Ellie Goulding, Kali Uchis, and Liz Phair are among the lineup for the inaugural Versa, a “music + more festival” that will take place at Lincoln Park South Fields in Chicago June 11-12.
Weaving live music, comedy and inspirational speakers together to appear across five stages over the weekend, Versa bills itself as the first major women-led multi-day festival in more than two decades. Kim Petras, Monica, Mon Laferte, Jamila Woods, Young M.A, Ingrid Andress, Yuna, Big Freedia, Yendry, Laura Jane Grace, Salem Ilese, Deb Never, Madame Gandhi, Lila Iké, Adeline, Vagabon, Coco & Breezy, Lillie Mae, and Tia Wood are among the musical performers.
On the comedy side, Chelsea Handler, Ilana Glazer, Fortune Feimster, Patti Harrison, Aida Rodriguez, Dulcé Sloan, and Sydnee Washington will perform standup, along with improv appearances from The Second City’s ensemble. The event also features a Versa Ball. Hosted by ballroom historian Legendary Leggoh JohVera, the ball will celebrate drag and ballroom culture.
Alongside the performances, the weekend will include inspirational speakers, including Gloria Steinem. Programmed by documentary filmmaker Dyllan McGee, who also serves as a Versa executive producer, the programming topics include entertainment, health and wellness, sports, social action and entrepreneurship.
C3 (Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits) veteran Charlie Jones’ Four Leaf Productions is behind the festival. Last year, Jones told Rolling Stone that one of the driving forces behind the festival led by (and catering to) women is to open doors and elevate others. “We’re going to be paying attention to how we communicate with people, how we hire, how we contract, how we pay people,” Jones said of how his all-women partners and team have approached the endeavor. “‘Empowerment’ feels like an empty word, but ‘financial empowerment’ is not, and I’m focused on that. And that’s how we’re treating anybody that gets hired to perform or work on the event.”
Tickets are on sale now.
NEWS
Live from London, it is Saturday Night Live.
The legendary sketch comedy institution officially launched its UK edition on March 21 with Saturday Night Live UK, featuring former SNL cast member Tina Fey as host and British indie rock group Wet Leg as the episode’s musical guest.
This global expansion of Lorne Michaels’ famous NBC program began with Fey’s opening monologue, which included unexpected cameos from Michael Cera and UK television personality Graham Norton.
“It’s an absolute honour and kind of historic,” Fey told the crowd. “Guys, I am the youngest person to ever host SNL UK!”
During the broadcast, Wet Leg delivered performances of two songs taken from their second album Moisturizer, which opened at Number 6 on Billboard’s Top Rock and Alternative Albums chart and also climbed to Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart in the United Kingdom.
The band first appeared performing the record’s fourth single “Mangetout,” a Grammy nominated song that also earned a place on Billboard’s list of the 20 best UK and Ireland songs of 2025. Later in the show they returned to play the album’s lead single “Catch These Fists.”
After their appearance on SNL UK, Wet Leg will travel back to the United States for a series of major festival dates including Coachella, Governors Ball, Bonnaroo and Outside Lands. Their US tour is scheduled to begin April 15 at the Fox Theater in Pomona, California.
Upcoming episodes of SNL UK have also been confirmed. Wolf Alice will serve as musical guest on the March 28 episode hosted by Jamie Dornan, while Kasabian will perform on the April 2 show with Riz Ahmed as host.
The show is broadcast on Sky in the United Kingdom and is available to stream on Peacock in the United States. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the first episode attracted more than 220,000 viewers on Sky. It was released in the US on March 22 via Peacock.
You can watch Wet Leg’s SNL UK performances below.
