Be Glad It’s Hotter Than July
The Gospel and Soul Concert
Sunday, July 28
Hotter Than July started in 1996 to celebrate Detroit’s Black LGBTQ+ community. It holds the title as the worlds second oldest Black LGBTQ+ Pride with over 9,000 in attendance in person in 2019. Hosted by LGBT Detroit, this week long of events partners with community leaders and supporters by offering various safe spaces for educating and showcasing the culture.
Answering the community’s call, LGBT Detroit, the city’s premier Black LGBTQ+ service provider and producer of Hotter Than July, returns and leans into a realized theme, “Be Glad It’s Hotter Than July.” Beloved for 29 years, The Hotter Than July is also the world’s longest-running, uninterrupted Black Pride celebration. This year’s three-day community gathering will run from Friday, July 26 to Sunday, July 28, and includes several of the festivities’ traditional hallmarks, including the Candlelight Vigil, Worship Service, and for health screenings, The Hotter Than July Testing Zone in Palmer Park. This year, Hotter Than July boasts one incredible marquee experience: LGBT Detroit hosts the international Hotter Than July Gospel & Soul Concert with title sponsor Motor City Casino Hotel’s Sound Board featuring the superstar Grammy-nominated artist B.Slade, on Sunday, July 28 at 8:00 pm. Tickets are available now.
The Hotter Than July headliner B.Slade, formerly known under the gospel moniker Tonéx, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, dancer, producer, and activist from San Diego, California. B.Slade has released several hundred songs on dozens of albums throughout his career while producing several others for both gospel and secular artists. He has won six Stellar Awards, a GMA Award, and received 2 Grammy nominations: one for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album for his 2004 gold album, Out the Box and another in 2009 for Best Urban/Soul Alternative Performance for his single, “Blend," from his 2009 mainstream album, Unspoken.
“Hotter Than July is thrilled to host this incredible weekend with an LGBT+ faith focus,” says A. Nzere Kwabena, Executive Director of LGBT Detroit. “Recognizing local, state, and national institutions that serve the souls of marginalized people, this weekend shines a light to well deserved queer faith institutions.”
“We have been hosting the Hotter Than July Worship Service for the past seven years,” states Pastor Jeffrey M. Seals of Once Church Detroit. “This year, we will partner with Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit and are glad to come together, worship, build community, and make new friends.”
Reverend Roland Stringfellow of Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit joins in: "MCC Detroit is honored to participate in an event that facilitates the breaking down of the stigma that African American People of Faith are not supportive of the LGBTQ community. The concert will serve as a bridge to unite communities that the fear of difference has long separated."
About the Hotter Than July leading faith partners:
One Church Detroit proudly celebrates eight years of providing spiritual guidance and care. Established in April 2016, the church, under the esteemed leadership of Pastor Jeffrey M. Seals and First Gentleman Rev. Antonio Johnson-Seals, thrives as a beacon of faith and hope.
Metropolitan Community Church of Detroit is a diverse, inclusive Christian church serving the LGBTQ and ally community.