In 2020, husbands and creatives Tre’von Griffith and Shelton Boyd-Griffith brought to life an idea for a festival that celebrates art, music and community at the intersection of Blackness and queerness. Five years later, WerQfest is a mainstay on St. Louis’ summer events roster.
“Something that just started off as a pure passion project has really turned into a movement about creating safe spaces, about uplifting a community that normally doesn't get to be uplifted in this type of way,” said Griffith, also known as Tre G, on St. Louis on the Air. “I'm just excited that the community has embraced it in the way that it has. And I think it's such a celebration for all of us to be able to even do something like this here in St. Louis for five years.”
WerQfest returns to the Big Top in Grand Center on Saturday and features headliners Kevin Aviance and Serpentwithfeet. St. Louis-based artists including KVTheWriter, DJ Nico Marie and Griffith (who will be returning to the WerQfest stage for the first time in three years) will also be performing. Part of WerQfest’s mission is to give queer artists opportunities they may not get elsewhere, while allowing them to be the most realized version of themselves.
“We allow local artists, and everybody to just be seen in different ways. For a lot of these artists, [this is their] first big performance. But also as a community, we're uplifting some of those people who have necessarily gotten the chance, but not necessarily the love from their own community,” Griffith said.
In addition to celebrating Blackness and queerness, WerQfest is an outward expression that there is a burgeoning queer, Black community that exists in St. Louis.
“I think that [five years of WerQfest] shows everybody that we're here and that we're here to persevere. And we're here to shine bright,” Griffith said. “A lot of people leave the Midwest out of the conversation, especially St. Louis. So I think it's also us bringing ourselves into the conversation of the queer culture abroad. It's been really cool to see everybody engaged with us on social media from literally all over. I think that it's really showing that the Midwest is here.”
To learn more about WerQfest programming and get a sneak peek into Tre G’s performance, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or by clicking the play button below.
Related Events
What: WerQfest
When: 4 p.m. July 13
Where: 3401 Washington Ave., St. Louis, MO 63103
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Ulaa Kuziez, Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Roshae Hemmings is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
