Christian religious rally met with oppositional chorus of kazoos at Seattle’s Gas Works Park

It’s not uncommon to hear megaphones, air horns, or drums at a protest. But what about a kazoo cover of a pop anthem?

Chappell Roan’s hit “Pink Pony Club”, a dance-pop sensation and love letter to the queer community, dominated last summer’s music charts.

But on Saturday, the hit took on new meaning as a protest anthem for the roughly 200 people who showed up at Seattle’s Gas Works Park to demonstrate against an evangelical Christian worship rally, "Revive in 25."

The event was hosted by Let Us Worship, a Christian activist group created by Sean Feucht, a Christian nationalist and musician.

Feucht has shared anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric online, which prompted some members of the city’s queer community to urge the city to cancel Let Us Worship’s event permit.

As worshipers prayed and listened to music, Rae, the organizer behind the protest, passed out kazoos. KUOW is not publishing their last name due to safety concerns.

Rae said they got the idea to bring “clown energy” to the protest during a conversation with their best friend.

“The point of [Let Us Worship’s] event was to rage bait our community into eliciting a response,” Rae said.

They started thinking about how they could “diffuse” that energy, when an idea came.

“I pitched the kazoos. And my friend was like, ‘Well, why don’t we do like kazoo karaoke?’" Rae said. "And we were like ‘What do all the gays and the girlies love right now? It’s Chappell Roan.'"

Rae put together a poster for the event, and spread 100 copies throughout Wallingford and Fremont. The poster went viral online, something Rae said they weren’t expecting at all.

A few friends chipped money in to buy over 350 kazoos.

“We had to look up a professional kazoo tutorial,” Rae said.

James Watkins came to kazoo and protested with his partner, Caitlin. James also decided to pay homage to Chappell Roan’s signature red locks with a delicately crafted updo made out of two different wigs. James, who identifies as queer, said he wished more people had shown up to the protest, but was still heartened by the event's intention.

“It’s something that’s built around joy,” James said. “It’s something that’s built to express the reality that we’re trying to protect, which is the ability to form community and connect with people that are whatever kind of people they want to be.”

Metal fences and Seattle Police officers kept worshipers at the rally and protesters separated.

The event was largely peaceful, a contrast to an anti-transgender Christian rally held at Cal Anderson Park in May. Counter-protestors clashed with police, leading to the arrests of 23 people.

Saturday’s “Revive in 25” rally was originally slated to be held at Cal Anderson, but was moved to Gas Works after Mayor Bruce Harrell and City Councilmember Joy Hollingsworth worked with organizers to find an alternative location.