True Colors was an annual music event created by American recording artist

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

. The concerts were headlined by Lauper and featured various music and comedy acts. Beginning in 2007, the trek supported the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

PFLAG PFLAG is the United States' first and largest organization uniting parents, families, and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+). PFLAG National is the national organization, which provides support to ...

and the

Matthew Shepard Foundation The Matthew Shepard Foundation is an LGBT nonprofit organization, headquartered in Casper, Wyoming, which was founded in December 1998 by Dennis and Judy Shepard in memory of their son, Matthew. The Foundation runs education, outreach, and adv ...

. Other local and private

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

charities and foundations were supported as the event grew. The tour began with 16 shows in 2007 expanding to 25 shows in 2008. Lauper's set during the 2008 tour was basically the North American leg of her worldwide Bring Ya to the Brink Tour that year. An outing in 2009 was planned and later cancelled. In lieu of the tour, Lauper partnered with Broadway Impact to create the True Colors Cabaret. The show began September 28, 2009 and ran once a month at Feinstein's at Loews Regency. It featured performances from Lauper,

Rufus Wainwright Rufus McGarrigle Wainwright (born July 22, 1973) is a Canadian-American singer, songwriter, and composer. He has recorded 10 studio albums and numerous tracks on compilations and film soundtracks. He has also written two classical operas and set ...

Lea Michele Lea Michele Sarfati (; born August 29, 1986) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, and author. She began her career as a child actress on Broadway (theatre), Broadway, appearing in productions of ''Les Misérables (musical), Les Misérab ...

Jonathan Groff Jonathan Drew Groff (born March 26, 1985) is an American actor and singer . He began his career on Broadway, rising to prominence for his portrayal of Melchior Gabor in the original production of '' Spring Awakening'' (2006-2008), for which h ...

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single " The Remedy (I Won't ...

Sara Bareilles Sara Beth Bareilles (, ; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has sold over three million albums and over 15 million singles in the United States. She has earned various awards and nominations including nin ...

Karen Olivo Karen Olivo (born August 7, 1976) is an American stage and television actor, theater educator, and singer. In 2008, Olivo originated the role of Vanessa in ''In the Heights'' on Broadway. The following year, they won the 2009 Tony Award for Best ...

Melinda Doolittle Melinda Marie Doolittle (born October 6, 1977) is an American singer who finished as the third place finalist on the sixth season of ''American Idol''. Prior to her appearance on ''American Idol'', Doolittle worked as a professional back-up sin ...

and Broadway Inspirational Voices. The shows ran until February 2010.

Background

Logo TV Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progra ...

was one of the partnering sponsors for the music festival. The channel aired a half-hour special on June 21, 2007 titled ''Shining Through: Behind the Scenes of True Colors''. The special was hosted by Cho at the MGM Grand in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. During the special, Lauper explained the purpose of the True Colors Tour: The HRC received $1 from each ticket sold throughout the tour. The theme of the tour was about eliminating hate, specifically about getting the

Matthew Shepard Act The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a landmark United States federal law, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Auth ...

passed by the U.S. Senate. In October 2007, the US Congress approved the Matthew Shepard Act, accomplishing one of the goals of the tour. In 2008 True Colors tour visited 23 cities across North America with a cast of acts that was even more impressive than the previous year. The shows featured up to eight marquee names per night with several collaborations and an encore featuring every act on stage together.

Line up

2007

;Headliners *Cyndi Lauper *

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

;Support acts *

Cazwell Luke Caswell, known mononomously as Cazwell, is an American rapper, record producer and songwriter. He has released the three studio albums '' Get Into It'' in 2006, '' Watch My Mouth'' in 2009 and ''Hard 2 B Fresh'' in 2014, along with videos an ...

Amanda Lepore Amanda Lepore is an American model, singer, and performance artist. A former Club Kid, she has appeared in advertising for numerous companies. Lepore is noted as a regular subject in photographer David LaChapelle's work, serving as his muse, as ...

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' ...

The B-52's The B-52's, also styled as The B-52s, are an American new wave band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1976. The original lineup consisted of Fred Schneider (vocals, percussion), Kate Pierson (vocals, keyboards, synth bass), Cindy Wilson (vocals, p ...

The Dresden Dolls The Dresden Dolls are an American musical duo from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2000, the group consists of Amanda Palmer (lead vocals and piano; additional: keyboards, harmonica, ukulele) and Brian Viglione (drums and backing vocals; ad ...

*Diana Yanez *

The Gossip Gossip (or The Gossip) was an American indie rock band formed in Searcy, Arkansas, originally active from 1999 until 2016. For most of their career, the band consisted of singer Beth Ditto, multi-instrumentalist Brace Paine, and drummer Hannah ...

The Cliks ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...

Hosted by

Margaret Cho Margaret Moran Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, actress, LGBT social activist, and musician. She is known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially regarding race and se ...

2008

;Headliners *Cyndi Lauper *The B-52's *

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

;Support acts *Indigo Girls * Andy Bell *

Girl in a Coma Girl In a Coma was an American indie rock band from San Antonio, Texas, United States, formerly on Joan Jett's Blackheart Records label. The band consisted of Nina (vocals/guitar), Phanie Diaz (drums) and Jenn Alva ( bass). The name is a refer ...

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...

Tegan and Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumental ...

Colton Ford Glenn Soukesian, known professionally as Colton Ford, is an American singer, actor, and former pornographic actor. As of May 2007, he resides in New York City. Career Adult pornographic career Colton Ford appeared in a dozen gay adult celebrate ...

Kat DeLuna Kathleen Emperatriz DeLuna (born November 26, 1987) is an American singer. DeLuna began pursuing a career as a singer when she was a teenager and later signed with Epic Records. Her debut single, "Whine Up", released in 2007, went on to become ...

The White Tie Affair The White Tie Affair (also known as TWTA) is an American pop band from Chicago, Illinois, consisting of vocalist Chris Wallace, guitarist Sean-P, drummer Tim McLaughlin and keyboardist Ryan McLain. In early 2007, the band signed with Epic Record ...

*DJ Paul V *

Joan Armatrading Joan Anita Barbara Armatrading, (, born 9 December 1950) is a Kittitian-English singer-songwriter and guitarist. A three-time Grammy Award nominee, Armatrading has also been nominated twice for BRIT Awards as Best Female Artist. She received ...

Deborah Cox Deborah Cox (born July 13, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Born and raised in Toronto, she began performing on television commercials at age 12, and entered various talent shows in her teenage years before ...

*The Cliks *

The Puppini Sisters The Puppini Sisters are an English close harmony vocal trio composed of Italian-born singer Marcella Puppini and English singers Kate Mullins and Emma Smith. Although the three are not related, the name was chosen in tribute to the Andrews Sister ...

Nona Hendryx Nona Bernis Hendryx (born October 9, 1944) is an American vocalist, record producer, songwriter, musician, and author. Hendryx is known for her work as a solo artist as well as for being one-third of the trio Labelle, who had a hit with "Lady ...

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan Order of Canada, OC Order of British Columbia, OBC (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing ( ...

Lili Haydn Lili Haydn (born December 25, 1969) is a Canadian-born rock violinist, vocalist, actress, and composer. As a child, she pursued a career as an actress; at age eight she discovered the violin and began to focus on classical music. By the time Hay ...

*Margaret Cho *Rosie O'Donnell *

Wanda Sykes Wanda Yvette Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on ''The Chris Rock Show'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, ''Entertainm ...

Kate Clinton Kate Clinton (born November 9, 1947) is an American comedian specializing in political commentary from a gay/lesbian point of view. Early life and education Clinton was born in Buffalo, New York. She was raised in a large Catholic family in the ...

Hosted by

Carson Kressley Carson Kressley (born November 11, 1969) is an American television personality, actor, and designer. Beginning in 2003, he appeared in the Bravo series ''Queer Eye for the Straight Guy''. He was also the motivational host of the TV show ''How to ...

Setlist

Tour dates

Box office score data

Broadcasts and recordings

A True Colors commemorative album was released on June 12, 2007 through

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Entertainment is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digital U ...

. Physical copies were for sale at the concerts and the album was also available online from the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. A reissue commemorative album was again released through the iTunes Store and was available for free download by concert attendees.True Colors tour album re-issue through itunes
www.itunes.com

References

External links

at the

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

on June 18, 2007 {{Margaret Cho 2007 concert tours 2007 in LGBT history 2008 concert tours 2008 in LGBT history Cyndi Lauper concert tours LGBT-related music events