Get ready for a weekend of good tunes, fantastic vibes and a whole lot of queerness
BY BELLA FRANCIS, IMAGE VIA INSTAGRAM (@GIRLSDONTSYNC)
With Parklife coming up this weekend, we thought we’d introduce you to some of the queer artists performing at this year’s iconic festival.
Since 2010, Parklife has become one of the biggest musical festivals in the UK. Held annually in Manchester, it showcases a diverse mix of genres, including house, garage, pop, hip-hop, and electronic. Parklife now greets up to 60,000 people in Heaton Park during the two days in early June.
This year’s festival is taking place on the 14–15 June, with the iconic Charli XCX set to headline. With the event just days away, we thought we’d introduce you to some of the queer artists that will be taking the stage at this year’s legendary festival.
GIRLS DON’T SYNC
Girls Don’t Sync is an all-female group of DJs, producers and curators who describe themselves as a “bigot’s worst nightmare”.
Tearing up dance floors since 2021, their sound is characterized by a mix of hard drum tracks, UK funky, and a blend of grime with Arabic instrumentals. They are also known for their dynamic live performances, during which they often improvise and react to one another and the crowd.
In 2024, they told The Basement: “We’re four women, we’re all from different places, one of us is gay. But I think we’ve embraced that as our superpower as well.”
SALUTE
Salute is an Austrian producer based in England who makes pop-influenced dance music, particularly in the realm of house music and UK Garage.
Being non-binary and bisexual, they have been outspoken about the need for more diversity in the DJ scene. In March 2022, Salute announced that they would be introducing an inclusion rider to their contracts for live performances. It requires that 30% of the lineup of any stage they play on must be from an underrepresented group approved by them, such as female, Black, queer, or genderqueer.
Explaining themselves to Billboard in July 2024, they stated the following: “I was playing a show in Newcastle in the north of England, and I got there and every DJ on the lineup was white and male. It wouldn’t have been an issue for me if they were good DJs, but pretty much everyone sucked. Basically, the promoter had just booked his best friends to play. I was there [thinking] like, ‘So many of my girl mates, so many of my queer mates, so many of my Black mates would have absolutely killed this night.’ I got back to my hotel and texted my agent like, ‘I want to make sure that I am performing among more people who look like me, and among more people who are non-binary and trans, etc.’”
CHOLÉ CAILLET
Chloé Caillet, a New York-born DJ, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, is a dynamic force in the global dance music scene. Her background spans club culture and major labels, fueling a sound that’s genre-fluid, high-energy, and proudly queer. In 2024 alone she logged tens of thousands of miles playing sets and curating global communities with SMIILE, her queer‑centered club night.
Last year, she told LoverBoy: “I barely used to own up to my queerness. I felt like the world was not as accepting. Today I feel celebrated and that there is real room for me to be who I am fully. It’s also been amazing to see so many talented artists from the queer community come up and shine as well as parties emerge with real safe spaces. It’s a really amazing time to be working in this industry that is evolving quickly!”
DJ GIGOLA
Berlin-based artist DJ Gigola is a well-known DJ and producer who is known for her genre-fluid style and playful approach to music.
When asked how she defines her sound, she told ReFramed: “One part is silly and the other likes to provoke and test boundaries. I always love to find something old that everybody, or that nobody is using yet or listening to, and just put it out there, try to put it in a beautiful mix, and just make it something new. I remember I got so much shit from the techno scene in Berlin at the beginning because I was really mixing a lot of different genres with electronic music. They were like you can never play this if you want to be a serious DJ. “
Gigola’s work has been recognized with nominations and awards, including a spot on the Groove Mag’s DJ Poll of the Year.
Sim0ne
Sim0ne is a Scottish musician and former model. After garnering fame by placing 5th on the eleventh cycle of Britain’s Next Top Model, she diversified into DJing during the COVID-19 pandemic with critics categorising her music as house music, techno, and trance music.
She also came out to her followers as bisexual during this time and quit the modelling industry after finding success as a DJ.
In 2022, she told Cosmopolitan: “After I came out, I felt like I could be a lot more queer-presenting. So I did that thing where I went out and got the gayest haircut you could possibly have. I got the mullet.”
“I feel like the beauty of being queer in your 20s is that you almost feel like a teenager again, because you’re getting to fully explore that part of yourself that maybe you weren’t so comfortable with before.”
OPPIDAN
Described by Insomniac as “one of the fastest rising names in UK Garage”, Oppidan has made a name for herself with her distinctive production style blending two-step with 4×4 NUKG and bass influences. She started making music at nine, burning CDs of her singing to guitar to sell at school, and in 2023 was nominated for “Best Breakthrough Producer” at the DJ Mag’s Best of British Awards.
Being gay, she also believes it’s important to have more diversity in the industry. In 2024, she told TNAM.UK: “I think that within this industry, the music should be what matters, not what you look like, where you come from, what your sexual orientation is. The lack of female/minority representation in the past makes it harder for people to come through because without seeing someone like yourself up there, it’s hard to believe that that could be you. Hopefully, my presence gives the next generation of artists, from all walks of life, some confidence that it’s possible for anyone.”
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