(Alice Rodriguez of Muses of Wonderland sings "Slay" during the opening night of Hoechella 2017 on August 25, 2017)

If you find yourself trying to fish a piece of glitter out of your eye more than two days later after visiting a music festival in Columbia, South Carolina, there's a good chance that you might've attended Hoechella at New Brookland Tavern. In its second year of running, Hoechella serves as an annual FREE music festival for people of color, women, and the LGBTQIA+ communities. Deeply rooted in the idea of true equality, the music festival doubles as a community awareness event that combats rape culture and slut shaming. At Hoechella, you are free to be who ever you want to be without fear of judgment or harassment. I missed last years Hoechella, so I impatiently waited three hundred sixty-five days to attend and I was not disappointed. There's nothing that makes me happier than watching people enjoy themselves in their truest form and Hoechella was a great place to see that.


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