a&e features
Honey Groove queer women’s festival is Sept. 9
Music and art gathering runs 2-10 p.m. at Dock 5 in Northeast D.C.
Kyrisha Deschamps says Honey Groove moved to a new location and month this year out of necessity. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Honey Groove
A festival that celebrates LGBT performing artists, visual artists, creatives and entrepreneurs
Saturday, Sept. 9
2-10 p.m.
Dock5
1309 5th St., N.E.
$60
Headliner: Big Freedia
Sometimes the genesis for a new event, book, restaurant or whatever is as simple as its creator pinpointing a void. That’s how it was for Honey Groove, a D.C. music and art festival devoted to queer artists of color now in its third year.
Organizer Kyrisha Deschamps, a 33-year-old native Washingtonian, always enjoyed music, art and the festival experience but felt something was missing.
“I always really enjoyed being in those spaces but remember noticing that while there were queer people, LGBT people in the crowd, we weren’t really on stage,” says Deschamps, who works by day at a non-profit devoted to veterans and people with disabilities. “I really wanted to build something where that was the focal point and to have a space for some local artists I love, like Be Steadwell and the CooLots, I wanted to see them again because I thought they were so great, so Honey Groove was born.”
Deschamps says she appreciates musical talent because, “I don’t have those skills.” Musically she enjoys “a little bit of everything” and music with “a nice, vibey beat.” Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, SZA and Rihanna are some of her favorite big-name acts, but she also loves local bands, especially those featuring queer women of color.
Deschamps, who identifies as queer, started the festival with partners Lisa Gomes, Jonae Davis and Lee Perine and says it’s evolved and expanded somewhat. Now in its third year, Honey Groove is still “mostly centered around women,” but is more trans- and men-inclusive than it was earlier.
“We want everyone to feel included and we’re definitely open to our allies,” she says. “It’s for people who love art, people who are interested in queer culture. It’s a very warm and inviting environment. Last year, people were just happy to be there and there was just this feeling in the air. It was really, really good.”
The event has grown each year and has now outgrown its previous home at Blind Whino after maxing out the 700-capacity space there last year. Deschamps says about 1,500 are expected this year based on ticket sales. The event will run from 2-10 p.m. at Dock 5 (1309 5th St., N.E.). The bands will perform outside. An indoor space will feature vendors, artists, a bar and DJs. Food trucks will be on site as well.
Held in early April in 2015 and 2016, organizers said moving it to September made more sense since it will now have an outdoor component for the first time.
The bands will perform 20-25-minute sets except for headliner Big Freedia, the New Orleans rapper known as the “queen of bounce,” who will perform a longer set.
Deschamps says the festival has grown organically (this year’s budget is about $80,000) and she’s pleased to find people traveling sometimes significant distances to attend. She knows of no other festival with the same mission. There is some overlap of acts that have performed at both Honey Groove and PhazeFest, the long-time LGBT music festival born out of now-shuttered D.C. lesbian bar Phase 1, but says Honey Groove is “totally different.”
“That’s more centered around punk and we’re not that at all,” Deschamps says. “It’s really great that PhazeFest exists, but they have a very different clientele.”
About 70 artists have performed at the event so far and Deschamps says she and her team are committed to working exclusively with small, local and/or queer-owned business to “bring the festival to life.”
“It’s definitely important to have these spaces in general but even more now with everything going on in the world and we’re not really sure how queer people will be protected,” Deschamps says. “It’s important to celebrate each other, to come together. … It all starts with us.”
Be Steadwell calls Honey Groove ‘comfortable and safe’
Be Steadwell says she’s thrilled to be returning to Honey Groove for the third consecutive year. (Photo courtesy Steadwell)
D.C.-based queer pop singer/songwriter Be Steadwell is known for her live performances with a loop pedal which allows her to add layers of vocals and “build a song live,” as she puts it.
“It’s sort of like a one-person a cappella group,” says Steadwell, 30.
This is her third year performing at Honey Groove. She heard about it as it was being organized the first year from community buzz. She says returning each year is “a joy.”
“It’s just been such a collection of love and energy and joy,” Steadwell says. “It’s a very joyful space. I don’t know how else to describe it. It’s unlike any other festival I’ve ever played or been to.”
Steadwell says D.C.’s queer women and lesbian communities are “very segregated unfortunately,” a trend she finds baffling. She guesses the Honey Groove audience the last two years was about 90 percent black whereas PhazeFest, which she’s also played, was more like 10 percent people of color.
Stylistically, Steadwell says Honey Groove attendees will encounter a wide variety of musical styles. She calls her own material “sort of pop music” and says there will be more punk-oriented, R&B, jazz/R&B and more represented. Asha Santee, Steadwell’s girlfriend of four years, will play drums on her set and for some of the other acts as well.
“I think Honey is necessary because we as queer people of color are marginalized in so many aspects of our lives and in culture, it’s just great to be able to have a space where these artists and musicians are placed at the center of the narrative,” Steadwell says. “It’s beautiful and exciting and I think everyone who comes to Honey Groove … they see the generosity and love that’s being shared and you don’t often get that. It just feels so comfortable and so safe.”
a&e features
Memorial for groundbreaking bisexual activist set for May 2
Loraine Hutchins remembered as a ‘force of nature’
The Montgomery County Pride Center will host a celebration honoring the life and legacy of Loraine Hutchins, Ph.D., on May 2. People are invited to attend the onsite memorial or a livestream event. The on-site event will begin at 10 a.m. with a meet-and-greet mixer before moving into a memorial service around the theme “Loraine a Force of Nature!” at 11 a.m., a panel talk at 12 p.m., break out sessions for artists, academics, and activists to build on her legacy at 1 p.m. and a closing reception at 2 p.m.
Attendees are encouraged to register for the on-site memorial gathering or the livestreamed memorial. The goal of this event is also to collect stories and memories of Loraine. Attendees and others can share their stories at padlet.com.
An obituary for Hutchins was published in the Bladelast Nov. 24, where people can learn more about her activism in the bisexual community. A private service for friends and family was held in December but this memorial service is open to all.
Alongside her groundbreaking work organizing for U.S. bisexual rights and liberation including co-editing “Bi Any Other Name: BIsexual People Speak Out” (1991), she also integrated faith into her sexual education and advocacy work. Her 2001 doctoral dissertation, “Erotic Rites: A Cultural Analysis of Contemporary U.S. Sacred Sexuality Traditions and Trends,” offered a pointed queer and feminist analysis to sex-neutral and sex-positive spiritual traditions in the United States. Her thesis was also groundbreaking in exploring the intersections between sex workers and those in caregiving professionals, including spiritual ones.
In an oral history interview conducted by Michelle Mueller back in August 2023, Hutchins described herself as a “priestess without a congregation.” While she has occasionally had a sense of community and feels part of a group of loving people, she admitted that “I don’t feel like we have the shape or the purpose that we need.”
“I’ve often experienced being the Cassandra in the room, the Cassandra in the community. Somebody who’s kind of way out there ahead, thinking through the strategic action points that my community hasn’t gotten to yet, and getting a lot of resistance and hostile responses from people who are frightened by dissent and conflict and not ready for the changes we have to make to survive,” she said.
“For somebody who’s bisexual in an out political way and who’s been a spokesperson for the polyamory movement in an out political way, it’s very exposing. And it’s very important to me to be able to try to explain and help other people understand the connection between spirituality and sexuality,” she explained citing how even as a graduate student she was “exploring how to feel erotic and spiritual, and not feel them in conflict with each other in my own spiritual contemplative life and my own sensual body awareness of being alive in the world.”
“Every religion has a sense of sacred sexuality. It’s just they put a lot of boundaries and regulations on it, and if we have a spiritual practice that is totally affirming of women’s priesthood and of gay people, queer people’s ability to minister to everyone and to be ministered to be everyone, what does that do to the gender of God, or our understanding of how we practice our spirituality and our sexuality in community and privately?”
“There’s no easy answer,” she concludes, and she continued to grapple with these questions throughout her life, co-editing another seminal text, “Sexuality, Religion and the Sacred: Bisexual, Pansexual, and Polysexual Perspectives,” published in 2012. Her work blending spiritual and queer liberation remains groundbreaking to this day.
Rev. Eric Eldritch, a local community organizer and ordained Pagan minister with Circle Sanctuary who has worked for decades with the DC Center’s Center Faith to organize the Pride Interfaith Service, is eager to highlight this element of her legacy at the memorial service next month.
a&e features
Queery: Meet artist, performer John Levengood
Modern creative talks nightlife, coming out, and his personal queer heroes
John Levengood (he/him) describes himself as a modern creative with a wide‑ranging toolkit. He blends music, technology, civic duty, and a sharp sense of wit into a cohesive artistic identity. Known primarily as a recording artist and performer, he’s also a self‑taught music producer and software engineer who embodies a generation of creators who build their own lanes rather than wait for one to appear.
Levengood, 32, who is single and identifies as gay and queer, is best known as a recording artist who has performed at Pride festivals across the country, including the main stages of World Pride DC, Central Arkansas Pride, and Charlotte Pride.
“Locally in the DMV, I’m known for turning heads at nightlife venues with my eye-catching sense of style. When I go out, I don’t try to blend in. I hope I inspire people to be themselves and have the courage to stand out,” he says.
He’s also known for hosting karaoke at Freddie’s Beach Bar in Arlington, Va., on Thursday nights. “I like to create a space where people feel comfortable expressing themselves, building community, and showcasing their talents.”
He also creates social media content from my performances and do interviews at LGBTQ+ bars and theatres in the DMV. Follow the Arlington resident @johnlevengood.
How long have you been out and who was the hardest person to tell?
I have been fully out of the closet since 2019. My parents were the hardest people to tell because my family has always been my rock and at the time I couldn’t imagine a world without them. Their reactions were extremely positive and supportive so I had nothing to fear all along.
I remember sitting on the couch with my mom, dad, and sister in our hotel room in New Orleans during our winter vacation and being so nervous to tell them. After I finally mustered up the nerve and made the proclamation, I realized my dad had already fallen asleep on the couch. My mom promised to tell him when he woke up.
Who’s your LGBTQ hero?
My LGBTQ heroes are Harvey Milk for paving the way for gays in politics and Elton John for being a pioneer for the fabulous and authentic. My local heroes in the DMV are Howard Hicks, manager of Green Lantern, and Tony Rivenbark, manager of Freddie’s Beach Bar. Both of them are essential to creating spaces where I’ve felt welcome and safe since moving to the DMV.
What’s Washington’s best nightspot, past or present?
Trade tops the list for me because of the dance floor and outdoor space. It’s so nice to get a break from the music every once and a while to be able to have a conversation.
We live in challenging times. How do you cope?
I’m still figuring this out. What is working right now is writing music and spending time with family and friends. I’ve also been spending less time on social media going to the gym at least three times a week.
What streaming show are you binging?
After “Traitors” Season 4 ended, I was in a bit of a show hole, but “Stumble” has me in a laughing loop right now. The writing is so witty.
What do you wish you’d known at 18?
At 18, I wish I would have known how liberating it is to come out of the closet. It would have been nice to know some winning lottery numbers as well.
What are your friends messaging about in your most recent group chat?
We are planning our next trip to New York City. If you can believe it, I visited NYC for the first time in 2025 for Pride and I’ve been back every quarter since. Growing up in the country, I was subconsciously primed to be scared of the city. But my mind has been blown. I can’t wait to go back.
Why Washington?
It’s the closest metropolitan area to my family, but not too close. I love the museums, the diversity, the history, and the proximity to the beach and mountains. It’s also nice to live in a city with public transportation.
Aging RFK Stadium has come down, but the RFK grounds are still getting lit up. Welcome back to the stage Project GLOW, D.C.’s homegrown electronic festival, on May 30-31. Back for its fifth year on these musically inclined acres, Project GLOW returns with an even more diverse lineup, and one that continues to celebrate LGBTQ antecedents, attendees, and acts.
Project GLOW 2026 headliners include house and techno star Mau P, progressive house legend Eric Prydz, hard-techno favorite Sara Landry, and bass acts Excision b2b Sullivan King, among the lineup of trance, bass, house, techno, dubstep, and others for the fifth anniversary year.
President & CEO Pete Kalamoutsos — born and raised in D.C. — founded Club GLOW in 1999. In 2020, GLOW entered into a partnership with global entertainment company Insomniac Events to produce live events like Project GLOW, which kicked off in 2022.
As in past years, Project GLOW not only makes space, but is intentionally inclusive of the LGBTQ community, one of its most dedicated fan bases. The festival’s LGBTQ-focused Secret Garden stage blooms again — a more intimate dance area that stands on the strength of DJs and musicians who draw from the LGBTQ community. D.C.’s LGBTQ nightlife mastermind Ed Bailey is the creative mind behind Secret Garden again. He joined Project GLOW in 2023.
“Kalamoustos says that “he’s proud of his partnership with Ed Bailey, along with Capital Pride and [nightlife producer] Jake Resnikow. It’s amazing to collaborate with Bailey at the Secret Garden stage, especially after the curated lineup we worked on at Pride last year.”
The Secret Garden will be a bit different from other stages: Eternal (“At the Eternal stage, time stands still. Lose yourself in the dance of past, present, and future, surrendering to the eternal rhythm of the universe”) and Pulse (“Feel the rhythm of the beat pulse through your veins as the heartbeat of the crowd synchronizes into one. Here, every moment vibrates with life as it guides you through a new dimension of euphoria”). The Secret Garden stage is in the round, surrounded by 16 shipping containers. The containers play canvas to muralists from around the world, who are coming in to paint them in a vibrant garden-style vibe. “We gave this stage some extra love with this layout,” K says, “ we finally cracked the code.”
K says that this will be the biggest lineup yet for the Secret Garden, featuring Nicole Moudaber b2b Chasewest, Riordan b2b Bullet Tooth, Ranger Trucco, Cassian, Eli & Fur, Cosmic Gate and Hayla. The stage is also the largest yet, featuring an expanded dance floor and 360-degree viewing.
Across all stages, K says that his goal for the fifth anniversary is “More art and fan interactive experience, more like a festival, strive to be like a Tomorrowland, as budget grows to add more experience.” Last year’s Project GLOW alone drew 40,000 attendees over two days.
K, however, was not satisfied with one festival this spring. GLOW recently announced a “pop-up” one-day event. Teaming up with Black Book Records, GLOW is set to throw a first-of-its-kind dance-music takeover of Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., headlined by electronic music star Chris Lake. Set for April 18, this euphoric block party will feature bass and vibes blocks from the White House. Organizers expect as many as 10,000 fans to attend. Beyond music, there will be food, activations, and plenty of other activities taking place around 6th St and Pennsylvania Ave NW – a location familiar to many in the LGBTQ community, as this sits squarely inside the blocks of the Capital Pride party that takes place in DC every June.
Over the past two decades, Club GLOW has produced thousands of events, from club nights to large-scale festivals including Project GLOW, Moonrise Festival, and more. Club GLOW also operates Echostage.
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