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ABOUT SWAGFEST
SWAGFEST is an annual URL fest and fundraiser for queer and related charities.
► Why is SWAGFEST?
SWAGFEST is the creation of Mspo a.k.a. GENDR FVVK a.k.a. Em (me) and elii4h. Elli4h and I had been URL friends for a while, making music and hanging out in the same Discord servers. In 2021 I approached her with the idea of throwing “a virtual fest and have it be a fundraiser for an lgbtqia+ outreach/help organization” (after I had just watched a gay movie that made me cry). I didn’t have any name ideas and all elii4h replied with when I told her we needed a name was “swagfest”. And 5 years later, here we are :)
► SWAGFEST 2021
In 2021 we raised $891 for The Trevor Project. Neither of us had run a URL fest before so we didn’t really know what we were doing. The whole event took place in the SWAGFEST Discord server. There were no visuals and sets were played in voice channels. We had 23 artists play 20 min sets over 2 days.
► SWAGFEST 2022
Not much changed between SWAGFEST 2021 and 2022. We reached out to friends and got 26 artists to play over 2 days all hosted in the SWAGFEST Discord server. We raised $559 for Rainbow Railroad. We had switched charities because we heard about some security issues with The Trevor Project in the past and heard better things about Rainbow Railroad.
► SWAGFEST 2023
SWAGFEST 2023 was a big year. I didn’t have a job at the time and went all out. Merch, visuals, a bonus day, reaching out to artists who were a little bigger, and a bunch more artists of all types working together to make SWAGFEST happen. I reached out to my friend Austin who makes tour visuals for artists, and he made reactive visuals for a bunch of peoples’ sets. Some artists also created their own visuals. I even reached out to some graphic designer/artist friends to make the merch designs with all the proceeds from merch going to Rainbow Railroad. In the first two years, we had more people show interest in performing than we were able to let play sets, so we added a bonus day, SwagFM. The Sunday after the main days we let anyone who wanted to play a set submit one and we streamed them from noon until they were done. We streamed it all on Twitch and raised $582 for Rainbow Railroad. I also started this site and the interviews and stuff :) (see the whole process here).
► SWAGFEST MINIFEST: 2024 COUNTDOWN
Since I had some free time at the end of the year I hosted a mini URL fest event that ran for 6 days, Dec. 26–31, with 3–4, 10–20 minute sets each day. The whole event had 20 different artists and ran for a total of 6 hours. A sick way to ring in 2024. We also raised about $80 for Rainbow Railroad :P
► SWAGFEST x CAPERFLOWER | SWAGFLOWER
At the beginning of 2024, Agorot Key from CAPERFLOWER reached out to me to do a collaborative event between our two groups. CAPERFLOWER was having an event and we got 16 people from SWAGFEST and CAPERFLOWER to put together a 45-minute mix for their month-long event in February 2024!
► SWAGFEST 2024
With all that was happening in the world (and still is), we decided to use SWAGFEST 2024 to raise $529(/$500 goal) for PCRF. We ran it similarly to 2023’s SWAGFEST, hosted on Twitch, with visuals from artists as well as Austin, we definitely found our groove. I was busier with work so we didn’t go as crazy but we still did SwagFM and everything :) It was a great time.
► SWAGFEST @ GAY JAZZ EXPO
Sky from Gay Jazz reached out to me in Jan. 2025 asking if SWAGFEST wanted to be involved in GAY JAZZ EXPO 2025. I had played at some of the previous Gay Jazz Fests in the past and was honored to have the SWAGFEST community be a part of GAY JAZZ EXPO. We got 5 people to send in tracks/put together mini sets to make an hour-long set showcasing some of the SWAGFEST talent!
► SWAGFEST 2025
IN PROGRESS...