Big Freedia plays Crowbar in Ybor City, Florida on March 3, 2017. Credit: Anthony Martino

A big theme in CL’s interview with New Orleans bounce queen Big Freedia was love and the bravery to be yourself. The Crescent City cultural ambassador also spoke about living with said consequences of being yourself.

Read: Freedia got big, but it wasn’t easy — an interview

“You can’t be fake. You can’t be phony, and you have to be willing to take the consequence that come with it,” Freedia, 39, said. “The most important thing is to be yourself, love yourself and believe in what you’re doing.”

On Friday, a convergence of all of that came together in Ybor City as Freedia took to Crowbar while trans right activists took to Seventh Avenue to stand up for their friends. The events were unrelated, but you can’t help but see how a performance by one of the South’s brightest gay pop stars and a demonstration by people fed up with unequal rights correlate.

Anthony Martino was there to cover all of it, and he has these photos to share. Have a look below, and read our interview with Freedia here.