Twin Cities Pride calls up Carly Rae Jepsen to headline June 25 concert at Armory

There's no maybe about it. The Twin Cities Pride Festival will return in a big way in 2022, and Carly Rae Jepsen is on call to make sure of it.

The "Call Me Maybe" hitmaker has been announced as the headliner of the TC Pride concert on Saturday, June 25. Instead of its usual spot in Loring Park, the concert is moving across downtown Minneapolis to inside the Armory. Tickets go on sale Friday starting at $40 via Ticketmaster.

Jepsen, 33, offers a younger brand of nostalgia for Pride-goers compared to other recent headliners TLC, En Vogue and Brandy. "Call Me Maybe" — now 10 years old — became a pride anthem thanks to its music video, in which Jepsen falls in love with a guy (played by actor Holden Nowell) who turns out to be gay.

While she has yet to match the success of her breakout hit, Jepsen has maintained momentum as a pop star in the decade since, and it looks like 2022 could be another big year for her. Her appearances at the Coachella festival last month were well-received. There's ample buzz for her new single out Friday, "Western Wind" (posted below).

This year is the designated 50th anniversary of TC Pride. After in-person events were called off in 2020 due to COVID, and then everything was delayed until July and downscaled in 2021, the fest is back to its normal weekend in June with all the usual activities and more, including the main festival during the day in Loring Park on Saturday and Sunday, June 25-26, the Beer Dabbler on Friday, June 24, at the Sculpture Garden, the parade that Sunday and other fun stuff all around town that weekend.