Laura Jane Grace, singer, songwriter, and founder of the punk rock band Against Me! is set to receive the Key to the City of Gainesville. The presentation will happen during Fest 21, which will be happening from October 27th to 29th throughout downtown, where she will also play a solo set at Vivid Music Hall.
“Against Me! is one of the greatest punk rock bands of all time, and Laura Jane Grace is an LGBTQ icon, as well as among the best lyricists in music history,” said City Commissioner Bryan Eastman who spearheaded Grace’s award, to The Gainsville Sun who broke the news. “It’s hard to imagine any artist that deserves this honor more.”
“My mind is blown. I don’t even know what to say,” Grace shared to the same newspaper when given the news. “That’s just insane. I’m stunned. This doesn’t even seem f—ing real. I’m honored, truly honored.”
Later Grace shared on her Instagram: ”This is ridiculous. Was told about last week. Feel bad cause I was asked for a quote and I was completely stumped. Genuinely at a loss for words. What do you say to something like this beyond the obvious of woah and thank you? Hard to feel like you deserve something like this though. If anything I feel like I’m accepting on behalf of a group of people or a scene Circa late 90’s early 2000’s. How about, I’ll just hold the keys for a second. When I was 19 years old Joe Courter gave me the keys to the Civic Media Center and I’d go there at night and listen to records and work on zine art. Those keys were a huge responsibility to me. I’ll treat these the same. There’s someone who REALLY deserves the keys to the city though, Joe Courter. I’m just holding these keys for a second they actually belong to Joe.”