Waterside is delighted to announce break through artist Dario Darnell, aka Youngr, as the Saturday night headline act for its inaugural Pride in Trafford Festival – on 18 May.
Since breaking through last year with self-released debut single Out Of My System, the multi-talented musician has racked up over 70 million global streams and played over 150 shows in 40 different countries around the world, including sold out tours across Europe and North America.
Having grown up in Urmston and then Sale, Youngr lived with his mother and brother Lorne. Both brothers have an electronic music background and continue the musical roots of their father August Darnell, otherwise known as 80s pop icon Kid Creole.
Prior to his first release, Youngr made a name for himself with his unique one-take live videos of dance-floor friendly bootlegs with his take on Sweet Disposition by The Temper Trap going viral and racking up over 15 million video views within the first two weeks.
This one off gig, at Waterside on Saturday 18 May, is part of Pride in Trafford – five exciting days celebrating and exploring LGBTQ+ culture and identity across the region, curated by Waterside; Trafford’s award-winning destination for performance, culture and events. Youngr also features special guest Benedict Cork, a British singer-songwriter who has recently supported MØ and AlunaGeorge on tour across the UK, as well as supporting Brit Award winner Tom Walker and Grammy nominated US artist Emily King at recent shows .
Pride in Trafford begins on Wednesday 15 May with a work-in-progress photographic exhibition featuring the work of Youcef Hadjazi, exploring gender and sexuality of individuals from Muslim background. In Portraits of Others, the work aims to question the relations between sexuality, gender and religion.
Manchester’s Trans Creative also join Pride in Trafford’s opening day line up- and take-over as guest curators for Creative Industries Trafford’s (CIT) regular scratch night; Breaking Ground. Expect a fabulous evening of fun, bold and exciting projects in development from trans and non-binary voices.
The five day event offers a varied programme, featuring music from Heather Peace, triple headliner comedy from high profile comedians; Tom Allen (as seen on Mock The Week, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Live at the Apollo, The Great British Bake Off’s Extra Slice, The John Bishop Show, Channel 4’s Comedy Gala at the O2 and heard on Radio 4’s Just a Minute and News Quiz), Bethany Black (as seen on Cucumber, Banana and Tofu) and Annette Fagon (who is making fast progress on the UK comedy circuit).
Performers of colour cabaret collective; the Cocoa Butter Club make their first visit to Manchester and in partnership with Contact; Raze Collective present Raze Up; a development day for queer artists.
Creative Industries Trafford will also stage a panel event Queer on Screen; addressing inequalities in the representation of LGBTQ+, people of colour and queer characters in TV, film, theatre and radio. It will also look at how we can create interesting narratives and share those stories to effect change.
Waterside will also play host to a community hub on Saturday 18 May from 11:00 – 15:00, exhibiting some local LGBTQ+ groups and charities. Following on from the successful pilot on World AIDS Day 2018, the BHA for equality in health and social care will be running rapid HIV testing and there will be community arts workshops also running during the day.
Manager of Waterside, Darren Adams said “We are delighted to welcome back Youngr to Trafford, for what will be a very special gig as part of the festival celebrations. Youngr is a phenomenal performer, bursting with energy and talent and will join performers across the LGBTQ+ spectrum in truly showing our audiences what we do best at Waterside, presenting high quality events by and for all, alongside our commitment to showcasing emerging and established artists.”
Pride in Trafford runs from Wednesday 15 May to Sunday 19 May 2019 coinciding with the world-wide IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia) on the 17 May.
Tickets and further information can be found at prideintrafford.org
