Arts & Entertainment
Holliday triumphs with choir
Gay Men’s Chorus 30th anniversary concert welcomes ‘Dreamgirls’ diva
Jennifer Holliday with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington. (Blade photo by Joey DiGuglielmo)
Jennifer Holliday’s powerful singing ability, on display last weekend during two local concerts with the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington for its 30th anniversary, is, of course, well known and loved.
But two things about Saturday night’s concert stood out — how soft spoken and perhaps even shy she seems when she speaks and how vocally invested she is in each note she sings. The reservation she exhibits during between song patter makes for a real jolt when contrasted with the unabashed vocal fire she utilized when she sang. To some ears not steeped in black gospel musical traditions it may have sounded histrionic and overwrought, but nobody could claim she wasn’t giving 110 percent.
Her selections — four solos and two with the Chorus — were chosen clearly to give her plenty of room to wail, shout and grunt with as much abandon as she could muster. And she mustered plenty. You know she could take the middle-of-the-road Anita Baker approach if she wanted, but so could a zillion other female singers. It was way more fun to hear her let it rip and utilize the vast bounty of vocal reserves of which she possesses.
Her 1983 single “I Am Love” and a Mahalia Jackson cover, “Come Sunday” were fine, but the two “Dreamgirls” numbers — “I Am Changing” and, of course, her showstopping signature song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” were clearly what everyone was clamoring to hear.
“Changing,” especially, brought down the house as she repeatedly growled the climactic lines — “stop-aaaah …. Me-aaaaah!” From a pre-show mini-musical (more on that in a minute), the extremely predictable (but not in a bad way) set list and Holliday’s interpretations, this was clearly not an evening for subtlety. But sometimes that’s OK.
After a donation pledge from Chorus director David Jobin, who made a joke of having to come on stage immediately after Holliday finished “And I Am Telling You,” the singer returned to do two covers with the Chorus, a welcome change of pace that featured live accompaniment (Holliday sang her solos to pre-recorded tracks) and powerful, gospel-style backing vocals from the Chorus’s nearly 300 male singers.
Both were knockouts — R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly,” which closed the show, and the clear standout of the entire evening, a passionate and rousing arrangement (by Steve Milloy) of Bill Withers’ “Lean On Me” that everyone involved clearly had fun with.
During her solo set, a soft-spoken Holliday joked about menopause, a mid-life crisis and how she’s much happier and content at 50 than she was in her 20s and 30s. She seemed relaxed and genuinely happy to be there.
It was a long wait for Holliday, who didn’t appear until the second half. The first consisted entirely of a new one-act musical, “Alexander’s House,” by partners Michael Shaieb and Brent Lord that the Chorus commissioned.
Like many Chorus productions, it was performed with a small ensemble of actor/singers — all Chorus members — out front while the Chorus stood behind providing frequent vocal backing. “House” tells of a gay man who died leaving his partner and grown son to meet and hand over a summer beach house. Dramatically, it was maudlin, predictable and conceived without even a word or syllable that wasn’t instantly accessible and none-too-subtly crafted to elicit tears from the types who well up over Hallmark cards. But musically, it featured some lovely moments, especially the title tune which climaxed with the Chorus singing full throttle and offering the loveliest harmonies of the evening.
Other highlights were Alan Shorter’s “The Older I Get,” featuring soloist extraordinaire Justin Ritchie, and recognition of the Chorus’s “first decaders,” those who’d been in the group in the 1980s.
Celebrity News
My evening with Madonna
Gay icon headlined the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.
Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.
— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026
MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.
Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!
The gay icon had one more surprise in store.
The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.
“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.
“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.
I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.
Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.
MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.
Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.
She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.
Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!
Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.
Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.
“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”
For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.
Thank you, Madonna.
The Petal Release Party and Drag Show was held at Spark Social on Friday, July 31. Performers included Tiara-Missou, Labianna and Darcy de la Cuadra.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Celebrity News
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Kylie Minogue made surprise appearance alongside gay icon
AMSTERDAM — Madonna on Sunday headlined the final night of the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam.
The gay icon took the stage shortly before 2:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday) during Club Confessions, a set that MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term HIV care, organized.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage inside Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall that can hold up to 6,000 people.
Stuart Price, who produced Madonna’s 2005 “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album and “Confessions II,” which debuted on July 2, DJed the set.
Kylie Minogue made a surprise appearance. She and Madonna performed a new remix of “Love Sensation” from “Confessions II.”
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
“Throughout my career, I’ve always supported efforts to fight HIV and AIDS, and that fight begins with education and access,” said Madonna in a MISTR press release. “With MISTR, (CEO) Tristan (Schukraft) is expanding access to HIV prevention and sexual healthcare for everyone. Through this work, he’s helping preserve and strengthen LGBTQ+ spaces while investing in the communities and culture that have long sustained us.”
Minogue in an Instagram post thanked Madonna, Price, Schukraft, and MISTR.
Madonna appeared at The Abbey in West Hollywood, Calif., in April. Madonna in June celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York’s Times Square.
Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced the World Pride Music Festival that also featured Bebe Rexha and Paris Hilton, among others.
“Pride has always been about bringing our community together,” said Resnicow. “At a moment when too many people are being told to hide or make themselves smaller, gathering openly, joyfully, and without apology matters more than ever. I couldn’t be prouder of what this festival brought to life in Amsterdam — one dance floor, completely free.”
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