Laura Jane Grace receives Gainesville's Key to the City

Hundreds of music fans and LGBTQ supporters gathered outside City Hall in Gainesville Friday where city leaders presented the rare and prestigious Key to the City award to punk rock icon and trans rights activist Laura Jane Grace.

She is the first rockstar to receive the award since Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, both who cut their teeth locally before exploding onto the music scene on an international level.

Despite her many shows spanning two decades, playing in front of millions of people during that time, the 42-year-old Against Me! frontwoman told the crowd she had never been more nervous.

“I’ve played shows at Commongrounds in July with the air conditioner broken and I think I’m sweating more now,” she said.

Grace began playing guitar around 8 years old and always knew she wanted to be in a band and tour the world. Her first electric guitar was a Traveling Wilburys model − another Tom Petty band.

As a young punk rocker living in South Florida, Grace dropped out of high school as a sophomore and soon moved to Gainesville at 18 to follow her dream.

Her contributions to the punk scene not only helped revive Gainesville music in the early 2000s but also shaped it into what it is today. The city has become internationally recognized and home to a community that is proud to share stories of other notable local bands, such as Hot Water Music and Less Than Jake, as well as the start of No Idea Records − a label that released Against Me!’s infamous “Reinventing Axl Rose” that catapulted the band into a national spotlight.

But unlike those who have come before or after her, Grace has transcended the music world and became widely known for activism in the LGBTQ community. In 2012, the angsty, aggro-political rockstar came out as transgender to the world in a Rolling Stones article.

She said she knew at a young age that there was something “different” about her, something that she didn’t quite yet understand, adding that she feared coming out due to ridicule, rejection, or worse.

“The music scene drew me here, but what also brought me was the community and the sense that I had found someplace that I would fit in,” Grace said.

She writes in her memoir, “Tranny,” how she feared the punk scene wouldn’t understand or accept her journey. At the time, there were no major transgender people on television. It forced the conversation of being trans into the mainstream and became a tool of encouragement for others like her.

"Before coming out as transgender back in 2012, one of my biggest fears was being rejected by this community," she said during her speech Friday. "I have now learned just how misplaced my fears were. I could've never imagined a moment like this. This is so completely surreal."

City Commissioner Bryan Eastman praised her bravery during his speech, saying that her personal news “hit the punk rock world like a bombshell” and felt as if a family member had announced they were transitioning, forcing people to reckon with what it means to be transgender.

“Being a pioneer is never easy,” he said. “Whether trying to merge folk music and punk rock together in a way that had never been seen before. Or bringing anarchist themes to a post-9/11 punk world that was hesitant to them or coming out as transgender before any public figure had before, Laura Jane Grace has always been unapologetically her − and that has been an inspiration for many of us.”

Being honored with the Key to the City is no small feat, as it is the highest honor a municipality can give to someone or a group. For years, the honor had been retired, with other community-type iterations coming from the local Chamber of Commerce and going to businesses, local leaders and donors.

But for the city of Gainesville, the award goes to those who have made a city proud or embodied its spirit, mainly artists and musicians.

Officials said Friday it made sense for Grace to be the first rockstar since Petty to receive the key, as both have had significant impacts on the community long after their time in Gainesville.

“[Petty] is a towering figure here in Gainesville and his music is for a generation synonymous with the city of Gainesville,” Eastman said. “But for my generation, and for I think a lot of the generation I see out here, Gainesville is the city of Hot Water Music, the city of Less Than Jake and above all the city of Against Me!”

In many ways, the ceremony was a political statement that made sense for Gainesville leaders, even if that meant skipping over other notable local acts that paved the way for Grace and her bandmates. Gainesville is among the few progressive left-leaning cities in Florida, surrounded by an ocean of conservative voters. The city has become a target for a series of issues from a Republican-led legislature and the state’s administration, many of whom have been outspoken against or voted against transgender rights and passed other anti-LGBTQ laws recently.

Grace told The Sun earlier this year that she felt DeSantis and state lawmakers were passing bills to essentially make someone like herself illegal or play shows in front of crowds.

Without specifically mentioning the ongoing controversy, Mayor Harvey Ward welcomed the crowd of a few hundred to what he called “Florida’s cultural capital.” He said people have asked why would Gainesville give a Key to the City to musicians, specifically Grace, given her rebellious anti-police, anti-establishment messages.

Ward said the answer is simple.

“I believe music music saves lives. I believe musicians who tell the truth about who they are … absolutely save lives,” Ward told the crowd before declaring Oct. 27, 2023 as “Laura Jane Grace Day.”

During her speech, Grace praised the community of artists, activists and “total freaks” that she longed to be apart of and helped pave her path to success.

“As it turns out, you do not need to be enrolled in UF or Santa Fe [Colege] to receive a world-class education in Gainesville,” she said. “I learned the true meaning of DIY, and activism, how to marry music and a message through places like the Civic Media Center and people like Joe Courter. DIY does not mean ‘Do It Yourself,’ it means it would be better if we do it together.

“I learned to be a performer by going to local shows and watching bands play at places like Wayward Council, the Ark Warehouse and Common Grounds, and for the record, I did play at the original Hardback, too. My education in how to make records was listening to the music that No Idea Records was putting out and booking time with Rob McGregor at Goldentone Studios. I learned how to tour by seeing bands like Hot Water Music and Less Than Jake do it. I learned how to work on cars and even got my G.E.D. through the Dignity Project down on Depot Road.”

Grace said her flexible employment at The Top restaurant allowed her the time to explore those avenues, though they ultimately led her away from the Sunshine State, which she recalled as the best years of her life.

"I've traveled the world over and I know for certain what a truly special place Gainesville is − and I know that you realize that, too," she said. "So thank you for everything you've taught me over the years, Gainesville. Thank you for giving me a place to belong when I was just a confused punk kid. Thank you for being a beacon of hope in Florida. Thank you for always giving me a place that I always look forward to returning to. And thank you for this honor, now let's Fest."

FEST 21 kicks off

Immediately after the presentation, a few thousand fans packed Bo Diddley Plaza where many were dowsed in fake blood repeatedly while watching the heavy metal band and barbaric intergalactic warriors GWAR.

Protective plastic liners covered the venue’s red bricks while collecting pools of blood that spilled from some of the world’s most notable infamous leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Drenched smiling faces surfed through the crowd, their shirts stained pink and red.

After the set, the crowd scattered around downtown to find the next bands on their lists.

Rich Harris, 36, sporting a Pabst Blue Ribbon can costume, traveled from Manchester, England for his eighth Fest and said he was most excited to see Thursday, Burnt Tapes, as well as GWAR, and to discover new music.

He said it's difficult to compare the weekend to other music festivals he attends.

“I find it really hard to describe to my friends back home,” Harris said. “There’s so much of the feeling of being here that’s important … It’s really the community that sets it apart for me."

He noted the creative spirit the festival provides to people once they return home, too.

“Fest inspires a lot of people to start a band just so they can play Fest,” he said. “And they write songs about Gainesville.”

Hailing from Chesapeake, Virginia, Josh Knibb said he has learned over his seven Fest experiences how to budget better, saving up about $700 for the weekend.

He said it’s the only music festival he travels to throughout the year and was most excited to see Dollar Signs above everything else.

“I’ve tried a couple of other ones. They weren’t for me,” he said. “This is the one that I love. It’s a different vibe. There’s a lot more camaraderie. It feels more inclusive. It’s not one big main stage, it’s lots of small venues, very interment moments with bands. You don’t get that at a lot of other festivals.”

As the day wore on, people packed into High Dive and Heartwood Soundstage, giving the venues and its employees the most business and best tips they see all year, owners said.

Heartwood, which typically doesn’t host punk shows, had fans flock to the stage for Crime in Stereo and Microwave in the evening. As Microwave closed out their set with fan favorite “Vomit,” the crowd erupted with attendees flying on stage and jumping into the pit area.

Gainesville’s Dikembe packed hundreds into How Bazar for their mystery set around 1 a.m., competing with a time slot that featured Zeta and Smoking Popes. The band plays another set at Heartwood on Sunday, a day that includes other sets from Lucero, Sparta, Free Throw, Thursday, David Dondero, Maura Weaver, Tim Barry and Laura Jane Grace, among dozens more.

For photos and videos from the Key to the City presentation and other images from throughout the weekend, visit Gainesville.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Laura Jane Grace receives Gainesville's Key to the City