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Thousands attend LOVELOUDFest in Orem to support LGBTQ youth

Posted at 10:08 PM, Aug 26, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-27 00:08:40-04

OREM, Utah -- More than 17,000 music lovers assembled in Orem Saturday for a festival to support LGBTQ Youth.

TheLOVELOUDFestraised money and awareness to help LGBTQ youth in Utah, and the festival earned the support of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Many people came together to make the event happen, but it was the brainchild of Imagine Dragons' frontman Dan Reynolds, who says love is something that can save lives.

"We may have different beliefs, we may come from different backgrounds, different religions, different politics, different cultures, different ethnicities: None of those things matter. We all can agree our LGBTQ youth need us," Reynolds said.

Zeke Stokes of GLAAD said they were thrilled to take part.

"I have to say it's not often that a straight, Mormon rock star calls us up at GLAAD and says, 'Hey, I want to throw a concert in Utah," Stokes said.

In Utah, suicide is the leading cause of death for young people under the age of 25. Statistics indicate that LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to consider suicide than their peers.

"We all need to be banding together to provide support for young people, to ensure that they stay safe and that they can be loved no matter who they are or what God they believe in or don't believe in," said Amit Paley, CEO of the Trevor Project.

Reynolds said this concert is just the first and that they hope to grow the festival each year.