A festival celebrating the music and culture of the Black, queer community enters its fourth year Saturday, when WerQfest takes over the Big Top in Grand Center.
National headliners Durand Bernarr and Jaida Essence Hall will be joined on the bill by a slew of St. Louis-based artists, including Sunny Rain, DJ Nico Marie, UMami and DJ PBnJeffy.
Musical artist Tre G and writer Shelton Boyd-Griffith founded the event, which has grown from an online-only affair into a full-on festival.
St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy D. Goodwin spoke with Sunny Rain and DJ PBnJeffy about their latest projects, and why they say it’s important to showcase the artistry of Black artists who are queer, trans or non-binary.
Jeremy D. Goodwin: DJ PBnJeffy, would you tell me a bit about your approach as a deejay?
DJ PBnJeffy: I do house, dance, hop-hop, pop, R&B. But I love dance music. I love house music. Especially being a Black, queer DJ, that is just my ancestral musical ground.
Goodwin: Going back to disco, right?
DJ PBnJeffy: Disco’s revenge, as Frankie Knuckles called it. Shoutout to all the ancestors. So when I play house music, when I play dance music, I feel like I’m really connected. All the DJs that come before me, especially a lot of the Black, queer DJs, and ones still today — that music is still connecting us so deeply. I love playing it so much.
Something that’s really important at this moment, as we think about what it means for our community to not just take space but create space for us — Black queer people have always had to do that. We still have to do that. We always have to fight not just to be seen but to be valued, to be respected. To be taken seriously as artists and creatives.
For this festival to exist here, especially in the Midwest, is super important.
Goodwin: LGBTQ people are facing a lot of challenges right now. What does it feel like to get to a space like WerQfest where it’s just so positive?
Sunny Rain: It feels great. The queer community, to me, has always been supportive of one another. If you go to the Pride events and things like that, everyone is always happy to see each other. Dressing fly, looking good, feeling good. The atmosphere. This turns it up. It makes it specifically for us, the Black, queer community, and I love that.
Goodwin: You put out your full-length debut in 2021, “Sunshine.” What kind of response have you gotten to that?
Sunny Rain: Excellent. It’s honestly been the reason why I’ve been doing so many things. I played the BET Awards pre-show last week.
Goodwin: What’s that scene like?
Sunny Rain: It’s a lot of hustle and bustle. It was my very first awards show, my first experience like that. Just being embraced is such a beautiful thing when you work really hard.
Goodwin: And you just signed a licensing deal, right?
Sunny Rain: I just signed a sync deal. It allows you and your music to be placed in movies, video games, commercials. I signed my first deal yesterday.
Goodwin: So we might start hearing your stuff in unexpected places?
Sunny Rain: TV shows, for sure.
Goodwin: Have either of you been to WerQfest before just as an attendee?
DJ PBnJeffy: I’m always looking for spaces of community, especially ones that can speak to my experiences as Black, queer person. I went last year and just fell in love. Seeing so many of the dope performers. And I told myself, it was a silent affirmation, I said I’m going to perform here next year. And here I am.
Sunny Rain: I’ve attended every year. It’s kind of like a Pride fest to me. It’s an extension of Pride. And it’s a big party. The whole community comes together. Everything is so beautiful about it.
Goodwin: Conservative legislators and judges have targeted LGBTQ rights lately. Anti-queer slurs are becoming increasingly mainstream on the right. Does an event like WerQfest have special importance in that context?
DJ PBnJeffy: A lot of the things we’re seeing in society, they do affect Black, LGBTQ folks more. Because of the multiple forms of oppression that we face. And I think it’s really important that spaces like WerQfest exist.
One, for us to come together and be in that sense of community with each other. But also, to make noise. To say, we are here. We’re not going anywhere. No matter what stuff y’all try to push out, whatever narratives you try to say, this is us. This is who we are. This is our community.
It is important for us to have spaces where we can be expressive and creative, even in the midst of harmful social politics.
Sunny Rain: The community is very important. How we embrace each other is important, How we celebrate each other is important, because it sets the example. You want to set the example for how we should be treated, how we should be celebrated, and WerQfest definitely does that.
It’s just so important for the city to witness it. You're going to see us. You’re going to feel us. You’re going to hear us. That’s what it’s about.
