Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell & Sinead Set For Gay Festival

05/24/2001 6:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Neal Weiss

(5/24/01, 6 p.m. ET) -- The Pet Shop Boys, Soft Cell, and Sinead O'Connor are among the acts set for a festival this summer being billed as the "first openly gay pop music festival to tour the United States." The Wotapalava Festival, named for an English phrase meaning "what a fuss about nothing," will also feature Rufus Wainwright and the Magnetic Fields. The 17-date tour kicks off in Miami July 13.

The package will also include side-stages with non-stop dance music by circuit DJs. More details will be announced at a press conference to be held in New York City on May 30.

"Wotapalava will be a celebration of individuality and the freedom to be what you want to be," says Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant, who masterminded the festival. "This is not exclusively an issue of sexuality; it's about having the power to live as you want."

One dollar from every Wotapalava ticket sold will be donated to gay and lesbian advocacy groups.

-- Neal Weiss, Los Angeles

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