The boundary-pushing and genre-defying singer/songwriter John Duff will headline Project Pride’s fourth annual Grand Carnival May 31 in Sarasota, setting the tone for Pride Month and other signature celebrations yet to come.
The fundraiser helps support Project Pride’s mission to “build capacity, support and a vision for an all-inclusive community where everyone is equally united, supported and celebrated in Sarasota and beyond.” This year’s gala is themed Palm Royale.
“We have been delighted at the growth and success of our Grand Carnival events. Not only are they incredibly entertaining and fun, they also showcase the power of our community standing shoulder-to-shoulder, reminding us of the strength and unity that we have nurtured and enjoy here,” Project Pride President Jason Champion says.
Organizers promise unforgettable décor, light bites, cocktails — alcoholic and non — and of course, an evening of Duff-led dance.
“It is thrilling to have an artist of John’s stature headlining our event, serving to launch Pride Month and helping to support Project Pride’s work throughout the region,” Champion notes.
Duff found the stage at just eight years old, participating in talent shows and musical theater. Many of the influences in his youth came from his older sisters, who played artists like Mariah Carey, Britney Spears and Janet Jackson.
The entertainer eventually earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theater from Syracuse University and pent six years working in musical theater in New York. He ultimately moved to West Hollywood to pursue his music career while cultivating a noteworthy presence online.
Duff went viral with his debut single “Girly” in 2018, which paid homage to Mariah Carey’s music video for her 1999 hit “Heartbreaker” as well as other prominent pop videos of the era. It featured “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner Bianca Del Rio with fan favorites Willam Belli and Mariah Paris Balenciaga, all close friends of the entertainer. It has now amassed 1.2 million views on YouTube alone.
The song and video were made to challenge the criticism Duff faced for embracing his feminine side, rather than leaning into his masculinity. Today he describes the song as an empowering response “to everything I’ve ever been made fun of or bullied for.”
Over a dozen singles followed, including viral hits like “Rich” and “Hokie Pokie,” before Duff released his debut EP “Homo•Sapien” in 2021. The artist says he’s been inspired from “different things of different parts of my life” and muses that his brand of music is “hectic.”
“In the very beginning when I first came out I would always say I wanted it to feel like it was my iPod on shuffle — and looking back, it’s been that way,” Duff explains. “It was R&B-Pop and then it was dancing and then it was bubblegum. It was Big Band. I got into some futuristic stuff, too. There’s too much music and I love it too much.”
Viral hits have allowed the artist to connect with fans in new ways. For last year’s song and video “Stick It,” Duff expanded to OnlyFans in an “unapologetic exploration of modern capitalism and society’s complex relationship with integrity and self-worth.”
It was also billed as “an anthem for anyone who has ever had to hustle to stay true to themselves.”
“I’ve only spent money pursuing my art,” Duff shared before its release. “All of us artists are told to project an image that isn’t real. Half of these celebrities are BROKE. Integrity has slowed my climb, but I can’t compromise who I am.”
“I try and keep things personal and write about the things I know about,” he adds now, “starting at the very beginning with ‘Girly.’”
Duff also released his “Greatest Hits Deluxe Edition” album last year, which includes nine songs that pay tribute to the golden eras of music — from an artist who never existed.
“It was a concept record as if I existed between 1950 and 1969,” he explains. “What kind of music would I have been making? It was putting that perspective of modern colloquialisms and the gay experience into music where it never existed before.”
The album was made as a tribute to Duff’s parents, his younger self and the artist he might have become had he followed their advice more closely. Its lead single, “Prove Me Wrong,” is a track about longing for romance and complexity while critiquing the current state of the music industry.
The other songs in the album, which were released prior to the album in its entirety, explore themes of desire, action, failure and surrender through their playful irony and retro inspirations.
Duff saw the album as a creative breakthrough.
“I was starting to feel boxed in and I have always hated boxes,” he also shared before its release. “I found it difficult to get producers to follow my lead … They wanted to push me in a direction they thought was ‘cool,’ but I’ve never been interested in being cool. My primary interest is in being creative.”
As such, Duff considered releasing the work under a pseudonym inspired by his grandfather’s boxing persona, Young Bobby Burns, but decided to keep his own name because the album is a milestone and indicative of a significant evolution in his artistry.
Duff adds it was all part of his “little tongue-in-cheek, wink-wink thing” that is consistent throughout his growing body of work.
The entertainer is currently working on putting together shows for this summer with his team and dancers. He’s particularly excited for the opportunity to perform at Grand Carnival in Sarasota because it’s a celebration of his community.
“I am always grateful to be able to perform for people and be a part of an event that means so much to so many,” he says. The artist adds that it’s thrilling because “it’s right there in the name. It’s Grand.”
This year’s event will be held from 8-11 p.m. at the Circus Arts Conservatory’s Sailor Circus Arena. Tickets are $125 in advance or pending availability, $175 at the door, and include access to an open bar, food and the evening entertainment. VIP experiences are also available.
Project Pride will subsequently celebrate Pride month June 7 with the return of Silver Pride, celebrating members of the LGBTQ+ community who are “50 and better.” The gathering will be held at Senior Friendship Center at no cost to participants. The inaugural Gulfcoast Pride — formerly Sarasota Pride— will follow in October.
“Pride Month offers the opportunity not only to celebrate love, diversity and equality — which we do all year-round — but also to welcome the wider community to join us,” Champion says of their next two signature events.
“The work we do is vital and wide presence and participation make a real difference,” he continues. “We invite everyone to come and celebrate Pride Month with us!”
Project Pride’s Grand Carnival: Palm Royal is 21+ and will be held May 31 from 8-11 p.m. at the Circus Arts Conservatory’s Sailor Circus Arena, located at 2075 Bahia Vista St. in Sarasota. Silver Pride will follow June 7 from 12-5 p.m. at the Senior Friendship Center, located at 1888 Brother Geenen Way in Sarasota.
Organizers hope Pridegoers will join them from near and far.
To learn more about Project Pride, purchase tickets to Grand Carnival: Palm Royale and support the organization in other ways, visit PPSRQ.org. Visit Linktr.ee/IAmJohnDuff to learn more about John Duff and listen to the artist’s work on major music platforms.
