments with Jake Wesley Rogers as they performed the song of “his father” Brandi proclaimed with “Rocket Man”. She performed Tina Turner’s “The Best” accompanied by none other than the wonderful Yola, even bringing Rufus Wainwright back out to perform his cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. 

While you can find the exact setlist from the evening here, it’s important to know this was one memorable and magical night of music, but it was only Night 1!!! Be sure to check out our coverage of what went down on Night 2 of the amazing Out & About Festival. 

See the full gallery of the night here!

If you happened to capture any shots of the night, feel free to tag us on social media at Shutter 16 Magazine and throw in #Shutter16 and #TwitFromThePit for the world to see.