Levitt Pavilion hosted Arlington Pride 2025 on Saturday, bringing the community together to celebrate pride.

Glitter clung to sweaty shoulders as music thumped through the warm air Saturday evening at Levitt Pavilion. Pride shimmered in every flash of sequin, skin and laughter. Hosted by the Health Education Learning Project Center for LGBT Health & Wellness, Arlington Pride 2025 marked the event’s fourth run in the city. What began as a small backyard gathering is now a vibrant celebration — drawing over 10,000 attendees. Kate McDougall-Pillai, director of Behavioral Health at the center said it felt surreal seeing the event grow to feature big name performers like Trixie Mattel while still preserving a sense of intimacy that sets it apart from larger celebrations. As the evening unfolded, attendees draped in rainbow flags laughed and embraced one another as the sound of music blended with the energy of families and friends arriving together. “We were here at 7:30 a.m., it makes it so worth it,” McDougall-Pillai said. “I’m seeing kids, I’m seeing dogs, I’m seeing families. I love it. It makes me really happy.” Handheld fans popped and waved in cheer as the cast of Club Reflection performed. Also in attendance was Sister O.M.Gee, a member of the DFW Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of 21st-century nuns who vow to bring love and joy to the community, fight stigma and advocate for social justice. They said the group attends pride events all over North Texas, giving them a way to spread love and support throughout the community. There is more purpose behind the glitter and glam when it comes to events like these. Pride is both a celebration and protest — born from resistance and sustained by the ongoing fight for equality. That legacy began in 1970, when the first documented Pride marches were held in response to the Stonewall riots a year earlier, marking a turning point in the gay rights movement, according to the Library of Congress. Today, cities around the world carry that spirit forward, honoring both how far the community has come and how far there still is to go. For many, the fight is personal. Public health senior Ivette Robledo said as a member of the LGBT community, it’s important to show up for each other. “With the events going on right now, it’s so easy to make you feel alone and vulnerable,” Robledo said. “It’s important to show out and show that there is a community, and there are people who care about you and feel the same way that you do .” Fort Worth resident Stephanie Vasilio, 46, said this was her first pride event and it was amazing to see all the love around everything. “I feel that any support whatsoever is greatly appreciated, no matter what your sexual orientation [is], you just need to show love to everyone,” Vasilio said. @tay._.sansom news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Arlington Pride 2025 drew a large crowd to Levitt Pavilion on Saturday, as thousands celebrated LGBTQ+ visibility and community unity. The event featured electrifying performances from “RuPaul's Drag Race” stars Ra'Jah O'Hara, Nymphia Wind, and Ginger Minj, alongside country music artist Brooke Eden. The event also featured drag queen Trixie Mattel, captivating attendees throughout the evening. The event provided attendees with free water, ice packs and a variety of vendors selling food, drinks and other products. For Plano resident Cailey Manley, 31, it is important to celebrate pride as an ally. “Pride’s a protest. It’s very important to celebrate those who need the support,” Manley said. “As a straight, white cis woman, I need to lift them up as much as I can.” @pixaperfect_ @greycoloredglass photo-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

From professional baseball to theater shows, residents have plenty to choose from in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this week. Sports Cheer on the Texas Rangers as they take on the Kansas City Royals at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at Globe Life Field. Tickets start at around $13 and doors open at 5:05 p.m. The first 20,000 fans will receive a 2023 World Series Final Out Bobblehead. Watch North Texas SC go up against Austin FC II at 7:45 p.m. Saturday at Choctaw Stadium. Tickets start at $24 and doors open at 6:45 p.m. Music Enjoy a free concert from folk-pop singer-songwriter Gina Chavez from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Friday at Levitt Pavilion. The show will also feature indie folk singer-songwriter and producer Lorena Leigh. Jam out to some indie sleaze at the Peach Pit & Briston Maroney: Long Hair, Long Life Tour at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the South Side Ballroom in Dallas. Tickets start at around $58 Dance to nostalgic tunes during a concert from pop band The Buckinghams at 8 p.m. Friday at Arlington Music Hall. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and tickets start at around $50. Entertainment Celebrate the 50th anniversary of “A Chorus Line” by attending Theatre Arlington’s performance of the musical Saturday and Sunday at varying times. Tickets start at $38 for students. @wall035203 news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu

Rarely has anyone benefited from a rebrand like Addison Rae. Rae, whose stardom started from posting viral TikTok dancing clips and has amassed almost 90 million followers on the platform, and her brilliant team of creative directors have tried hard to make her new aesthetics appear like they haven’t tried at all. She began rocking Y2K-inspired looks — ultra-mini ra-ra skirts, cropped denim jean jackets, a bellybutton piercing and low-rise jeans. Rae flaunted an old iPod Nano like a trendy toy. Her Instagram became a means to create a cohesive, deliberative world. The music changed, too. Far from the kitschy dance-pop 2021 debut single, “Obsessed,” the songs in “Addison,” her debut, self-titled album released Friday, are more cool and controlled. The production, taken charge by two women producers, Luka Kloser and Elvira Anderfjärd — Swedish hitmaker Max Martin’s proteges — mirrors ’90s trip-hop, with frequent interruptions allowing songs to shift in intensity and texture. They are pulsating, lush and full of stacked harmonies. The songs in “Addison” echo Lana Del Rey, sometimes Britney Spears and also Madonna, and they’re not bound by any particular genre. She doesn’t deny being a student of the game either. The album, then, is the sort of pastiche that is familiar without being redundant. Each turn is sharp and deliberate, but they all confine within the kaleidoscope of the album’s pop maximalist sonic universe. Rae’s vocals are sweet and foggy, and her lyrics are threaded with images of a life that's young, fun and free: being naked on a beach, flying to Paris on a whim and taking shots at a bar. There's no ego and rarely any self-seriousness, which makes for pop perfection. Take “Diet Pepsi” for example. On a chillwave synth beat, Rae coos, “My cheeks are red like cherries in the spring / Body's a work of art you'd die to see,” and that she was, “Sitting on his lap, sippin' Diet Pepsi.” The combination of seductiveness and product placement makes up the brilliance and ridiculousness, and Rae plays it off not with a quirky wink but with a daring stare. On “Aquamarine,” a deep-house/dream-pop track that evokes Madonna’s “Ray of Light” and Kylie Minogue’s “Fever,” Rae puts listeners through a glimmering, airy and sultry vibe. Unlike a regular pop hit structure, its bridge appears almost like an entirely new song, taking the European trance sound in a completely different direction from the second verse and pre-chorus. It works like a charm. “High Fashion” sees a deliberate choice of contrast between Rae’s soft, airy vocals on a more gritty, cinematic production. “Summer Forever” is one of the standout moments where Rae slows the pop urgency down and looks for something more atmospheric, daring her lover to be more spontaneous. She also leaves enough space for self-reflection. “Times Like These” is ethereal, layered and a highlight lyrically. In the fuzzy “Fame is a Gun,” where she teases, “You know I keep it real, I live for the appeal,” the track is sharp, and its twinkly production encapsulates stardom dreams. “Money is Everything” tethers on the same satirical line as Rae repeats, “Can’t a girl have fun?,” which sums up the entire album’s ethos. She digs deeper during “In The Rain,” a hauntingly beautiful track where she expresses, "Misunderstood but I’m not gonna sweat it / Isn’t it all for the show? / Keepin’ a smile on my face for protection.” All the self-reflection, youth and enjoyment of life as a 24-year-old woman culminates in “Headphones On,” a vulnerable and poignant album closer. The ambient textures, soft strings and strong percussion cozy up into a full trip-hop, electronica experience. Like any ambitious debut album, Rae has misfires. As interludes, “Lost & Found” and “Life’s No Fun Through Clear Waters” rather serve as stylistic choices and bog down the album’s pace. Its opener, “New York,” a nod to the works of Rae’s close friend and collaborator, Charli XCX, leans toward being bombastic. Rae has neither the best vocals nor writing skills. The tracks in “Addison” would have soared coming from someone who could write stronger lyrics and have a more emotive tone. But there would be no guarantee that someone would have as strong a vision for its moodboard as Rae, who knows what she wants and who she is. So, talented or not, try-hard or real, that’s ultimately up to you to decide about Rae. One thing this quintessential debut makes certain, though, is that: TikTok — it’s her time to take on a bigger stage. @DangHLe news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu