The Nashville Pride festival and parade are this weekend. One of the Grand Marshals this year is former WNXP Nashville Artist of the Month Joy Oladokun, and performers include Chrysalis, Estelle, Kim Petras, 4 Non Blondes and Big Freedia with Nashville in Harmony.

There will also be interactive booths throughout Bicentennial Park, including one for Nashville CARES to celebrate their 40-year anniversary. Founded in 1985, Nashville CARES is the premiere HIV/AIDS service organization in Tennessee. Dr. Kassem Bourgi says Pride is more than just a festival or a celebration, but an event that allows them to serve the community.

“Nashville CARES started in order to fight the stigma and discrimination against HIV,” he said. “We strongly believe that being part of Pride festivals when a lot of other organizations have withdrawn and have taken a back seat is a great opportunity to show the community that we are here and we are still supporting them. But its also another great opportunity for us to provide much-needed services for the community beyond showing the support. We will be there in order to provide HIV treatment and prevention education from providing free and anonymous HIV testing, to linking patients with HIV prevention services, and also allow the patients to learn a little bit more about the different kinds of services that we provide here at the organization and how they can access them in a free and equitable fashion.”

This week in live music:

Tonight (June 25), Nashville band Pressure Heaven at the OG Basement and at the Basement East NPR Music Presents Tiny Desk Contest On The Road.

Thursday (June 26), Coco Jones is at the Ryman and current WNXP Nashville Artist of the Month Jarren Blair presents The Move featuring Summer Joy, Olivia Jones at Flamingo Cocktail Club.

At Exit/In on Saturday night (June 28) The New Respects performs and on Sunday (June 29) rapper Billy Woods will be at The Blue Room.

Our list wraps up next week, back at the Blue Room on Tuesday with Lifeguard (July 1).