THE evening was organised and hosted by drag queen Mysterry and featured performances by Jennie Castell, Krissie Ducann, David Raven, Collin Day and Marianne Robinson.
Raffle tickets were sold by Katy Jane Martin and Robert Beveridge, the owner of the Grosvenor, made a generous donation from the bar takings.
HIS gig will take place at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 15 at the Rialto Theatre, Dyke Road, Brighton (just by Churchill Square). Advance Tickets cost £8 (£10 on the door).
As a gesture of support for the local Brighton LGBT music community, Justin has pledged that a substantial amount from ticket sales will be donated to the Hand In Hand National UK/ Ireland LGBT Choral Festival taking place in the city in the summer.
Adam Betteridge, organiser of Justin’s gig and trustee for Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus, also arranged a gig for fellow-US singer Matt Alber during Brighton Pride last Summer.
Adam said: “We’re really excited that Justin has agreed to come to perform for us here in Brighton as part of his UK tour. After the success of Matt Alber’s gig last year, it seems there is genuine interest in hearing performers from the emerging LGBT music scene both here and internationally. It’s a real testament to Justin’s active support for the LGBT music scene that he should pledge as much as half of sales to the Hand In Hand Festival.”
Over 15 LGBT choirs from across the nation have already signed up for the Hand In Hand festival, which will take place from June 12-14 this year, and will be helping raise funds for various local charities including the Sussex Beacon and Lunch Positive. The festival will culminate in a joint public show at Brighton Dome on Saturday, June 13.
The Co-Chairs for the Hand In Hand Festival in Brighton, Paul Charlton (Chairman of Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus), and Finola Brophy (Chair of Rainbow Chorus), said: “We are tremendously excited about the Hand In Hand Festival, one of the largest LGBT choral events to take place in the UK and Ireland to date. We are also extremely appreciative to Justin for having agreed to donate such a large proportion of the takings from his gig in support of this cause. As you can imagine, putting together such a large and prestigious festival is a costly affair, and it’s donations such as these that will help make a real difference to its overall success.”
Born and raised in Utah, Justin Utley began his career as a Mormon-Contemporary singer-songwriter and was a featured performer at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
After publicly breaking ties with the Mormon Church and sending his own “self-excommunication letter”, Justin became a noted activist and advocate for civil rights and LGBT equality in the United States and an outspoken personality against the Mormon church’s use of ex-gay conversion therapy, a method Utley endured for two years after serving a two-year full-time mission for the church.
In June 2010, Utley released Stand for Something, a single written to inspire and motivate people to take action towards securing LGBT equality in the United States. The single was nominated by the LGBT Academy Of Recording Arts for 4 OutMusic Awards, including Best Songwriter and Artist of the Year, winning Best Country/Folk Song of the Year.
Justin has gained many accolades in a short time, including being a headlining performer at Pride Festivals worldwide, including Stockholm, New York, Los Angeles, Denver, Atlanta, San Diego and Las Vegas and opening for international acts such as Icona Pop, Tegan and Sara, and Margaret Cho. He has been a contributor for CNN’s Faces Of Faith Sunday News segment, and testified in the first ever hearing on LGBTQ job and housing discrimination in front of the Utah State Senate.
Event: Justin Utley, singer – songwriter – activist
Where: Rialto Theatre, 11 Dyke Road, Brighton BN1 3FE
When: Sunday, March 15
Time: Doors open 6.30 p.m. for 7 p.m. start
Cost: Tickets £8 in advance, £10 on the door.
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THEY promise to put the brakes on controversial Green transport schemes and have announced ten headline transport pledges.
Launching the transport pledges, Cllr Warren Morgan, leader of the Labour and Cooperative group, said: “Labour’s transport plan for the city will promote economic growth, sustainability, inclusion and safety. We will create an inclusive and integrated transport system that enables residents and visitors to travel safely and efficiently. We want environmentally sustainable transport that supports the local economy and that of the wider region, and which works for the benefit of everyone in the city.”
Labour will:
• Suspend and review Green-initiated transport schemes such as Valley Gardens and Viaduct Road to ensure the proposals are fully funded, realistic and safe.
• Give the seafront much greater priority with a better coordinated, top-level focus and take every opportunity to bid for external funding to invest in seafront infrastructure, particularly for areas such as the Madeira Terraces.
• Explore the creation of park-and-ride services from the edge of the city and help reduce congestion at peak periods such as Bank Holidays, summer weekends and Christmas.
• Be a strong voice for rail commuters, putting pressure on the train operators to improve their services to the city, and continue to lobby for a second main line for Brighton that will be needed as the current route nears full capacity.
• Increase parking charges only by what is fair and affordable.
• Replace outdated traffic signals with a modern linked system that identifies and eases congestion, bringing Brighton and Hove into line with best practice elsewhere in Europe.
• Promote the use of zero- or low-emission forms of transport, especially in the city centre, specifically by offering discounted parking permits to traders investing in clean vehicles, and support the promotion of clean diesel technologies by the city’s bus operators.
• Repair the city’s cycle lanes and continue to promote safe, accessible cycling infrastructure.
• Work in partnership with bus companies to improve bus services to outlying areas and develop an improved partnership with them to promote better value fares for young people in training and apprenticeships.
• Work with credit unions to deliver low-cost season ticket loans to young people in training and apprenticeships.
Deputy Leader Councillor Gill Mitchell said: “It is time to get back to sensible transport policies, rather than the rushed and badly-implemented changes we have seen in Viaduct Road and elsewhere. We have serious concerns over the Green plans for Valley Gardens, which the Tories support, as it commits the council to a long-term, open-ended funding commitment at a time of rapidly shrinking budgets.”
Councillor Morgan added: “Labour will deliver transport that works to support the city’s businesses – especially its small and medium-sized enterprises – as well as the economy across the region. Labour wants to reduce the congestion that is damaging the city’s economy and reputation as a place to visit and do business.”
THE historic move follows extensive consultation with over 700 trans people and will see the charity use its platform and experience to help create real change for them.
All current campaigns and programmes will be expanded to include and involve trans people and also develop new work on issues that specifically affect them.
Over the next 18 months, the charity will take steps to make sure that trans expertise is reflected on its board of trustees as well as recruiting experts to work with Stonewall staff.
Stonewall will also work in partnership with trans organisations to avoid duplicating work and focus on new projects so that all lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people can be themselves.
Last year, after apologising for previous mistakes, Stonewall started the consultation with trans people by looking at the most effective ways of working in the future.
Ruth Hunt, Stonewall Chief Executive, said: “Whether we’re challenging bullying in our schools, tackling hate crime on our streets or working to make our public services truly equal for users, we have a responsibility to use our voice and share our 25 years of experience.
“This change marks a significant moment in Stonewall’s history. As a community we can achieve much more by standing together. This is an exciting but huge undertaking – we recognise that we are not instant experts, and we will work closely with the trans community to achieve real change for LGBT people.”
Dr Sam Hall from the Clare Project, a self-supporting group based in Brighton and Hove open to anyone wishing to explore issues around gender identity, said: “Clare Project welcomes the news that Stonewall is to extend its remit to include and campaign on Trans* issues. This change marks a turning point in the history of inclusivity within the LGBT community. We look forward to the opportunities that will arise as a consequence of this decision.”
Simon Kirby MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven recently contacted Stonewall to urge them to include the needs and experiences of the trans community in their next guide of the top 100 employers for LGB people.
On hearing the news he said: “It is great news that Stonewall is extending its remit to campaign for trans equality. Too often it can feel like the rights and treatment of the trans community are overlooked and so it is most welcome that Stonewall will now be working to help address this issue.”
Jess Wood, director of Allsorts Youth Project, added: “Everyone at Allsorts is absolutely thrilled that Stonewall is finally becoming trans-inclusive. Ruth Hunt is to be congratulated for leading the organisation towards this. At last, all LGBT organisations in the country can embrace Stonewall as fully as we have always wanted to – as an LGBT organisation. Everywhere in the UK, more and more people are becoming aware of the needs of our trans communities. That the leading LGBT organisation in the country, Stonewall, can now vigorously campaign on behalf of trans issues and alongside trans organisations makes this is truly a great day.”
Purna Sen, the Labour parliamentary candidate for Brighton Pavilion, said: “In a city where we want to welcome everyone for who they are and support their right to live in safety, with dignity, this is a timely reminder from Stonewall that trans equality is yet to be achieved. The country I want to see respects each of us for who we are and does not tolerate hatred on the basis of any identity. The response to Emily Brothers, Labour’s parliamentary candidate in Sutton and Cheam, who is trans, illustrates the ease with which people indulge in abuse: one national newspaper carried a comment about her being of ‘the wrong sex’. An apology followed but the indignity of name-calling isn’t easy to erase whether we speak of politicians, bus drivers, children at school or anyone else. I want to see this discrimination end and am proud to be in the party which has most progressed matters of equality.”
Rory Smith from the Trans Alliance said: “We welcome Stonewall’s long-overdue inclusion of trans issues. They have made the right start by doing an extensive consultation with trans people across the country and from the many different backgrounds within the community. Trans activists have made crucial gains in equality in the past 15 years. Stonewall’s influence and capacity will be a welcome addition to our fight. We can only be stronger by working together to tackle the issues and discrimination that affect us all.”
Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, concluded saying: “This is very welcome news. I’m proud to be an MP for a city that’s known for being one of the most celebrated and progressive LGBTIQ cities not just in the UK, but in the world. We’ve come a long way – but still there are rights denied LGBTIQ people in the UK and still we see discrimination. It’s crucial to continue actively working toward true inclusivity and equality – and I’m delighted that Stonewall has recognised it has an important role to play.”
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