In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Zeke Stokes, GLAAD Chief Programs Officer about GLAAD + Ty Herndon’s The Concert for Love & Acceptance at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, Tennessee on June 6th. The concert features a coalition of artists and celebrities appearing and performing to accelerate acceptance for LGBTQ people. The 5th annual concert will take place during the legendary Country Music Association Festival and will be hosted by Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning artist Ty Herndon and CMT’s Cody Alan. Herndon who co-founded the concert with GLAAD in 2015 will also perform along with Antigone Rising, Daughtry, Harper Grae, Tayla Lynn, Brody Ray, Brandon Stansell, Rita Wilson, Chely Wright, Tyler Rich, Lee Brice, Mickey Guyton and more. We talked to Zeke who is also the Executive Producer of The Concert for Love & Acceptance about the inspiration for this amazing concert and his spin on our LGBTQ issues.
When asked what he would like to accomplish with this event Stokes stated, “This is really important because it allows us to reach into the fan base of the country music community which is an enormous fan base. It’s the most popular format of music in the country behind R&B and so reaching country fans at a place they can be at each year at the Country Music Association Festival in Nashville to shine a light on stories of acceptance and LGBTQ equality is super important. A lot of people across this country haven’t made up their minds yet how they feel about LGBTQ equality and may be with us on marriage equality but they may not understand the transgender experience just yet. We’re bringing all those a message to the fan base because we want them to see what we know which is that if you’re not loving and accepting LGBTQ friends, family, community, church members, the people at work then you’re living in the past and not in the future and that’s where we’re trying to go.”
Zeke Stokes joined GLAAD as Vice President of Programs in 2014 and as Chief Programs Officer he oversees GLAAD's advocacy work to advance the stories of LGBTQ people that lead to positive cultural change in the United States and abroad. He leads a staff of media professionals in both Los Angeles and New York City charged with executing GLAAD's campaigns and initiatives in entertainment, news, youth engagement, Spanish language, transgender representation and more. GLAAD is the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization tackling tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change and accelerating acceptance for our LGBTQ community.
For More Info & Tix: glaad.org
1 comment:
What an incredible interview with Zeke. He is amazing, eloquent, committed and I feel stronger and safer because he and GLAAD do the work they do to share the many faces and talent of our Community.
Post a Comment