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Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: March 2

Parties, exhibits, meetings and more through March 8

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‘Memorial to a Marriage,’ a bronze sculpture featuring artist Patricia Cronin and her partner in a tender embrace, is one of the works in the ‘Bodies and Soul’ exhibit at Connor Contemporary Art. (Image courtesy Connor)

TODAY (Friday) 

Busboys & Poets presents “Live! from Busboys: Open Mic and Talent Showcase” tonight at 11 p.m. in the Langston Room at its 14th and V streets location (2021 14th St., N.W.) hosted by Ne’a Posey. This showcase opens the floor for all performers, not just poets. There is a $5 cover. For more information, visit busboysandpoets.com.

“Saturday Night Live” alum Tim Meadows plays Baltimore Comedy Club tonight at 8 and 10:15 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at baltimorecomedy.com. Meadows will also perform Saturday at 7 and 9:15 p.m.

The Creative Alliance is hosting the Baltimore premiere of the African film “Paparazzi: Eye in the Dark” at the Patterson (3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore) tonight at 7:30 p.m. “Paparazzi” tells the story of a music producer, a mysterious murder and the ripples of its repercussions. Tickets are $12 for general admission and $7 for CA members. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit creativealliance.org.

Atlas (1333 H St., N.E.) presents “Intersections: A New American Arts Festival” with performances by Tom Goss and Potomac Fever at 9:30 p.m. in the Lang Theatre. Tickets are $20. All-girl band The Pushovers will be giving a free performance from 8 to 10 p.m. in the Kogod lobby. The night ends with an after party hosted by DCypher Dance at 11 p.m. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit atlasarts.org.

Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company (641 D St., N.W.) presents “Civilization (all you can eat)” tonight at 8 p.m. The show brings a corporate lecturer, a career waitress and an anthropomorphic pig all together to look at corruption, consumption and enterprise in the Obama age. Tickets range from $55 to $67.50 and can be purchased online at woollymammoth.net.

Saturday, March 3

Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) presents Hellmouth Happy Hour where every week an episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” will be screened and drink specials will be offered. This week the episode is “Doppelgängland.”

The Imperial Court of Washington will be at the Czar’s Ball and Royal Convention for the “Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Russian Tea Party” tonight at Remington’s (639 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.) from 4 to 8 p.m. The candidates for Emperor and Empress will be announced. Tickets are $20. For more information, visit imperialcourtdc.org.

DJ Drew G sings at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight at 10 p.m. Cover is $8 before 11 p.m. and $12 after. Attendees must be 21 or older.

Code has its monthly installment tonight at Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.). Gear, rubber, skin, uniform or leather dress code will be strictly enforced. Music provided by DJ Frank Wild. Admission is $10. All attendees must be 18 or older. There will be an open bar from 9 to 10 p.m.

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is having its 20th annual national dinner tonight at the National Building Museum (401 F St., N.W.) starting with a reception at 6:30 p.m. Individual tickets range from $225 to $2,500 and 10 tickets ranging from $2,500 to $250,000. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit sldn.org.

Sunday, March 4

Singer/songwrighter Glen Phillips of rock group Toad the Wet Sprocket plays Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd., Vienna) tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at wolftrap.org.

Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) presents Drag Brunch hosted by Shi-Queeta Lee today at 11 a.m. with a $20 brunch buffet.

SMYAL’s Youth Arts Ensemble and Dance Exchange’s Teen Exchange will be performing at Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St., N.E.) today at 3 p.m. as part of the Intersections festival. For more information, visit intersectionsdc.org. This is a free event.

Monday, March 5

Boyz II Men plays the Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria) tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $59.50 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) is having its monthly volunteer night tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tonight’s activities could range from sorting through book donations, cleaning up around the Center and taking inventory for Fuk!ts, as well as socializing. Pizza will be provided. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Tuesday, March 6

Irish band Altan plays Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd., Vienna) tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at wolftrap.org.

The Chesapeake Squares, a gay square dancing group, are having a mainstream-through-advanced club night tonight at the Waxter Center (1000 Cathedral St.) in Baltimore from 8 to 10 p.m. For more information, visit chesapeakesquares.org.

Wednesday, March 7

Band White Rabbits play the Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) with Tennis and Daughter. Tickets are $18 and can be purchased online at blackcatdc.com. Doors open at 8 p.m.

Conner Contemporary Art (1358 Florida Ave., N.E.) presents Patricia Cronin’s first solo exhibition in D.C. with “Bodies and Soul.” The exhibit features “Memorial to a Marriage,” a bronze sculpture depicting the sleeping figures of Cronin and her partner, artist Deborah Kass. The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and by appointment. For more information, visitconnercontemporary.com.

Thursday, March 8

 Irish tenor Karl Scully plays Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd., Vienna) tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at wolftrap.org.

Comedian Kathleen Madigan plays the Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria) tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $49.50 and can be purchased online atticketmaster.com.

D.C. Strokes Rowing Club is having its Spring Rush tonight at Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) from 6 to 9 p.m. For more information, visit dcstrokes.org.

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Books

A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat

New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story

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(Book cover image courtesy of Random House)

‘When the Harvest Comes’
By Denne Michele Norris
c.2025, Random House
$28/304 pages

Happy is the bride the sun shines on.

Of all the clichés that exist about weddings, that’s the one that seems to make you smile the most. Just invoking good weather and bright sunshine feels like a cosmic blessing on the newlyweds and their future. It’s a happy omen for bride and groom or, as in the new book “When the Harvest Comes” by Denne Michele Norris, for groom and groom.

Davis Freeman never thought he could love or be loved like this.

He was wildly, wholeheartedly, mind-and-soul smitten with Everett Caldwell, and life was everything that Davis ever wanted. He was a successful symphony musician in New York. They had an apartment they enjoyed and friends they cherished. Now it was their wedding day, a day Davis had planned with the man he adored, the details almost down to the stitches in their attire. He’d even purchased a gorgeous wedding gown that he’d never risk wearing.

He knew that Everett’s family loved him a lot, but Davis didn’t dare tickle the fates with a white dress on their big day. Everett’s dad, just like Davis’s own father, had considerable reservations about his son marrying another man – although Everett’s father seemed to have come to terms with his son’s bisexuality. Davis’s father, whom Davis called the Reverend, never would. Years ago, father and son had a falling-out that destroyed any chance of peace between Davis and his dad; in fact, the door slammed shut to any reconciliation.

But Davis tried not to think about that. Not on his wedding day. Not, unbeknownst to him, as the Reverend was rushing toward the wedding venue, uninvited but not unrepentant. Not when there was an accident and the Reverend was killed, miles away and during the nuptials.

Davis didn’t know that, of course, as he was marrying the love of his life. Neither did Everett, who had familial problems of his own, including homophobic family members who tried (but failed) to pretend otherwise.

Happy is the groom the sun shines on. But when the storm comes, it can be impossible to remain sunny.

What can be said about “When the Harvest Comes?” It’s a romance with a bit of ghost-pepper-like heat that’s not there for the mere sake of titillation. It’s filled with drama, intrigue, hate, characters you want to just slap, and some in bad need of a hug.

In short, this book is quite stunning.

Author Denne Michele Norris offers a love story that’s everything you want in this genre, including partners you genuinely want to get to know, in situations that are real. This is done by putting readers inside the characters’ minds, letting Davis and Everett themselves explain why they acted as they did, mistakes and all. Don’t be surprised if you have to read the last few pages twice to best enjoy how things end. You won’t be sorry.

If you want a complicated, boy-meets-boy, family-mess kind of book with occasional heat, “When the Harvest Comes” is your book. Truly, this novel shines.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch

LGBTQ politicians gather for annual event

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Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) speaks at the 2025 Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Victory Fund held its National Champagne Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton on Sunday, April 27. Speakers included Tim Gunn, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Music & Concerts

Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’

Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

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Singer Tom Goss is back. (Photo by Dusti Cunningham)

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co. 

Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.

For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.

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