Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Headlined the MadSoul Competition in Florida

Two acts acquired prime billing at MadSoul, a music and humanities competition in Florida, on Saturday. The primary was Muna, an indie-pop group that opened for Taylor Swift at some Eras Tour stops. The second: Consultant Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York.

She and several other elected Democrats shared a stage with musicians like Phoebe Bridgers through the daylong occasion at Loch Haven Park in Orlando. Different politicians included Representatives Greg Casar of Texas and Maxwell Frost of Florida, the primary Gen-Z member of Congress.

Mr. Frost, a percussionist, can be the founding father of the MadSoul Competition, which he began in 2018 when he was working as an organizer for the American Civil Liberties Union. He mentioned in an interview earlier than this yr’s occasion that he had “personally booked the entire lineup.”

Mr. Frost — who performed drums for Enterprise Motel, a neighborhood band, throughout its set on the competition — described the occasion as a strategy to attain individuals who may not be as interested by politics as they have been in politics as leisure, an idea that has unfold because the election of the nation’s first reality-TV-star president.

There are “individuals who gained’t go to a political rally however will come to this,” mentioned Mr. Frost, 27, whose district contains most of Orlando. “This is without doubt one of the methods we will activate them and join with them.”

MadSoul Competition adopted a playbook that had been in use by organizations like Rock the Vote, however with a nakedly partisan and progressive method. Some competition tickets have been free whereas others began at $20, and occasion proceeds went to Mr. Frost’s re-election marketing campaign and to a political motion committee affiliated with him. A portion of these earnings have been earmarked for teams that supported causes like L.G.B.T.Q. rights and abortion rights in Florida.

Close to a sales space promoting competition T-shirts and different merchandise have been tables for folks to find out about neighborhood organizations or register to vote forward of the 2024 election. Musical performances have been interspersed with speeches, some criticizing latest legal guidelines handed in Florida that banned books, restricted abortion entry and prohibited discussions about sexual id in colleges.

Different remarks addressed gun violence: Brandon Wolf, 35, spoke about surviving the mass taking pictures on the Orlando nightclub Pulse, and Manuel Oliver, 56, spoke about his son, Joaquin, who was killed within the mass taking pictures at Marjory Stoneman Douglas Excessive Faculty in Parkland, Fla.

One other Democratic politician on the lineup, Montana State Consultant Zooey Zephyr, mentioned in an interview earlier than chatting with the group that the idea of “the private being political” has change into trite to some folks.

However Ms. Zephyr, who’s transgender and who final yr was barred from taking the ground of the Montana Home of Representatives for criticizing a invoice banning transition look after transgender minors, added that, to her, “There’s no strategy to view our political battle for a greater nation as something apart from a deeply private battle for every neighborhood.”

Tennessee State Consultant Justin Jones, earlier than talking onstage, mentioned that the competition was “very a lot about celebration,” however that it was “additionally a type of resistance to what’s round us.”

As a substitute of a white swimsuit like the one he was sporting final yr when he was expelled from the Tennessee Legislature over a gun-control protest, Mr. Jones, a Democrat, wore a shirt that learn “there isn’t any Planet B.” However what the swimsuit represented seemingly influenced the outfit selection of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who wore a white jumpsuit.

Lots of the virtually 3,000 individuals who attended additionally wore garments that mirrored the occasion’s political facet. Plenty of shirts have been emblazoned with quotes attributed to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; different shirts addressed the Israel-Hamas struggle with phrases like “cease-fire now.”

However among the many self-described activists, soon-to-be-first-time voters and neighborhood organizers within the crowd have been many individuals who mentioned they have been primarily drawn to the competition by its promise of music and humanities.

Kiana Bartloff, 22, a forged member at Disney World in Orlando, mentioned she got here to see Lin-Manuel Miranda. He spoke about civic engagement earlier than introducing a efficiency by a theater troupe from a neighborhood highschool, which carried out a medley that included songs Mr. Miranda had written for “Hamilton” and “In The Heights.”

Ms. Bartloff, who was sporting a rainbow-striped ribbon and a shirt from the Disney Pleasure line, described herself as somebody who wasn’t “essentially politically concerned.” Despite the fact that music and humanities might need introduced her to the competition, she mentioned, attending allowed her “to listen to the message that I wouldn’t in any other case come right here for.”

When requested about her shirt, she mentioned, “I clearly have opinions; nonetheless, satisfaction now not looks like a difficulty of politics.”

Claire Classon, a scholar at Rollins Faculty in Winter Park, Fla., mentioned she had come to see Muna. Her outfit — a pink slip costume and white lace tights — was a homage to the band’s track, “Silk Chiffon.”

However Ms. Classon, 18, who had accessorized her look with friendship bracelets, mentioned she was excited by the prospect to see Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and Mr. Frost, too. Gun violence was additionally on her thoughts on the competition: She mentioned she was “at all times apprehensive about that, particularly since Parkland.”

A couple of hours into the occasion, a protest in opposition to Israel’s navy marketing campaign in Gaza fashioned simply outdoors the doorway to the competition. It concerned teams together with the Florida Palestine Community, which has accused Mr. Frost of being insufficiently supportive of Palestinians. Mr. Frost, who has cosponsored laws calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, took the stage amid the protest to reiterate his help for a cease-fire.

Later, after the demonstration had died down, extra rigidity broke contained in the competition. Throughout Muna’s efficiency, some supporters of Palestinians within the crowd demanded to be let onstage. The band, which had voiced help for a cease-fire throughout its set, stopped enjoying and walked offstage. About 10 minutes later, Muna returned and went on to complete its set by performing “Silk Chiffon” with Ms. Bridgers as a shock visitor.

Katie Gavin, a member of Muna, mentioned in an interview earlier than the band’s efficiency that she didn’t assume its members — all of whom establish as queer — have tried to separate their political and musical identities. “We simply noticed it as being all collectively, and so I feel due to that we’ve developed a fan base,” she mentioned.

She added that the band’s followers have formed its members’ method to politics. “They’ll maintain us accountable,” she mentioned, “if we’re not talking on one thing.”