Perform at the 2025 Rochester Queer Arts Festival

Take the Spotlight

Are you ready to bring your art to the heart of Rochester’s biggest celebration of queer creativity? Whether you’re a lip-sync legend, a full-throttle rock band, a soulful singer-songwriter, or a storyteller who owns the mic, we have a stage with your name on it.

Three Stages, Infinite Possibilities

Main Stage – Where drag royalty and larger headlining acts turn the atrium into a glitter-filled arena.
Outdoor Stage – A tent-covered platform perfect for bands, ensembles, and medium-sized acts ready to shake the square.
Entrance Stage – An intimate hall for solo performers, acoustic sets, spoken-word artists, poets, and emerging voices.

Key Dates

Application deadline: August 1, 2025 – submit early and secure your shot!
Notification of status: August 18, 2025 – you’ll receive an email letting you know if you’re accepted, wait-listed, or declined.
Stipends: Performance stipends are available for all acts, and will be outlined in your offer email in August.

Who Can Apply?

Performers of all ages, genres, and experience levels are encouraged to step forward. We celebrate diversity in every form—music, drag, dance, spoken word, comedy, DJs, and beyond. If your art uplifts queer voices, we want to see it.

Ready to own the stage? Fill out the application below, showcase your talent, and let’s make the RQAF a day the community will never forget.