Icona Pop, Cher Lloyd Added to Capital Pride Lineup
Swedish dance-pop duo Icona Pop and British singer/rapper Cher Lloyd will join Scottish soul singer-songwriter Emeli Sandé as headliners at this year’s Capital Pride Festival, organizers announced today. The trio of young female pop acts are all stars in Europe but still bubbling up in the U.S.
As Metro Weekly announced yesterday, Sandé will perform Sunday, June 9, in the 4 p.m. hour on the Capitol Stage, which as in years past will be set up on a closed-off section of Pennsylvania Avenue a few blocks west of the U.S. Capitol. Icona Pop will take the stage in the 6 p.m. hour and Lloyd will go last, performing in the 7 p.m. window. The day’s festivities will end in a dance party until sunset, approximately 9 p.m. In addition to running a couple hours later than in years past, the 38th Capital Pride Festival will also start an hour later, at noon.
Icona Pop, comprised of 26-year-old Aino Jawo and 25-year-old Caroline Hjelt, has been a buzzed about sensation since at least last fall, with release of the appealing and sassy EP Iconic. The playful duo, which served as the opening act for recent tours by Marina & The Diamonds and Passion Pit, is currently in the top 10 of the U.S. Hot 100 with its punky and irresistible Spice Girls-styled anthem “(I Don’t Care) I Love It.”
The third runner-up during one season of the U.K. version of The X Factor, Cher Lloyd has both a U.K. No. 1 single, “Swagger Jagger,” and a Top 10 album on the U.K. chart, Sticks & Stones, to her credit. And the 19-year-old’s first U.S. single, “Want U Back,” is pure pop confection. The New York Times has called Lloyd “the future.”
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
