June 1999. I was 18 years old, I had just graduated from high school, and I had just come out. It was a summer of many firsts for me — my first girlfriend, my first Pride weekend, and my first time playing my music live at an outdoor festival. I was scheduled to play on the North Stage stationed around Gloucester Street on the Sunday afternoon. The big parade was just winding down and as the multitudes of people from Yonge Street flooded on to Church Street, I was ready to start my humble 30 minute set.
I remember seeing people watching from their balconies. I remember fumbling my pick across acoustic guitar strings. I remember belting out my cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Closer. I remember much applause and cheering for that bold move. And I remember looking straight out from on stage, down the length of Toronto’s gay village, to an audience of hundreds (maybe thousands), thinking that this was one of those moments in life that you never forget. I was nervous as hell but also extremely excited. Not just to be performing, but to be doing so amongst this vast community that I could now call my own.
It’s been over a decade. I’ve played many shows and I’ve attended many Prides since then. And while I assure you there have been incredible moments in all of them and many more to come, none have quite compared to the first.