Dancing Queen
ABBA
Yeah it’s super predictable but no song turns the atmosphere gay in a heartbeat like Dancing Queen. I would open every YES!Fest set with it and watch the street become ‘ours’ in a nanosecond.
Hypnotize
The Notorious B.I.G.
So much about the original 2017 event was unscripted and raw. Hypnotize had just started when we got word that Penny Wong was about to go on stage. It was too late to stop the track so we got a vision of Wong walking onto the stage for her victory speech to hip hop. Eshay as.
On A Night Like This
Kylie Minogue
It was magic when Kylie sang this at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and it was again on that magical night back in 2017 when thousands of people rocked up on Lonsdale Street to celebrate Australia voting ‘YES!’ to marriage equality that day. We actually did it!
Sissy That Walk
RuPaul
RuPaul’s Drag Race has ruled the queer pop culture universe for god-knows-how-long and the show’s signature track is sure to bring the sassy bitches and their wannabe-sisters out onto the floor. Now sissy that walk.
Break My Stride
Unique II
The best party atmosphere is created when the public gets the chance to mix with the performers. Late in the night in 2019, Etcetera Etcetera was dancing on the Hopscotch stage with the public to this as the crowd in the courtyard sang along. See if you can spot them in the video below.
Man! I Feel Like a Woman
Shania Twain
Canberra may have grown into a hot little pancake of a city lately but we all know it’s a big old country bumpkin at heart. You could’ve been mistaken for thinking you were at Bushdance when this one played at YES!Fest at Yours in 2020.
Don’t You Worry
Electric Fields
If it’s queer and indigenous, YES!Fest is here for it. It was a privilege to have had Electric Fields join the party to judge the Rainbow Runway competition in 2019 and this is such a joyful track from the duo.
WTF (Where They From)
Missy Elliott feat. Pharrell Williams
12-year-old Ruby Branch won the Rainbow Runway under 18’s category with this little Missy ditty. The gal has got skills to pay the bills but – lucky for her – she won’t have any bills for a few more years.
Let’s Have a Kiki
Scissor Sisters
This track screams a secret siren to the gays in a frequency that only we can truly understand. You know what to do: lock the doors, lower the blinds.
You Have Been Warned
Ellen Reed
We produced a video of Brisbane’s Ellen Reed performing this song on the street stage in 2019 and it captured the festival vibe brilliantly. It’s a hugely inspiring anthem from a big voice. Don’t miss her at Fresh OUT!
Black & Gold
Sam Sparro
2020 was the year that sex came to YES!Fest – finally! A burning up Charlie Chapstik and two boys opened YES!Fest at Yours with a hot mama version of the Sam Sparro classic and the rest of the night is a bit of a blur, really.
Same Love
Macklemore
In the beginning, YES!Fest was a political moment and then became a festival that took on a life of its own. But at its core, YES!Fest was always about fighting for our equality and savouring our achievements.
