'Love child of Elton John and David Bowie' glam pop star to headline Washashore Festival

Editor's note: This story was modified Sept. 20 to clarify the list of people who are owner/producers of the Washashore Festival.

Provincetown's Washashore Festival is back and bigger than ever boasting "the love child of Elton John and David Bowie," Jake Wesley Rogers as the festival headliner and Tony-award winner John Cameron Mitchell as emcee for the weekend.

Produced by Provincetown Brewing Co., the Crown & Anchor and Tangle-Made Productions, this year's Washashore Festival takes place over two days, Oct. 7 and 8, as opposed to the standard three as the festival hopes to display a new version of itself.

"We're trying to show a different side and what we can do," said Erik Borg, co-owner of Provincetown Brewing Co. "Then from there, hopefully, grow it into our goal, which is this sort of immersive townwide affair that really gets everyone in on the act in whatever capacity they want."

What is the Washashore Festival?

The Washashore Festival started as an idea between Borg, co-owner Chris Hartley and then-brewery partner Trevor Pittinger in 2019, shortly after Provincetown Brewing Co. opened. The trio wanted to create a queer music festival that showcased rising talent amid the backdrop of Provincetown.

"We really wanted to develop this festival that was sort of like a South-by-Southwest style thing for Provincetown," Borg said. "We wanted it to be immersive, multi-venue, a place where Provincetown is kind of the playground and there are shows in different places throughout town. It's sort of like a choose-your-own-adventure."

Now, the festival is owned and produced by Borg, Pittinger, Hartley, Jonathan Hawkins of Crown and Anchor and Aaron Clayton. And for their third year, Borg hopes it supersedes those before.

"We want queer artists on stage and we want it to be a cohesive, really communal expression of creativity on stage and with the audience members," Borg said. "We're just really excited about where the festival is going this year with the quality of the talents and the staging. We hope that we can draw as many people from Cape Cod as possible because we want this to be sort of a pilgrimage for people who love live music."

When it comes to selecting performers, Borg said it's all about showcasing talented artists across all genres.

"We want to show the widest breadth possible of creative performance on stage," he said. "We're trying to bring in different types of musicians and performers that maybe some people haven't heard of, or wouldn't be exposed to, that they can become a fan of and exposed to through the Washashore Festival."

As the first queer music festival in Provincetown and on Cape Cod, Borg and his fellow producers wanted Washashore to be intentional about displaying Provincetown as a place for queer creativity.

"Provincetown is this queer Haven, has been for a long time, and we really wanted to reinforce this sort of renewed Provincetown reputation as the place you go to be exposed to queer creative expression," Borg said. "We see this as sort of continuing a legacy but also modernizing it … and bringing in more people under the umbrella to be part of it. We want it to be more inclusive than Provincetown has been in the past. … It's not just queer people, but it's for people who really want to celebrate and share in creative expression."

Jake Wesley Rogers headlines this year's Washashore Festival in Provincetown

Go big, not home, seems to be the motto for this year's Washashore Festival. A Tony-award winner as emcee, a headliner Elton John described as a resemblance of his younger self and a night at Town Hall? It's all going on this year.

John Cameron Mitchell, who you may know from "Hedwig and The Angry Inch," both the pre-Broadway show and the 2001 film, will be your emcee, leading audiences through all the fun to be had.

"He's gonna sing some songs and be a constant presence on stage as we go through the weekend," Borg said.

On Saturday, the festival kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at the Crown & Anchor with the second annual "Net Gala" followed by performances from Boyfriend, a "rap cabaret" musician based in New Orleans, and Drizzy Bravo. The night ends with a 10 p.m. of a Provincetown version of Mitchell's monthly "Mattachine" party, named after the Mattachine Society.

On Sunday, Oct. 8, Washashore takes over town hall for the first time in the festival's history. DJ Andrew Lennox and João Santos will get you in a party mood with an original set at 7 p.m. At 8 p.m., Korean-American synthpop guitarist Superknova returns to Washashore for the second year in a row.

Then at 9 p.m., it's time for the big event as Bowie-John lovechild Jake Wesley Rogers takes the stage.

"He is (this) really incredible, rising kind of pop singer-songwriter who (is) sort of like the love child of Elton John and David Bowie," Borg said. "In fact, Elton John himself, (has said) you can describe him as reminiscent of a young Elton John. So it's pretty cool that we got him. We're really excited to bring somebody who's really on the rise to Provincetown."

Babes & Bois will close the festival with their Clam Jam after-party at the Crown & Anchor at 10 p.m.

Where do I get tickets?

Tickets for this year's Washashore Festival range from $65 to $200 plus fees depending on which you buy. A ticket for Saturday's events is $65. For Sunday's Town Hall concert, tickets are $70 to $110. A festival pass is $135 and a VIP festival pass is $200.

Tickets can be purchased online at washashorefestival.com/ and the event is for ages 21+ so keep that in mind before you buy. Also, bring your IDs to get your wristbands.

Frankie Rowley covers entertainment and arts. She can be contacted at frowley@capecodonline.com.

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Jake Wesley Rogers, John Cameron Mitchell slated for Washashore Fest