Arts & Entertainment
The girls in the band
Uh Huh Her featuring ‘L Word’ star at 9:30 club Monday
Uh Huh Her plays the 9:30 club Monday. (Photo courtesy of 9:30 club)
Uh Huh Her, an indie-electro pop duo comprised of “The L Word’s” Leisha Hailey and Mellowdrone’s Camila Grey, will be performing at the 9:30 club (815 V St., N.W.) Monday at 7 p.m.
This is the group’s second tour; they previously performed at 9:30 three years ago after the release of their first album, “Common Reaction.” Hailey is a lesbian. Grey declined to address her sexual orientation but the band has a large lesbian following.
“It’s constantly getting to see new things, meet new people,” Grey said regarding her favorite things about touring. “We get to see the world and that’s an amazing thing to do.”
She says there are some drawbacks to touring. She doesn’t get to sleep as much as she’d like and it is not conducive to being healthy.
The first tour was a typical bus tour, but this time they’re going a different route — driving a van.
“When you’re on a bus, you don’t get to stay at hotels every night and you have to shower at the venue,” Grey says. “I prefer van tours because you’re in a hotel room every night … it’s more conducive to being clean.”
The band entertains themselves by admiring the scenery and joking about things sometimes based on places they stop, like A Dong, a Vietnamese restaurant in Des Moines, Iowa, which made Grey and someone else in the van start a rendition of Sisqo’s “Thong Song.”
Grey should know the difference between bus and van tours as she is coming off of touring with Adam Lambert. There are also differences when the tour is for someone else, she says.
“It’s really different. I’m the lead singer of this band and with Adam I was just playing keys,” Grey said of the two experiences, one keeping her more in the background, which brings less pizzazz but also less pressure.
Grey has been interested in music since she was young. She learned to play the piano when she was 5 and went to Berklee College of Music.
Music is something that is in her and she sees herself as being lucky to be able to do something she loves for a living.
There are other differences between this tour and their last that have nothing to do with their mode of transportation. After the release of their first album and as their momentum was building, the band split from their label.
The band will be on tour through May 19.
This tour is coming off the release of the band’s new six-song EP, “Black and Blue.” Their next full-length album, “Noturnes,” is in the works and they are shooting for a June or July release.
Uh Huh Her will perform songs off their EP, preview songs from their new album and play some favorites from their debut album.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at 930.com.
For more information on the band, visit uhhuhher.com.
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
The Washington Blade will update this article with additional reaction when it becomes available.
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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