‘Out & About’ brings Brandi Carlile, other LGBTQ artists to Wolf Trap
‘Out & About Festival’June 24 and 25Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts1551 Trap Road, Vienna, Va.Wolftrap.org Arvind Manocha knows a gay man working in the arts isn’t exactly a unicorn, but as the out president and CEO of Northern Virginia’s Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts for 10 years, he also knows his platform comes with responsibility. “I can remember days when visibility was a fraught notion and looking upward to find examples of leadership I could identify with, wasn’t easy,” says Manocha.
Today, he’s comfortably out and he regularly attends Wolf Trap performances and donor events with his husband Gideon Malone.
Next weekend, Wolf Trap is presenting “Out & About,” a two-day (June 24 and 25), three-stage music festival spotlighting LGBTQ artists and vocal allies.
With the new musical event, Manocha and his programming team are coalescing entertainment and visibility. Along with headliner out folk-rock superstar Brandi Carlile, the festival’s terrific lineup includes Yola, Lucius, Rufus Wainwright, Celisse, Brandy Clark, Jake Wesley Rogers, Bad Moves, Oh He Dead, and children’s acts Alphabet Rockers and Jazzy Ash. “It took a while, and COVID complicated things a lot, but finally the puzzle pieces came together,” says Manocha, “and we’re really looking forward to showing off all that Wolf Trap has to offer with this family-friendly event.” Comprised of various venues (the mainstage Filene Center, Children’s Theatre-in-the Woods, and the Barns) set on 117 acres in Vienna, Va., Wolf Trap was established in 1966 and remains the only national park dedicated to presenting the performing arts.
