Arts & Entertainment
Music in the air
Wide array of fall releases slated from Mika to Yoko
Newly out singer Mika’s new album drops in October. (Photo courtesy Girlie Action Media)
This season brings listeners a combination of whole new sounds, including new works from Mika and the Pet Shop Boys, along with re-imagined and re-worked throwbacks as Nina Simone is honored and Barbra Streisand releases never-before-heard songs from earlier parts of her career.
Folk-rock musician Melissa Etheridge’s newly released album, “4th Street Feeling,” takes listeners back to her hometown Leavenworth, Kan. Etheridge describes 4th St. as the main drag of downtown and this is the first time where she takes lead guitar to sing the bluesy sounds of her home.
Released earlier this week, the Pet Shop Boys’ new album “Elysium” is the 30-year-old group’s attempt to infuse the music with fresh sounds by recording in Los Angeles with Kanye West associate Andrew Dawson. The first single “Winner” was revealed in July and it was performed before the Olympic tennis game along with “Always On My Mind” and “What Have I Done to Deserve This?” in Henman Hill, Wimbledon.
Also just out is Amy Cook’s new album “Summer Skin” where singers as diverse as Robert Plant and Patty Griffin join her for the project she calls highly melodic and catchy.
The day after, Nelly Furtado’s latest album “The Spirit Indestructible” released and it is her first English language album in six years. Three years in the making, Furtado has returned to her “Whoa Nelly!” origins with a pop and R&B combo.
The multi-platinum out star Mika releases his new album “The Origin of Love” on Oct. 16. His third album, every aspect of “The Origin of Love” was put together completely by Mika over two years. He flew all over the world to put together a large amount of collaborators including Greg Wells, who has worked with stars such as Rufus Wainwright, Katy Perry, Elton John and Adele.
Yoko Ono has linked up with Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon and Thurston Moor to produce “YOKOKIMTHURSTON” coming out Sept. 25. The album has only six tracks, however it still appears to be lengthy based on their first single “Early in the Morning,” which is 14 minutes long. The announcement of the new album came to surprise many fans since Kim Gordon and Thurston Moore split after 27 years of marriage last October.
Seattle-based rapper, Macklemore (also known as Ben Haggerty) has a new release “The Heist LP” coming out Oct. 9. The previously released single “Same Love,” which showed Macklemore’s support for same-sex marriage, is included on the track along with “Can’t Hold Us” and “Make the Money.”
While some artists are producing new modern sounds, some are putting fresh twists on the old. Meshell Ndegeocello comes out with “Pour Une Ame Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone” on Oct. 9, a tribute to legendary singer and pianist Nina Simone who died in 2003. The juxtaposition of Simone’s lyrical clarity against the unclear style of Ndegeocello, who’s bi, appears in many of the album’s songs.
Also reimaging older numbers is Tori Amos, whose newest album “Gold Dust” comes out on Oct. 2. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Amos’ first album “Little Earthquakes,” and her new album includes several numbers spanning her career re-recorded with the Metropole Orchestra. The idea for the album was conceived in 2010 when Amos was invited to perform with the orchestra and she enjoyed hearing her songs being played in this style. She wanted the renditions of her songs recorded.
Also working somewhat within that vein is Aussie diva Kylie Minogue, whose “Abbey Road Sessions” drops Nov. 6 featuring 16 of her songs re-imagined and re-arranged with full orchestra. It will also include one previously unreleased cut, “Flower.”
Barbra Streisand is sharing 11 unreleased numbers that span from 1963 to the present in her album “Release Me,” which is available on Vinyl on Sept. 25 and on CD on Oct. 9. Many of the tracks were extra recordings that did not make it onto the original albums. The tracks include songs such as “Willow Weep For Me,” recorded in 1967 for the album “Simply Streisand,” and a version of Randy Newman’s “I Think It’s Going Rain Today” with Newman on piano and Streisand singing.
Leona Lewis is finally releasing her third studio album “Glassheart” on Oct. 15. The album was originally scheduled to release last fall, but was pushed back several times to add more recording sessions. Lewis performed the first single “Collide” on Simon Cowell’s new game show “Red or Black?” Later in September 2011, she performed this single along with the title song “Glassheart” at G-A-Y nightclub in London.
Freshening up the later part of fall is Taylor Swift with her studio album “Red” slated for Oct. 22. Swift is known for her tumultuous and emotional style, often pulling from her past relationships as inspiration. Her new work promises to be no different as the first released single “We Are Never Getting Back Together” might be the next breakup anthem. It’s up to listeners to figure out which past loves she is singing about in which tracks, as the singer is not giving any names.
On Oct. 23, Diamond Rings — a one-man outfit consisting of gay singer John O — releases “Free Dimensional,” which he says retains the melodicism, clever juxtapositions and lyrical honesty that garnered him kudos for his “Special Affections” project.
“What’s different this time around is how the songs were conceived and produced,” he said in a press statement, referring to his increasing comfort with “high tech bells and whistles.”
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
Theater
National tour of ‘Gatsby’ comes to National Theatre
Out actor Edward Staudenmayer talks playing the show’s gangster
‘The Great Gatsby’
May 12-24
The National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
$59-$196
Thenationaldc.com
Often dubbed “The Great American Novel” for its depiction of ambition and self-invention alongside the reversals of success, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” says it all in a fast read.
Set against the excesses and energy of the Roaring Twenties, “The Great Gatsby,” novel and now the same-titled hit Broadway musical with a jazz/pop original score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, tells the story of Nick Carraway and his friendship with Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic millionaire intent on reuniting with ex-lover, Daisy Buchanan.
It was during a four-month 2025 run in Seoul, South Korea, that out actor Edward Staudenmayer first played the show’s heavy, Meyer Wolfsheim, a gangster who helped Gatsby make his murkily acquired fortune. As Meyer, Staudenmayer opens the second act with, appropriately enough, “Shady.”
Now three months into a year-long North American tour, the show is poised to enjoy a brief run at Washington’s National Theatre (5/12-5/24).
While putting on his eyeliner prior to a recent Wednesday matinee at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, the upstate New York-based actor shared about Gatsby and a life in theater.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Despite your good looks and terrific voice, you’re rarely the leading the man. How is that?
EDWARD STAUDENMAYER: I’m definitely a character man. I’ve been painting lines on my face to play old men since I was in high school. I was the youngest freshman in college playing old Uncle Sorin [in Chekhov’s “The Seagull”].
There have been many villains. Some darker than others. Meyer Wolfsheim is a very bad guy, but he doesn’t haunt me once I’m offstage. I play a lot of pickleball.
BLADE: Is it true that like so many of Fitzgerald’s characters, Wolfsheim is famously based on someone the writer encountered in life.
STAUDENMEYER: That’s true, Wolfsheim is pretty much a direct portrayal of real-life mobster and 1919 World Series fixer [Arnold Rothstein].
BLADE: When did the 1925 novel first surface on your radar?
STAUDENMAYER: Like many of us, I was assigned “The Great Gatsby” in high school. It was short, and filled with sex and illicit activities. I thought it was great. Definitely wasn’t a Judy Blume novel.
Interestingly, the book wasn’t originally a huge a success for Fitzgerald, but because it was about war and having the girl at home, they gave it to GIs leaving for WWII. After returning, a lot of those guys went on the GI Bill and became English teachers. They assigned the book to their students.
BLADE The idea that the book’s first-person narrator, Nick Carraway, is gay and enamored with Jay Gatsby is long discussed among readers and scholars. Does the musical touch on that?
STAUDENMAYER: Yes, there’s conjecture about Jay and Nick, and it’s implied in our show. It’s also implied about Jordan Baker, Jay’s fleeting romantic interest. Ultimately, she’s a confirmed bachelor, and a professional golfer who only wears pants.
Our performers are really good. Josh Grasso who plays Nick is fantastic. I’ve had to stop watching him in his last scene; it’s not good for Meyer Wolfsheim to take his curtain call crying. Our Gatsby, Jake David Smith, is good too. He’s gorgeous like Superman and sings like an angel.
BLADE: Do you ever imagine backstory for your characters whose sexuality is undefined?
STAUDENMAYER: I do, but not with Wolfsheim. I don’t see it. I’m trying to be as butch as possible with this ruthless killer.
BLADE: Have you had to do that in your career?
STAUDENMAYER: For a long time, I wore a mask to hide my gayness. I worked hard on being believable, that I was into the girl or that I was a tough guy.
It’s a different world now, and it’s so refreshing to be around the younger actors today; they’re remarkably open and comfortable.
BLADE: What was your coming of age like?
STAUDENMAYER: I played high school football in Palm Springs [he chuckles, alluding to the arid gay mecca], and I was pretty good too. But much to the chagrin of my parents and coaches, I quit the team to act in our senior year play. My super butch dad played semi-pro football and he was an ex-cop. I’m named after him. While I didn’t become my dad, I’ve played him often on stage. He was a true Gaston [the bumptious rival in “Beauty and the Beast”]. And like Gaston, he used antlers in all his interior decorating.
BLADE: Did he live to see your success in theater?
STAUDENMAYER: He did. Life was challenging growing up but the last 10 years of his life we couldn’t get off the phone with each other [his voice catches with emotion]. He accepted me entirely, and we became very close.
BLADE: Looking ahead, is there a part you’d especially like to play?
STAUDENMAYER: Like all baritones I’d love to play Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.” I’ve come close but it hasn’t happened yet. There’s still time.
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Comings & Goings
