The Ally Coalition 2025 Talent Show is Coming Soon!
BY LIZ BAUMMERAs a queer focused music publication, our goal has always been to align with and uplift artists, festivals, and organizations that align with our goal to provide queer creatives opportunities in the music industry. One of the leading organizations doing that incredible work is The Ally Coalition. The Ally Coalition was founded in 2013 by Jack Antonoff (you may know him from Bleachers!) and Rachel Antonoff (an amazing fashion designer!), and aims to better the lives of LGBTQIA+ youth. They do this through a number of avenues including social media campaigns, partnering with tours, highlighting and supporting organizations that assist LGBTQIA+ youth, and fundraising campaigns.
One of those major campaigns/events is The Ally Coalition Talent Show which will host its 11th annual show on 12/15/25 at the NYU Skirball. According to their website “we have been able to raise millions of dollars to support unhoused LGBTQ+ youth all over the country.” This year’s event sold out almost immediately, and in anticipation for it, we thought we’d take a look back at some of the previous performers who have graced the stage at The Talent Show as well as highlight some of the other amazing work that The Ally Coalition has done over the past years and is doing in the future.
Over the years The Ally Coalition Talent Show has had some incredibly heavy hitters take the stage in support of LGBTQIA+ youth including (according to their website): Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, MUNA, Hasan Minhaj, Kasey Musgraves, Jason Isbell, and Sara Bareilles. Of course, Jack Antonoff (Bleachers) also plays as well. In fact, in 2022 Antonoff played “Merry Christmas Please Don’t Call” for the first time!
Every year the lineup is a surprise so fans have no idea who they might see at the event (which honestly in my opinion makes it even more fun!). Last year, Sabrina Carpenter played several songs including a stripped back version of “Please Please Please” accompanied by Antonoff on the piano (while also speaking briefly about her creative process of writing the song with Antonoff). Last year’s audience also got to see the incredible Rachel Ziegler sing “Man of the House”! Remi Wolf also took the stage. Remi Wolf also performed as well as Trey Anastasio (of Phish), Liam Benvzi, Brendan Yates, Laundry Day, and Steel Train. The Talent Show wasn’t solely music either with comedians taking the stage including Richard Kind and Chris Laker (just to name a few) last year!
And The Ally Coalition’s incredible work doesn’t end there! They work hard year-round to raise awareness and money to support LGBTQIA+ youth including joining artists on tour where portions of the ticket sales raise money for LGBTQIA+ causes and bringing local outreach organization to tour stops. All of their incredible work is highlighted on their website and here’s some examples directly from their website:
Bleachers - “Bleachers donated $1 per ticket to TAC throughout their 2024 tour. TAC invited local LGBTQ+ organizations to table at every show, along with HeadCount. Fans also took action with Propeller for a chance to win a trip to see Bleachers at Shadow of the City.”
Lizzy McAlpine - “Lizzy McAlpine donated $1 per ticket to TAC throughout her “Older Tour.” TAC invited local LGBTQ+ organizations to table at every show, along with HeadCount. Fans also took action with Propeller for a chance to win a trip to see Lizzy McAlpine at Radio City Music Hall.”
Maren Morris - “Maren Morris donated $1 per ticket to TAC throughout her “RSVP Redux Tour.” TAC invited local LGBTQ+ organizations to table at every show, along with HeadCount. Fans also took action with Propeller for a chance to win a trip to meet Maren Morris at Sommo Festival.”
Julien Baker - “TAC invited local LGBTQ+ organizations to every stop of Julien Baker’s 2024 tour. Julien also hosted a tattoo event in Los Angeles to benefit TAC.”
Joy Oladukon - “Joy Oladokun donated $1 per ticket to TAC throughout her “Catch Me While You Can Tour.” TAC invited local LGBTQ+ organizations to table at every show, and invited the Portland Lesbian Choir to sing with Joy onstage.”
And this is just a few of the multitude of tours they’ve done in the past. In addition to their work on tours, they have also done work with festivals. They partnered with Newport Folk Festival earlier this year to bring a special addition of The Ally Coalition Talent Show to Newport Folk Festival. Festivalgoers got to experience performances by Hayley Williams, Waxahatchee, Jeff Tweedy, Weyes Blood, Rufus Wainwright, Maren Morris, and Dan Reeder.
AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE…The Ally Coalition x All Things Go. Anyone who knows me knows I write about All Things Go A LOT, and this is no exception. In the past, The Ally Coalition has partnered with All Things Go to support the LGBTQIA+ community. All Things Go has continued to grow over the years, and the visibility they are beginning to queer artists is incredible. And it is no surprise to me that The Ally Coalition would be supporting them in this mission. This year The Ally Coalition partnered with All Things Go for an album celebrating 10 years of ATG with the proceeds benefitting The Ally Coalition. Just a few of the incredible artists on the album included Kesha, Maren Morris, Joy Oladokun, Jasmine.4.t, and August Pontheir. The album released on 11/7, and we’ve got a full review coming soon, but in the meantime you can check out our reviews of some of the tracks that were released ahead of the full album here:
https://outjamz.com/oped/all-things-go-x-the-ally-coalition-a-musical-match-made-in-heaven
All that to say, The Ally Coalition does so much incredible work for the LGBTQIA+ community. This article is just a small breakdown of some of the things that have accomplished in the last 12 years, and there’s so much more to come. The 11th Annual Talent Show this December is the next major event on their schedule to get excited about!
They also have plenty of other things coming up to round out this year and start 2026 including partnering with Pvris! On the White Noise (Ten Year Anniversary) Tour at the end of this year, and joining The Last Dinner Party on their From The Pyre Tour in 2026. If you’re looking to keep up with all the things The Ally Coalition is doing follow them on Instagram at @theallycoalition and check out their website: https://theallycoalition.org/