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LGBT ally Kacey Musgraves wins big at queer-dominated Grammys

Brandi Carlile, Lady Gaga also rack up wins

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Kacey Musgraves accepts Album of the Year at the 2019 Grammys. (Screenshot via YouTube)

Country singer Kacey Musgraves won the coveted Album of the Year award for her album “Golden Hour” marking the end of a Grammys award show filled with plenty of queer women representation.

Musgraves, who also won Country Album of the Year, has emerged as an LGBTQ ally in the country music world. She has spoken up for more LGBTQ inclusion in country music and her song “Follow Your Arrow” was hailed as a pro-LGBTQ anthem. Musgraves also served as judge on “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Musgraves also took home Best Country Solo Performance (“Butterflies”), and Best Country Song (“Space Cowboy”) Awards for a total of four winning categories.

Lesbian singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile won three awards during the pre-telecast including Best Americana Album for “By the Way, I Forgive You” and Best American Roots Song and Best American Roots Performance for “The Joke.” She received the most nominations of any woman this year and became the first LGBTQ person to win awards in those categories.

While accepting the award for Best American Roots Performance, she shared that she came out in high school at age 15. She says she never was invited to high school parties or dances.

“I never got to attend a dance. To be embraced by this enduring and loving community has been a dance of a lifetime,” Carlile said. “Thank you for being my island.”

Carlile also received a standing ovation for her vocal powerhouse performance of “The Joke” during the televised ceremony.

Other queer artists with impactful Grammys performances were Ricky Martin who performed with Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Arturo Sandoval and Young Thug for a Broadway musical-inspired Grammys opener to Cabello’s song “Havana.”

Miley Cyrus, who identifies as pansexual, dueted with Shawn Mendes on his song “In My Blood.” She later also teamed up with Katy Perry, Maren Morris, Musgraves and Little Big Town for a tribute to Dolly Parton.

Janelle Monáe performed her bisexual anthem “Make Me Feel” off her album “Dirty Computer,” mixed in with her feminist song “Pynk.”

She didn’t win for either category she was nominated for (Album of the Year and Best Music Video) but she did dedicate her nominations to her “trans brothers and sisters.” In an interview with Variety, the singer was asked about coming out as queer last year.

“People do it everyday,” she replied. “My trans brothers and sisters, they do it everyday. And they are shunned from these sorts of events. So this one is for them.”

Lady Gaga scored two wins (Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Song Written For Visual Media) for her “A Star is Born” duet with Bradley Cooper, “Shallow,” which she also performed.

Dua Lipa and St. Vincent, who is sexually fluid, did a steamy joint performance of her song “Masseducation” and Lipa’s “One Kiss.” St. Vincent and Jack Antonoff won Best Rock Song for “Masseducation.”

History continued to be made with Cardi B becoming the first woman to win Best Rap Album and “This is America” by Childish Gambino winning Best Song. This is the first time a rap song has won in that category.

Jennifer Lopez also gave a dance-filled tribute to Motown while Diana Ross honored her own birthday, which is in March, with a performance. Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Lopez also made appearances at the top of the show to help host Alicia Keys reflect on the importance of music.

Check out the complete list of winners below.

Album Of The Year — “Golden Hour”- Kacey Musgraves

Record Of The Year — “This Is America” – Childish Gambino

Best New Artist — Dua Lipa

Best Rap Album — “Invasion Of Privacy”- Cardi B

Best R&B Album Winner — “H.E.R.”- H.E.R.

Best Rap Song — “God’s Plan”- Drake

Best Country Album — “Golden Hour”- Kacey Musgraves

Song Of The Year — “This Is America”- Childish Gambino

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance — “Shallow” Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical — Pharrell Williams

Best Rap/Sung Performance — “This Is America”-Childish Gambino

Best Rap Performance — “King’s Dead”- Kendrick Lamar, Jay Rock, Future & James Blake / Bubblin, Anderson .Paak

Best Rock Album — “From The Fires”-Greta Van Fleet

Best Rock Song — “Masseduction” – St. Vincent

Best Metal Performance — “Electric Messiah”- High On Fire

Best Rock Performance — “When Bad Does Good”- Chris Cornell

Best Urban Contemporary Album — “Everything Is Love”- The Carters

Best R&B Song — “Boo’d Up”- Ella Mai

Best Traditional R&B Performance — “Bet Ain’t Worth The Hand”- Leon Bridges / “How Deep Is Your Love”-Pj Morton Featuring Yebba

Best R&B Performance — “Best Part”- H.E.R. Featuring Daniel Caesar

Best Latin Jazz Album — “Back To The Sunset”- Dafnis Prieto Big Band

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album — “American Dreamers: Voices Of Hope, Music Of Freedom”- John Daversa Big Band Featuring Daca Artists

Best Jazz Instrumental Album — “Emanon”- The Wayne Shorter Quartet

Best Jazz Vocal Album — “The Window”- Cécile Mclorin Salvant

Best Improvised Jazz Solo — “Don’t Fence Me In”- John Daversa

Best Reggae Album — “44/876”- Sting & Shaggy

Best Dance/Electronic Album — “Woman Worldwide”- Justice

Best Dance Recording — “Electricity”- Silk City & Dua Lipa Featuring Diplo & Mark Ronson

Best Contemporary Classical Composition — “Kernis: Violin Concerto”- James Ehnes, Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony

Best Classical Compendium — “Fuchs: Piano Concerto ‘Spiritualist’”; Poems Of Life; Glacier; Rush”- Joann Falletta

Best Classical Solo Vocal Album —” Songs Of Orpheus”-Monteverdi, Caccini, D’india & Landi, Karim Sulayman

Best Classical Instrumental Solo — “Kernis: Violin Concerto”- James Ehnes

Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance — “Anderson”- Laurie: Landfall, Laurie Anderson & Kronos Quartet

Best Choral Performance — “Mcloskey: Zealot Canticles”- Donald Nally

Best Opera Recording — “Bates: The (R)Evolution Of Steve Jobs”-Michael Christie, Garrett Sorenson, Wei Wu, Sasha Cooke, Edward Parks & Jessica E. Jones

Best Orchestral Performance — “Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11”- Andris Nelsons

Producer Of The Year, Classical — Blanton Alspaugh

Best Engineered Album, Classical — “Shostakovich: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 11”- Andris Nelsons & Boston Symphony Orchestra

Best Pop Vocal Album — “Sweetener”- Ariana Grande

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album — “My Way” -Willie Nelson

Best Pop Solo Performance — “Joanne (Where Do You Think You’re Goin’?)”- Lady Gaga

Best Country Song — “Space Cowboy” – Kacey Musgraves

Best Country Duo/Group Performance — “Tequila”- Dan + Shay

Best Country Solo Performance — “Butterflies”- Kacey Musgraves

Best Music Film — “Quincy”- Quincy Jones

Best Music Video — “This Is America”-Childish Gambino

Best Regional Roots Music Album — “No ‘Ane’I”- Kalani Pe’a

Best Tropical Latin Album — “Anniversary”- Spanish Harlem Orchestra

Best Regional Mexican Music Album (Including Tejano) — “¡México Por Siempre!”- Luis Miguel

Best Latin Rock, Urban Or Alternative Album — “Aztlán”- Zoé

Best Latin Pop Album — “Sincera”- Claudia Brant

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books & Storytelling) — “Faith – A Journey For All”- Jimmy Carter

Best Children’s Album — “All The Sounds”- Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats

Best Folk Album — “All Ashore”- Punch Brothers

Best Contemporary Blues Album —” Please Don’t Be Dead”- Fantastic Negrito

Best Traditional Blues Album — “The Blues Is Alive And Well”- Buddy Guy

Best Bluegrass Album —”The Travelin’ Mccourys”- The Travelin’ Mccourys

Best Americana Album — “By The Way, I Forgive You”- Brandi Carlile

Best American Roots Song — “The Joke”- Brandi Carlile

Best American Roots Performance — “The Joke”- Brandi Carlile

Best New Age Album — “Opium Moon”- Opium Moon

Best Song Written For Visual Media — “Shallow”- Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper

Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media — “Black Panther”- Ludwig Göransson

Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media — “The Greatest Showman”- Hugh Jackman (& Various Artists)

Best World Music Album — “Freedom”- Soweto Gospel Choir

Best Roots Gospel Album — “Unexpected”- Jason Crabb

Best Contemporary Christian Music Album — “Look Up Child”- Lauren Daigle

Best Gospel Album — “Hiding Place”-Tori Kelly

Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song — “You Say” -Lauren Daigle

Best Gospel Performance/Song — “Never Alone”- Tori Kelly Featuring Kirk Franklin

Best Contemporary Instrumental Album — “Steve Gadd Band”- Steve Gadd Band

Best Immersive Audio Album —” Eye In The Sky – 35th Anniversary Edition”- The Alan Parsons Project

Best Remixed Recording — “Walking Away (Mura Masa Remix)”- Haim

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical — “Colors”- Beck

Best Historical Album — “Voices Of Mississippi: Artists And Musicians Documented By William Ferris”

Best Album Notes —” Voices Of Mississippi: Artists And Musicians Documented By William Ferris”

Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package — “Squeeze Box: The Complete Works Of ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic” Weird Al Yankovic

Best Recording Package — “Masseduction”- St. Vincent

Best Arrangement, Instruments And Vocals — “Spiderman Theme”- Randy Waldman Featuring Take 6 & Chris Potter

Best Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappella — “Stars And Stripes Forever”- John Daversa Big Band Featuring Daca Artists

Best Instrumental Composition — “Blut Und Boden (Blood And Soil)”- Terence Blanchard

Best Alternative Music Album — “Colors”- Beck

Best Musical Theater Album — “The Band’s Visit”- Original Broadway Cast

Best Comedy Album — “Equanimity & The Bird Revelation”- Dave Chappelle

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Theater

Ford’s ‘First Look’ festival showcases three new productions

A chance to enjoy historical dramas for free before they’re completed

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José Carrasquillo, director of Artistic Programming at Ford's Theatre (Photo by Paolo Andres Montenegro)

The Ford’s Theatre Legacy Commissions: A First Look – 2026
Jan. 16 & 17
Ford’s Theatre
511 Tenth St., N.W.
FREE
Fords.org

When Ford’s Theatre debuted its new plays festival, “A First Look,” in 2023, it was unclear whether people would come for the staged readings. 

“Before the pandemic if you announced the reading of a play, 12 people might show up,” says José Carrasquillo, director of artistic programming at Ford’s Theatre. “Since then, we’ve experienced comparatively massive turnout. Maybe because it’s cheap, or because of the very newness of the works.”

This year’s fourth edition showcases readings of three pieces currently in varied stages of development. The free, two-day festival offers audiences a chance to encounter historical dramas long before they’re completed and fully produced. None are finished, nor have they been read publicly. And befitting the venue’s provenance, the works are steeped in history.

The festival kicks off with “Springs” by playwright Jeanne Sakata and directed by Jessica Kubzansky. Commissioned by The Ford’s Theatre Legacy Commissions, it’s the both epic and personal story of Sakata’s Japanese American family including her grandfather’s experience in an internment camp. 

“Sakata’s immigrant grandfather was an exceptionally skilled farmer who helped to stave off starvation in the camp. Still, he never gave up on the idea that he belonged in America. It’s very much a story of today,” says Carrasquillo. 

Unlike “Springs,” the festival’s two other works weren’t commissioned by Ford’s. But they both fit the history brief and likely will benefit from the exposure and workshopping. 

“Providence Spring,” by California based playwright Richard Helesen and directed by Holly Twyford, portrays Clara Barton (played by local favorite Erin Weaver) as a hero beyond the Red Cross whose then-radical initiatives included cataloguing the Civil War dead, many pulled from mass graves. 

Directed by Reginald L. Douglas, “Young John Lewis: Prodigy of Protest” explores a slice from the life of the legendary civil rights activist and longtime congressman. With book and lyrics by Psalmayene 24 and music by Kokayi this collaboratively staged reading between Ford’s and Mosaic Theater is slated to premiere fully produced at Mosaic as a 90-minute musical in the spring of 2026. 

“When I was hired at Ford’s in 2018, we began discussing hiring writers who do historical drama,” says Carrasquillo. “Our intention was resolute, but we didn’t do it right away. It took getting through the pandemic to revisit the idea.” 

At the same time, the racial reckoning spurred Ford’s to hire playwrights of color to tell stories that had previously been forgotten or ignored. 

For Carrasquillo, who is gay, the impulse to commission was crystalized when he saw the film “Hidden Figures,” a true story about “three brilliant African-American women — at NASA during the Space Race, overcoming racial and gender discrimination to make crucial contributions to America’s spaceflight success.” He says, “the film floored me. How many stories like this are there that we don’t know about?”

One of the festival’s happiest experiences, he adds, was the commission of playwright Chess Jakobs’s “The American Five” and its subsequent success. It’s the story of Martin Luther King Jr. and his inner circle, including Bayard Rustin (MLK’s brilliant, unsung gay adviser) leading up to the 1963 March on Washington. The play later premiered fully produced in Ford’s 2025 season. 

Increasingly, the readings at Ford’s have become popular with both artists and audiences. 

At Ford’s, Carrasquillo wears many hats. In addition to selecting plays and organizing workshops, he serves as an in-house dramaturg for some of the nascent works. But he’s not alone. Also helming the festival are senior artistic advisor Sheldon Epps, and The Ford’s Theatre Legacy Commissions advisor Sydné Mahone. 

Because the plays are in development, comments from directors, dramaturgs, and the audience are considered and may become part of the playwrights’ rewrites and changes. If and when the play resurfaces fully produced, audience members might find their suggestion in the completed work. 

Is this year’s festival queer influenced? Yes, both by those involved and the topics explored. 

Carrasquillo explains, “While Sakata’s “Springs” is primarily about immigration, its message is relevant to the queer community. Civil rights are being taken away from us. We need this playwright’s story to know what has happened and what can happen to any of us. 

“Many of Ford’s legacy commissions underscore the importance of civil rights in our country and that’s important to all of us. Queer and not queer.”

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Bars & Parties

Mid-Atlantic Leather kicks off this week

Parties, contests, vendor expo and more planned for annual gathering

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A scene from the 2025 Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather competition. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

The Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend will begin on Thursday, Jan 15.

This is an annual three-day event in Washington, D.C., for the leather, kink, and LGBTQ+ communities, featuring parties, vendors, and contests.

There will be an opening night event hosted the evening of Thursday, Jan. 15. Full package and three-day pass pickup will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Hyatt Capitol B. There will also be “Kinetic Dance Party” at 10 p.m. at District Eagle. 

For more details, visit MAL’s website

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Photos

PHOTOS: ‘ICE Out For Good’

Demonstrators protest ICE across country following shooting

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D.C. shadow representative Oye Owolewa speaks at a rally outside of the White House on Saturday, Jan. 10. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

A protest was held outside of the White House on Saturday following the killing of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis. Across the Potomac, picketers held signs calling for “Justice for Renee” in Tysons, Va.

“ICE Out For Good” demonstrations were held in cities and towns across the country, according to multiple reports. A march was held yesterday in Washington, D.C., as the Blade reported. Further demonstrations are planned for tomorrow.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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