Arts & Entertainment

Taking the stage

From local indie acts to international superstars, spring brings several concerts to region

Published

12 years ago

March 3, 2011

k.d. lang plays Wolf Trap in July. (Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap)

Spring is almost here and it’s time to decide which concerts to nab tickets for. Here’s a round-up of some that might be of interest.

Out singer/songwriter Tom Goss plays two shows March 11-12 at Go Mama Go to celebrate the release of his new album “Turn It Around.” Both shows start at 7:30 p.m. Echo Amanda opens on the 11th. Jeremiah Clark opens on the 12th. Go Mama Go is at 1809 14th Street, N.W.

On March 13 a closing concert is planned for Go Mama Go! featuring several singers and artists who have performed there over the years. Special Agent Galactica will host and local singers Tom Goss, Maureen Mullaney, Barbara Papendorp, Tony Gudell, Noah Chiet, John C. Bailey and Drag King Ken Vegas will perform.

The band Harvey Milk, named after San Francisco’s first openly gay city supervisor, will be performing at Sonar (407 E. Saratoga St.) in Baltimore on March 12 at 7 p.m. with the Red Chord, Trap Them and Gaza. Their most recent album, “A Small Turn of Human Kindness” was released in May. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased online at sonarbaltimore.com.

One man band Bushwalla will be performing at Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E.) in Vienna on March 15 with Jason Ager at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $13 the day of and can be purchased at jamminjava.com.

Janet Jackson brings her “Number Ones: Up Close and Personal” tour to DAR Constitution Hall in Washington 22 and 24. Both shows are sold out. This theater tour finds Jackson playing the smallest venues she’s played in years.

Out singer/songwriter Elton John and his band will be performing his greatest hits at First Mariner Arena (201 W. Baltimore St.) in Baltimore on March 26 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $29 to $149 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.

Out musician Kaki King will be performing at the Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave.) in Alexandria on March 29 at 7:30 with special guest Joe Robinson. King released her fifth album “Junior” last April. Tickets are $33.95 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com. For more information on King, visit her official site, kakiking.com.

Girlyman, who has previously toured with the Indigo Girls and is currently working with Margaret Cho on her latest album, will be performing at the Birchmere on April 15 at 7:30 p.m. with Susan Werner. Tickets are $33.95 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.

Kylie Minogue will be performing at the Patriot Center (4500 Patriot Circle) in Fairfax on April 30 at 8 p.m. Tickets will range from $55 to $125 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.

Merriweather Post Pavilion (10475 Little Patuxent Parkway) in Columbia has its first show of the season on May 13 at 5:30 p.m. with the M3 Rock Festival Official Kix-Off Party featuring the band Kix. The festival continues the next day with Whitesnake and Tesla. For more information, visit merriweathermusic.com. Tickets range from $45 to $175 and can be purchased online at ticketfly.com.

Katy Perry, singer of “I Kissed a Girl,” will be performing at Merriweather at 6 p.m. with Robyn on June 6. Tickets range from $35 to $48 and can be purchased on ticketfly.com.

Gay favorite “Glee” returns to the stage with a summer tour that stops at Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) on June 9 at 7:30 p.m. The show will include Chris Colfer (Kurt), Darren Criss (Blaine), Naya Rivera (Santana) and Heather Morris (Brittany). Tickets range from $52.50 to $92.50 and go on sale at ticketmaster.com today at 10 a.m.

As part of their “Happily Ever After: The Farewell Tour,” The Go-Gos will be making a stop in the D.C. area at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Road) in Vienna on June 10 at 8 p.m. at the Filene Center. Tickets are $25 for the lawn and $42 for in-house and go on sale March 12 at 10 a.m.

Grammy-winning and out vocalist k.d. Lang plays Wolf Trap on July 6 at 8 p.m. at the Filene Center with special guest The Belle Brigade. Lang has been a major-label artists for more than 25 years. Most recently, her rendition of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” was featured in the Christmas episode of “Glee” as Jane Lynch’s Sue Sylvester tried to ruin the holiday for the glee club. Tickets are $25 for the lawn and $42 for in-house and go on sale March 12 at 10 a.m.

The National Symphony Orchestra at wolf Trap presents Three Broadway Divas. Jan Horvath, the original Christine from “Phantom of the Opera”, Debbie Gravitte, Tony Award-winning actress from “Jerome Robbin’s Broadway” and Christiane Noll, the original Emma from “Jekyll & Hyde,” will all perform on July 9 at 8:15 p.m. at the Filene Center. Songs will be from many plays included “Wicked” and “Mamma Mia!” Tickets range from $20 to $52 and can be purchased online starting March 12 at 10 a.m.

Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Dolly Parton will grace the stage at Wolf Trap’s Filene Center on July 31 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 for the lawn and $60 for in-house and go on sale March 12 at 10 a.m.

Sports

Put this out gay trailblazer’s supportive coach in your bracket

‘Coach Willard’s awesome,’ says Derrick Gordon of Maryland’s Kevin Willard

Published

17 hours ago

March 21, 2023

Dawn Ennis

Kevin Willard is not just a seasoned coach, but a strong LGBTQ ally. (Screen capture via Inside the Hall YouTube)

When the 8th seeded Maryland Terrapins faced off against No. 1 Alabama in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championships last weekend, it wasn’t just the players on the hardwood who were working hard for the win. Nate Oats coached the Crimson Tide to a 73-51 victory less than an hour from their home court. And on the other side was Kevin Willard, who is not just a seasoned coach, but a strong LGBTQ ally.

Willard was Derrick Gordon’s coach at Seton Hall when he transferred from UMass in 2015, a year after he came out as the first out gay Division I Men’s basketball player in the NCAA.

Gordon has credited Willard with creating a comfortable environment, after he “bumped heads” with former UMass coach Derek Kellogg during his two seasons with the Minutemen. In contrast, he said he instantly connected with Willard, and told his teammates and Willard following his final season at Seton Hall that he wished he had another year of eligibility remaining. He’s said he considered Willard the best coach he’d ever played for.

“He just made it comfortable for me,” Gordon told Glenn Clark Radio in an interview broadcast on March 22, 2022. “He said, ‘You know what, we’re more focused on who you are as a person and a basketball player and what you bring to the team.’ He voiced that over and over again. When I went on my visit, I just felt even more comfortable, met a couple of the guys. They made me feel right at home as well, so it was kind of like an easy decision. Coach Willard’s awesome. He’s an amazing guy.”

If you don’t believe Gordon, ask the West Virginia Mountaineers, who lost to the Terrapins in the first round 67-65. Maryland’s win “took the paint off the floor at Legacy Arena” in Birmingham, Ala., as Brendan Quinn wrote in The Athletic. He described Willard’s style of coaching this way:

“Willard paced the sideline, as he does. The man is intense. Doesn’t suffer fools. Serious stuff. No BS. Black eyes screwed deep in a bald head, no pupils. He regards things sideways, incredulous toward anyone who doesn’t come correct. It’s his whole thing. If Guy Ritchie cast a college basketball coach, it’d be Willard.”

Gordon told Glenn Clark Radio that he particularly recalled the kind of support Willard gave him in one practice early in his Seton Hall career, according to Press Box Online.

“I remember a particular situation that happened in practice — came down the court and I was wide open and I didn’t shoot it,” Gordon said in the 2022 interview. “[Willard] stopped practice and he said, ‘You’re not at [UMass] anymore. I trust you. I believe in you. Shoot the ball.’ Ever since then, my confidence was through the roof, especially dealing with I had to deal with when I was at UMass with that coach to playing under Coach Willard and him telling me that specifically, he just let me play my game.”

Last July, Gordon posted on Instagram that after playing a few seasons in Europe for Cyprus and Germany, “I decided to end my career as a professional athlete.”

Gordon is now 31, and he told his followers he is working on a book about his life “on and off the court,” in hopes he might “help gay young people, student athletes in particular and others who are struggling to pursue careers in professional sports or any career paths they chose without fear or shame.”

Since Christmas, he’s been sharing posts that include photos with his boyfriend, actor Scott Backman of Los Angeles, including one from last week, captioned: “Every time we’re together, it’s like falling in love all over again.”

Out & About

10 LGBTQ events this week

Drag, dancing and kite flying among highlights

Published

1 day ago

March 21, 2023

Michael Key

Events this week include, from left, an AGLA/Go Gay DC-sponsored Drag Show for Charity at Freddie's Beach Bar, Kicks & Giggles Glow Crazy party, and Bombalicious Eklaver brings her show to Cambria Rooftop. (Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Below are our picks for some of the most fun and creative things to do this week in the DMV that are of special interest to the LGBTQ community.

Drag Queen Trivia Tuesday

Tuesday, March 21
7 p.m.
Slash Run
201 Upshur Street, N.W.
Facebook | Reservations

Tara Hoot leads a game of trivia at Slash Run on Tuesday.

Daddy Issues

Wednesday, March 22
9 p.m.
Kiki
915 U Street, N.W.
Instagram | Website

Crystal Edge leads the weekly drag show at Kiki on Wednesday.

DC Boys of Leather – March Happy Hour

Thursday, March 23
6-9 p.m.
Trade
1410 14th Street, N.W.
Facebook

Grab your gear and make your way to Trade for the March Happy Hour of the DC Boys of Leather.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Viewing Party

Friday, March 24
8 p.m.
JR.’s Bar
1519 17th Street, N.W.
Facebook

Citrine leads the RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15 Viewing Party at JR.’s Bar on Friday.

Kicks & Giggles Glow Crazy! Blacklight-Glow Paint Party

Friday, March 24
9 p.m.
Green Lantern
1335 Green Court, N.W.
No cover
Facebook

Kicks & Giggles bring you a glow-tastic time on Friday with a blacklight-glow paint party at the Green Lantern. There is a clothes check and there are free rail drinks if you are painted with glow paint between 9 and 10 p.m.

Good Times (Disco House Party)

Friday, March 24
11 p.m.
DC9 Nightclub
1940 9th Street, N.W.
$10 advance / $15 door
Facebook | Eventbrite

Cake Pop! and DJ Matt Bailer entertain on Friday with a feel good Disco House Party at DC9 Nightclub.

Candela! UPROAR’s Latinx Party

Saturday, March 25
9 p.m.
UPROAR Lounge & Restaurant
639 Florida Avenue, N.W.
Facebook

UPROAR Lounge & Restaurant hold a Latinx party on Saturday with a performance by Ivanna V Love.

Cherry Blossom Kite Festival

Saturday, March 25
10 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Washington Monument
Facebook | Website

The annual kite festival is back on Saturday by the Washington Monument.

Cambria Drag Brunch

Sunday, March 26
11 a.m.
Rooftop Cambria Capital Riverfront
69 Q Street, S.W.
$35
Eventbrite

Bombalicious Eklaver leads a fun drag brunch on Sunday with performers Jalah, Nadia and Amara. $35 covers the buffet and show, but bring your dollar bills to show your support to the performers.

Drag Show for Charity

*(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)*

Sunday, March 26
8-10 p.m.
Freddie’s Beach Bar
555 23rd Street S
Arlington, Va.
Facebook

AGLA and Go Gay DC present a drag show for charity at Freddie’s Beach Bar on Sunday.

Photos

PHOTOS: Freddie’s Follies 20th

Arlington drag show celebrates milestone

Published

3 days ago

March 19, 2023

Michael Key

Freddie's Follies performers gather on the newly-named Destiny B. Childs Stage at Freddie's Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, March 18. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Freddie’s Follies had a 20th anniversary show at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va. on Saturday, March 18. Performers included Destiny B. Childs, Monet Dupree, Patti Lovelace, Sasha Adams Sanchez and Ophelia Bottoms.

(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Covering Freddie’s Follies 20th Anniversary for @WashBlade . @DestinyBChilds performing: pic.twitter.com/urpHgiMZ05
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) March 19, 2023