PAPER Crashed LadyLand Festival 2026

Over the weekend, PAPER joined an anything-but-tame Pride celebration, crashing LadyLand Festival. Tiny skimpy outfits, long nights and dancing amidst thousands of strangers are what summer calls for, and everyone knows it is not summer without LadyLand — much less a New York City summer.

Believe Ladyfag when she said in a recent interview: “You know you’re at LadyLand when everyone around you is someone you’ve slept with, someone you want to sleep with or your best friend. All while Kim Petras is singing ‘Need for Speed’ live.”

With New York City’s Pride weekend, at night, LadyLand returned to Under the K Bridge Park in Brooklyn, delivering yet another stellar lineup of performances. Among the many queer icons in attendance were the festival’s founder and New York nightlife queen Ladyfag, returning headliner Kim Petras. Iconic rapper Cupcakke was also in attendance, alongside Amarji King, Babymorocco, Bayli, The Illustrious Blacks, Dane Deveraux and more. Did we mention Bravo star and DJ Meredith Mark? A function is obviously not complete without a Real Housewife, it seems, or Romy, who similarly did a DJ set.

Following Pride celebrations during the day, full of realtor sponsors and extensive hours standing under the sun, LadyLand reawakened the city. Under a bustling bridge, the festival provided a unique oasis of joy; it’s a slice of Ibiza by way of queer Coachella, a celebration without judgement or expectations, open to all in search of a good time.

What was it former PAPER writer Tobias Hess wrote in 2024? “This is Pride weekend, and there’s always more to do, but when so much is happening under the Kosciuszko Bridge, it's hard to resist a twirl beneath the overpass.”

Photography by Sam Wallander