Just a day before the 2024 GRAMMYs, the Recording Academy hosted its first-ever Academy Proud, in partnership with GLAAD and OUTLOUD, an event celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and its music professionals.
Held mid-afternoon on Feb. 3 at GRAMMY House — which served as home to many special GRAMMY Week events including GRAMMY U’s Masterclass with Halle Bailey and A Celebration Of Women In The Mix — Academy Proud attendees entered through a colorful entryway to pounding music.
Greeted by the red carpet and a decorative floral wall sponsored by SONOS, Academy Proud offered an abundance of photo opportunities for creatives to smile big and show their pride. With everything from leather gloves and spiked boots, to temporary butterfly tattoos and wide-brim hats, attendees went all out for Academy Proud — but not just for fashion. As people posed with their partners, bandmates, friends, and family, queer joy and love fluttered in the air.
"I’ve been doing music pretty much my whole life, and to now navigate coming to pride events is really cool," pop singer David Archuleta told GRAMMY.com on the red carpet. "It’s so much more colorful at the pride events. It’s so much more fun, the music’s always banging, and you’ll see a lot more people dancing and moving at the pride events, which I think is really fun."
Inside GRAMMY House, vibrant DJs DOMO and Brian Henry led the dancing and moving with high spirits, playing everything from Beyoncé to Britney Spears to Ice Spice. (Just a few days prior, DJ Brian Henry also set the lively atmosphere at the Black Music Collective’s Recording Academy Honors celebrating legends Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz.)
After getting their photos in the glow of sunset lamps and beside elegant floral arrangements, people spilled outside onto the back patio near the crowded bar, then wandered over to Mastercard’s Secret Garden. Orange light from low hanging lamps and tons of lush greenery crafted an intimate atmosphere, as well as providing a more serene place to connect with other music creators with music booming in the distance.
On the red carpet, artists shared how they show their pride and gain inspiration from other creatives in the queer music community.
"We feel grateful that the GRAMMYs and GLAAD are prioritizing LGBTQ+ talent and artists," Alisa Ramirez of the Aces told GRAMMY.com.
"Coming from a small suburb in Utah, representation is very much lacking, so it’s incredible to come to a party like this and be recognized and see other queer creators and artists on the carpet is just very special," the Aces’ Crystal Ramirez added alongside her sister.
Alternative musician Isaac Dunbar agreed that events like Academy Proud help queer artists not only receive the recognition they deserve, but also allow them to celebrate their most authentic selves.
"I’m just excited to be amongst so many gay people and see gay people be appreciated for the art that they’ve been creating for hundreds of years," Dunbar shared with GRAMMY.com on the carpet. "It took a long time for me to take pride in who I am, and being amongst all these people really helps me feel pride."
The Academy has celebrated LGBTQ+ creators and professionals across the years, whether it be by partnering with organizations like Los Angeles Pride or GLAAD. The Academy is dedicated to providing a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community especially in music, and Academy Proud presented a glorious way to wrap GRAMMY Week before the official ceremony.
Celebrating queer creators involves so much more than preaching acceptance and inclusion: it’s about creating space and building real community. It’s about action, and Academy Proud served as an uplifting celebration of the LGBTQ+ community and its impactful contributions to music.