Last spring, DC’s Ekko Astral organized the inaugural installment of Liberation Weekend, a local two-day event raising funds for mutual aid organizations assisting trans and non-binary folks navigate healthcare within an American marketplace that’s becoming increasingly hostile. Artists including Bartees Strange, Speedy Ortiz, Ted Leo, Downtown Boys, L’Rain, and Home Is Where all made appearances—as well as Ekko Astral tourmates Tetchy, who, as legend has it, initially became friends with the band while burning SXSW merch in Austin the year of Armygate.
This year the event returns to DC on April 24, this time with three full days of music and day parties. The 2026 headliners are Ekko Astral & Friends, Laura Jane Grace, and illuminati hotties, who will be playing their cult 2020 not-album Free I.H. in full. Additional draws over the weekend include Ezra Furman, Pissed Jeans, Pool Kids, Pom Pom Squad, Bambara, Ragana, Snowing, Gladie, Spring Silver, Hit Like a Girl, and Mx Lonely, with additional afterparties yet to be announced. All proceeds from the event will be donated to Gender Liberation Movement and No More Dysphoria.
“We cannot rely on institutions to save us,” shared Ekko Astral’s Jael Holzman. “We can only rely on ourselves and the community we have to fight for trans America—and that now includes throwing a badass 3-day benefit music festival. Let this incredible lineup be seen as a way of using art as a cultural battering ram against the people trying to erase us.”
Check out the posters for the upcoming event below.
