Oct. 14-20, 2026
Pride Issue: Parties, parades and politics in the City Beautiful. Plus shows to binge this week, Foreign Dissent returns, and Things To Do This Week.
Cover Stories
A new Florida law could shape Orlando Pride festival in years to come
A new law passed by the Florida Legislature this year could shape what Pride festivities look like in the years to come.
LGBTQ+ nightspot Anthem Orlando begins Year Two at Come Out With Pride
Michael Vacirca, co-owner of Anthem Orlando, says it was an important gesture to open during the Pride event, to “have that connection built into the space.”
All the parties, events and parades you need to know about for Orlando’s Come Out With Pride
Are you ready to “Feel the Beat” at this weekend’s Come Out With Pride in Orlando? We’ve got you covered with a rundown of the official events and related shindigs to maximize your celebration.
Roxxxy Andrews is ready to headline Come Out With Pride Orlando
Orlando drag royalty Roxxxy Andrews celebrated her birthday recently under the lights of Southern Nights, the nightclub she’s called home for more than a decade. Now, the RuPaul’s Drag Race breakout star is preparing for another hometown celebration, this time with her first solo headlining performance at Orlando’s Come Out With Pride on the Divas…
Queer-led punk band The Pheromones to join Rep. Maxwell Frost at Come Out With Pride
The Pheromones, an all-queer, woman-led Orlando band, are stepping up to the mic for this year’s float at the Come Out With Pride parade on Oct. 17 downtown.
Pre-Pre-Fest brings more pregaming punk bands to Orlando
With Gainesville’s annual punk gathering Fest just around the corner, the Pre-Pre-Fest happens in Orlando as a warm-up for the main event.
Suwannee Hulaween promises monstrous jams and vibes aplenty
The lineup for this multi-day fete goes well beyond its jammy origins — though the String cheese Incident are still playing marathon sets.
Mecatos Winter Park is open in former home of The Coop; UniMart konbini now open in Mills Market
ORLANDO RESTAURANT OPENINGS & CLOSINGS: Mecatos Bakery & Cafe has opened in the former home of The Coop at 610 W. Morse Blvd. in Winter Park. In addition to a menu of Colombian pastries, cakes, breads, sandwiches and hot savory fare like empanadas and arepas, the Winter Park location will feature on-site roasting of coffee…
Foreign Dissent brings Japanese ska-punk band Age of Kid to play Orlando
Happening Monday, Oct. 19, at Will’s Pub, this year’s Foreign Dissent is stacked with bands from Japan, Costa Rica, Austria and England taking the stage.
Phantasmagoria does Frankenstein at the Dr. Phillips Center
For the uninitiated, Phantasmagoria Orlando essentially performs gothic vaudeville: dramatic storytelling mixed with theater, puppetry and other old-school stage spectacles.
Treat your senses to a night of avant sounds and visions from Méliès and Alcoléa
The aptly titled Right in the Eye (a playful pun on a rocketship zipping straight into the peeper of an anthropomorphic moon in A Trip to the Moon) has been toured around the world by this French sound collective, complementing Méliès’ works with suitably arcane instruments like the theremin, melodica and glockenspiel.
World-music ensemble Ghost Peppers to play a fallout shelter in Orlando
You’ve heard me glow about Orlando’s Ghost Peppers ensemble, the UCF English professors who’ve gone from educators to band to cultural ambassadors. This weekend, you can see them live. Since my last coverage of them early this year, they’ve garnered some nice international press for their cross-cultural music that not only bridges South Asian and…
Gala of Ghouls invites you to their anniversary Coven this weekend
It seems like only yesterday that ferocious trans drag performer Kissa Death started her Gala of Ghouls show — as a Come Out With Pride afterparty! — in Thornton Park.
Create for Our Communities, Now! is a zine workshop with a twist
Participants at this Orlando zine workshop will use Richey’s browser-based zine tool Ziner to generate original pamphlets from Ziner’s database of images and articles.
Streaming this week: Season 4 of ‘The Diplomat,’ ‘Norm: The Tale of Norm Macdonald’ and more
Streaming Thursday, Oct. 15: The Diplomat — In Season 4, Keri Russell’s Kate has to deal with the realization that America’s theft of the Russian apocalypse weapon might be hurtling us toward war. But hey, at least we’ll have an excuse when diesel hits 50 bucks a gallon. (Netflix)
Knocked Loose and Denzel Curry unite the underground tribes in Orlando
When hardcore ragers Knocked Loose dropped “Hive Mind” with rapper Denzel Curry back in February, fans immediately started clamoring for these two to go on the road together.
Early 2000s indie-folk maestros Great Lake Swimmers come to Sanford
Of the great, fertile wave of early 2000s indie folk that brought artists like Iron & Wine, Sufjan Stevens and Cass McCombs, Canada’s Great Lake Swimmers are one of the era’s best, most underrated acts. Then, in the 2010s, folk went pop, got unreasonably cute and everything went to hell. But not Great Lake Swimmers.
Three Central Florida haunts offering Halloween thrill-seekers something different
Check out these three Central Florida haunts that manage to be more imaginative, immersive and downright intense than any of their bigger-budgeted corporate competitors.
Portrayal of Guilt ply their avant-heaviness with a late show at Will’s Pub
Few acts in the heavy underground right now are as convincingly experimental as Austin’s Portrayal of Guilt. Unbound by traditional genre boxes, they’ve built a name by mining the primordial murk where all hues of heavy music bleed together and striking gold. Hardcore, black metal, screamo, industrial, nu-metal, trip-hop, whatever — it’s all in play…
CityArts throws a Día de los Muertos-themed art show and street party downtown
Downtown Orlando comes alive with art, music, and cultural celebrations with the 17th annual Día de los Muertos and Monster Party this week.
Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy is the co-headlining tour of music connoisseurs’ dreams
Both Snail Mail and Soccer Mommy have built up sizable fan bases with tuneful tales of heartbreak, growing up and self-discovery, turning them into intimate yet powerful indie rock.
‘Drag Race’ star Jane Don’t does a comedy gig at Orlando Funny Bone
RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 18 breakout star Jane Don’t is coming to Orlando, but not for a glamorous headliner at Savoy or Southern Nights. No, she’s headed to … Funny Bone?
