Arts & Entertainment

Madge and beyond

Fall concert season dotted with biggest legends to hippest new underground queer acts

Published

14 years ago

September 13, 2012

Grizzly Bear is touring its new album ‘Shields,’ which drops Tuesday. The band plays two sold out shows next week at the 9:30 Club. (Photo courtesy Warp Records)

A bounty of queer bands are slated for Phasefest which starts Thursday and runs through next weekend at Phase 1’s Eastern Market (original) location (525 8th Street S.E.). Look for indie bands like Bitch, Athen Boys Choir, Angie Head, People at Parties, Mitten, Hunter Valentine, D.C. band Glitterlust, Vanity Theft and many others. Weekend passes are $55. Tickets for individual nights are $15 Thursday, $20 for Sept. 22 and $25 for Sept. 22 and are available only at the door. Visit phasefest.com for details.

Grizzly Bear, whose new album “Shields” is slated to drop Tuesday, plays two nights at the 9:30 Club (815 V Street, N.W.) Sept. 20-21. Both shows are sold out. Gay singer/songwriter Ed Droste fronts the Brooklyn-based quartet. Try StubHub if you really want to go. Doors are 7 for the Thursday show; 8 for the Friday show. Unknown Mortal Orchestra opens.

Madonna brings her “MDNA Tour” to the Verizon Center (601 F Street, N.W.) Sept. 23-24, her first D.C. shows here since the “Re-Invention Tour” in 2004. Tickets were still available for the second night as of Blade press time but be warned the night of the show — as longtime fans now, she almost never starts on time. She didn’t go on in Philly a few weeks ago until almost 10:30 p.m. Check Ticketmaster or StubHub for availability.

Diamond Rings, a one-man outfit consisting of openly gay John O (his new album drops Oct. 22), opens for Stars at the 9:30 Club on Sept. 23. Doors are at 7. It’s sold out.

“Spill: True Stories of Queer Sex, Desire and Romance,” a new monthly performance event, kicks off at Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave. N.W.) at 8 p.m. on Sept. 27. It’s free. Bi New Yorker Jefferson hosts. More info at spillstories.wordpress.com.

Tony winner Sutton Foster (“Anything Goes,” “Thoroughly Mordern Millie” and “Shrek the Musical”) plays George Mason University’s Center for the Arts (on the George Mason campus in Fairfax County, Va.) Sept. 29 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available for $40, $55 and $70. Visit cfa.gmu.edu for information.

Broadway legend Patti LuPone brings her “Matters of the Heart” show to the Strathmore (5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda) for two nights Oct. 5-6. The 8 p.m. shows will find the double Tony winner singing love songs from a wide range of composers from Broadway legends like Rodgers and Hammerstein to pop singers such as Joni Mitchell and Cyndi Lauper. Tickets range from $45-$85. Buy online at Strathmore.org.

Look for ‘70s teen idol David Cassidy, inspiration for surely many gay coming-of-age fantasies, at the Birchmere Oct. 6. Tickets are $49.50 for the 7:30 p.m. show. Details at birchmere.com.

Shi-Queeta-Lee and her “cast of celebrity female impersonators” return to the Howard Theatre (620 T Street, N.W.) Oct. 10 for another “Drag Salute to the Divas” after a successful debut there in August. The lady poses as Mary J. Blige in the ads. Tickets are $20 in advance ($25 at the door) for the 8 p.m. show.

In other drag news, Special Agent Galactica (Jeffrey Johnson) plays Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave. N.W.) every second and fourth Friday of the month from 6-9 p.m. and the first Tuesday of each month she brings her “Ye Olde Rock ‘n Roll Show” to MOVA (2204 14th Street) from 8-10 p.m. All free. Details at pinkhairedone.com.

Queer Women of Color successfully raised $5,000 in an online drive for its third annual Revival Poetry Tour that’s slated to wrap in D.C. Oct. 13. Details pending.

Soul legend Mavis Staples plays the Hamilton (600 14^th Street, N.W.) Oct. 17. Tickets are $55-$62 for the 7:30 p.m. show. Info at thehamiltondc.com.

It’s a trek from D.C., but if you want to catch Liza Minnelli’s fall show “Confessions,” the closest spot is the Luhrs Performing Arts Center (1871 Old Main Drive) in Shippensburg, Pa., on the campus of Shippensburg University. It’s about a two-hour drive from D.C. Tickets range from $67-$95. Details at luhrscenter.com.

Perrenniel lesbian road warriors The Indigo Girls are slated to play Rams Head Live (20 Market Place) in Baltimore Oct. 20. Tickets are $35 for the 9 p.m. show. Check ticketfly.com for tickets or link there through ramsheadlive.com.

Gay comedian David Sedaris plays the Strathmore Oct. 23. Tickets range from $48-$58 for the 8 p.m. show. Details at Strathmore.org.

Of course there’s an ocean of stuff going on all the time in New York, but if you happen to be there Oct. 30 (the night of the High Heel Race in D.C., by the way), consider checking out a special Freedom to Marry concert there featuring Rufus Wainwright, They Might Be Giants, John Cameron Mitchell, Justin Bond and more. It will be held at the Beacon Theatre (2124 Broadway, New York) at 8 p.m. and 100 percent of the $50-$155 tickets benefit LGBT advocacy group Freedom to Marry (Rufus’s dad, Loudon Wainwright III, who’s been playing a new song he just wrote for Rufus’s gay wedding at his summer shows, plays the Birchmere Oct. 12-13).

Lesbian rocker Melissa Etheridge plays the Strathmore Nov. 2 for her “4^th Street Feeling Tour.” Tickets range from $57.50-$102.50. Details at Strathmore.org.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington has its Home Cooked Cabaret night dubbed “Showmen and Showstoppers” at Town Danceboutique (2009 8th Street N.W.) Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $100 for reserved seats or $75 general admission. Visit gmcw.org for information.

Dance diva Stephanie Mills plays the Birchmere Nov. 10. Tickets are $69.50 (birchmere.com).

Aretha Franklin plays DAR Constitution Hall (1776 D Street, NW) Nov. 20. Tickets are $59.50-$115.50 at Ticketmaster.

The Chorus’s “Winter Nights” show is the weekend of Nov. 30-Dec. 1 at the Lisner Auditorium (730 21st Street, N.W.). No word yet on ticket prices for that show.

That’s the big stuff but a few other venues to keep an eye on or plan checking out include gay-owned Comet Ping Pong (5037 Connecticut Ave., N.W.), a gay-owned pizza restaurant, live music venue that hosts indie bands — some queer — all the time. Info at cometpingpong.com.

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at the University of Maryland (claricesmithcenter.umd.edu), the Washington Performing Arts Society (wpas.org) and Wolf Trap (wolftrap.org) all have great events scheduled throughout the fall.

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Photos

Center for Black Equity honors leaders, activists at BE. Gala

Miyake-Mugler, Oakes co-host annual awards ceremony

Published

19 hours ago

October 11, 2026

Michael Key

Center for Black Equity President and CEO Kenya Hutton speaks at the 2026 BE. Gala on Saturday. (Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Center for Black Equity held its annual BE. Gala at Conrad Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Oct. 5. Lolita Leopard Miyake-Mugler and Anthony Oakes co-hosted the awards ceremony.

Honorees included journalist and producer Justin Stewart; nonprofit leader Nikki Alexander; HIV advocate Marlene McNeese; the nonprofit organization FreeLux Project; actress Monroe Alise; public health advocate Tori Cooper; Manassas Park Vice Mayor Darryl G. Moore; Rev. Dr. Carmarion D. Anderson; Bishop Steven Sawyer; government relations professional Courtney Snowden; Senior Deputy Director of HAHSTA at D.C. Health, Clover Barnes; and Texas state Rep. Venton C. Jones.

The event was sponsored by Gilead.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Books

In ‘The Lost Brontë,’ a complicated lie can lead to danger

New book features sweetly romantic girl-meets-girl twist

Published

24 hours ago

October 11, 2026

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy of Bywater Books)

‘The Lost Brontë’
By Catherine Friend
c.2026, Bywater Books
$22.95/335 pages

Mom always said to tell the truth.

One lie leads to another and another and you have to remember them all until pretty soon, you’re caught. Fibs are hard, mistruths are messy, even little white social lies can destroy trust. Worst of all, as in the new novel, “The Lost Brontë” by Catherine Friend, a complicated lie can lead to danger.

Though Lilianne Loxley was very young when she lost her parents, she understood that her uncle didn’t really want her. As time passed, though, Lily made herself useful to Uncle, writing and signing letters for him and she became a good companion, helping him with his collection of Brontë memorabilia. Uncle was a keen enthusiast.

She had no idea that his obsession was out of control and he was deeply in arrears. The day Lily learned of his debt was the day she learned that he’d agreed to send her to his debtor’s home to work off the money owed.

It was so sudden. One minute, Lily was at Loxley House, happy and loved by Uncle’s staff … and five hours later, she was at Crag Thorn Manor, home of Lord Bexton, who informed her that she’d be working on his ledgers – work that seemed routine, but Lily tackled it.

Uncle always did say she was headstrong.

But would headstrong be enough to survive, when she was restricted from most of the Manor, when she was forced to dine with Brexton and his slimy friend, or – the worst! – when Brexton told Lily that her next task was to forge a letter from Emily Brontë? And then an entire manuscript?

Lily struggled to do what was right. She had to get Uncle out of debt but this last order horrified her. Did she dare refuse Brexton’s orders and commit a crime? It was unthinkable!

The only brightness in the whole situation was Wren, the ladies’ maid assigned to Lily’s room. Wren was adorable with freckles and the sweetest smile. But with everything else happening at Crag Thorn Manner, could Lily act upon her feelings?

This time of year, you may come to crave dark, spooky stories, and “The Last Brontë” fits those needs perfectly with its Gothic deliciousness. Think: Daphne du Maurier-type, stormy-night squirms with a dangerously chaste, sweetly romantic girl-meets-girl twist for fun.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve read a Gothic novel, you’re in for a nice reminder of why you love them here. You can almost tick off the must-haves: a novel like this is nothing without a foreboding stone manor with damp walls; stone steps to a dank basement; a mysterious portrait; and a nearby bog, and author Catherine Friend gives readers every one of them. You’d be disappointed if there was no ghost, wouldn’t you? Ha. You can practically feel the cold blow through the attic, right? Yeah, it’s that kind of book.

If you’re a fan of the Brontës, you’ll like this novel. If you love Gothic mysteries or Victorian romances, ditto. “The Lost Brontë” is good, no lie.

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

Out & About

CAMP Rehoboth Block Party returns Oct. 18

Expect performances, vendors and more at annual celebration

Published

24 hours ago

October 11, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

CAMP Rehoboth’s annual Block Party returns next weekend. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

CAMP Rehoboth will host its annual Block Party celebration on Sunday, Oct.18 at 11 a.m. on the second block of Baltimore Avenue in downtown Rehoboth Beach.

CAMP Rehoboth invites all community members to join in the festivities and to expect magnificent performances and dozens of vendors, including artists, craftspeople, non-profits, businesses, and more.

The event started in 2015 in celebration of CAMP Rehoboth’s 25th anniversary. This year, attendees can expect to shop sea glass art, pottery, jewelry, Pride merch, body care, clothing, and learn more about local non-profit causes and businesses.

Attendance is free. For more details, visit CAMP Rehoboth’s website.