Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Sept. 16
Parties, meetings, performances and more through Sept. 22


‘Into October’ is one of the pastels by Lou Gagnon on display at Touchstone Gallery. (Image courtesy of Touchstone)
Friday, Sept. 16
Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) presents Fahrenheit tonight with Susan Morabito at 9 p.m. Cover is $7.
Busboys & Poets is kicking off a new monthly event, an open mic, jam session and talent showcase, tonight at 10 p.m. hosted by Y’Anna Crawley in the Zinn Room of its Hyattsville location (5331 Baltimore Ave., Suite 104). Admission is $5 at the door.
The Gay District Open House is tonight at 8 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Church (1830 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) from 8 to 11:30 p.m. Gay District is a weekly discussion group for gay men from the ages of 18 to 35.
The D.C. Queer Writers Collective will be holding its monthly writing circle tonight at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) at 6 p.m.
D.C. Women in Their Thirties will meet tonight at 8 p.m. at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.).
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) is having its weekly Bear Happy Hour tonight starting at 6 p.m. There is no cover for this 21 and older event.
Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., N.W.) has two exhibits on display, “The Nature of Joy” featuring pastels by Lou Gagnon and “Off the Square” featuring canvas wall reliefs by Mary H. Lynch. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 17
A new gay-welcoming Catholic church, St. Hedwig’s Old Catholic Church, has its first Mass today at 9 a.m. The church will meet each Sunday morning at Palisades Community Church (5200 Cathedral Ave., N.W.) in Washington. The church, not affiliated with the Vatican, describes itself as one with “progressive Catholic values” that welcomes those “disaffected by mainstream traditions” and what some consider “politically distorted teachings of Christ” in other faith traditions. Bishop Michael Seneco, who’s gay, is the pastor. Visit sainthedwigs.org for more information. All are welcome.
The Skullduggery and Skin Show is tonight at Red Palace (1212 H St., N.E.) at 10 p.m. featuring magic and burlesque. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at redpalacedc.com. All attendees must be 21 or older.
DJ Abel will be spinning at Town’s (2009 8th St., N.W.) Red Party tonight at 10 p.m. There is a $8 cover from 10 to 11 p.m. which then goes up to $12. All attendees must be 21 or older.
Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens (4155 Linnean Ave., N.W.) is having its tenth annual Gay Day today from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Partnering with Rainbow Families, the morning starts with a LGBT family garden party. The afternoon will bring square dancing, music, “Punch on the Portico” and more. General admission is $15, $12 for seniors and $10 for members and college students. Children 18 and under will be admitted for free.
The Ladies of Lure present Bare: Ol’Skool Edition with DJ Rosie and DJ Keenan with special guests DystRucXion Dancers at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) tonight at 10 p.m. There is a $7 cover before midnight and $10 after. All attendees must be 21 or older. There will be a cash prize for the best ol’ skool attire.
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 “Passion.”
Chris Brown will be performing at the Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) tonight at 7 p.m. with Kelly Rowland, T. Pain and Tyga. Tickets range from $39.75 to $85.75 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.
Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) hosts “Slippery When Wet: Black Out!” tonight from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. with prize packages and Manhunt giveaway. DJ t-one D.C. will be spinning.
Sunday, Sept. 18
Anniething Goes and 2Tuff present LTJ Bukem at U Street Music Hall (1115 U St., N.W.) with Thunderball, Slant, BJoo and vAnniety Kills tonight at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at ustreetmusichall.com.
Zoom Urban Lesbian Excursions presents Hoopnotica today at 3 p.m. The class, which will teach the basic moves of hooping, will take place at Sylvan Theater on the National Mall near the Washington Monument and hoops will be available to rent. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at phatgirlchic.com/zoom.
Monday, Sept. 19
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) is throwing a New Year’s Eve-style party tonight to countdown to the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” on Tuesday. Doors open at 9 p.m. and there is no cover. This is not a fundraiser and is one of many parties happening around the country. For more information, visit servicemembers.org.
The Library of Congress Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender Employees presents “The Frank Kameny Papers: A Gallery Talk” today at the Library of Congress (101 Independence Ave., S.E.) at noon, led by John Earl Haynes, a modern political historian at the Library, and focusing on two items from the Kameny Papers currently in the “Creating the United States” exhibit.
Tuesday, Sept. 20
Remington’s (639 Pennslyvania Ave., S.E.) is hosting D.C. Drag Idol tonight from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. hosted by Raquel Savage Black. Admission is $5.
The LGBT Congressional Staff Association is hosting a panel discussion tonight from 5 to 7 p.m. at in the Orientation Theatre at the Capitol Visitors Center to discuss racial justice and LGBT equality. Some of the topics will include addressing homophobia, bi and transphobia in the black community, cultural barriers to coming out, how do African-American LGBT images in media shape attitudes and more. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, email [email protected].
Wednesday, Sept. 21
Green Lantern (1331 Green Court, N.W.) will host the weekly Poz D.C. happy hour upstairs from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Jonathan Dillon from American University will be presenting his work and research with three LGBT rights organizations in Uganda at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. The presentation will largely focus on the work of these organizations but some research findings will be shared. There is a recommended donation of $5 that will be given to the organizations in Uganda.
Thursday, Sept. 22
Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV) is having its monthly meeting tonight in the main room at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Stonewall Kickball presents “Chow Down for the D.C. Center” at Level One (1639 R St., N.W.) tonight. All night, twenty percent of the food sales will be donated to the Center.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) and Tongue in You Ear presents the Brother Tongue Poetry Workshop series. Tonight is the first in a series of four workshops led by Regie Cabico, a three time National Poetry Slam finalist who has appeared on two season of HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. All sessions will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $25 for all four sessions. For more information and to register, visit thedccenter.org.
Lambda Sci-Fi, an LGBT science fiction, fantasy and horror group, is having its book discussion group today at 7 p.m. at 1425 S St., N.W. For more information, call James at 202-232-3141, e-mail to [email protected], or visit the group’s website lambdascifi.org.
Television
ICYMI: ‘Overcompensating’ a surprisingly sweet queer treat
A sweet, savvy show about breaking free to embrace your true self

Pride month 2025 is now behind us, and while it’s safe to say that this year’s celebrations had a darker edge than usual, it’s also true that they came with a particularly rich bounty of new queer movies and shows to entertain us – so many, in fact, that even if we are facing a lull until the fall another harvest of fresh content, there are still plenty of titles – which, for whatever reason, were off your radar – for you to catch up on in the meantime.
One of the most notable of these – the bingeworthy series “Overcompensating” (now streaming on Amazon Prime) – will most definitely have been ON the radar for the plentiful fans of creator and star Benito Skinner, the actor/comedian who rose to viral fame through his content on platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. For anyone else, it might have easily slipped through the cracks.
Created and written by Skinner as a loosely autobiographical “college comedy,” it aims for the kind of raucous, explicitly sexed-up tone one expects from the genre as it centers on Benny (Skinner), newly arrived as a freshman at prestigious Yates University. A former football jock and “golden boy” at his midwestern high school, he’s the picture of idealized youthful masculinity; he’s also deep in the closet, struggling to keep his sexuality hidden and maintain his macho front under the intense scrutiny of the college’s social scene – and under the resentful eye of his older sister Grace (Mary Beth Barone), who has already secured her own place at the top of the pecking order.
In the first episode, Benny’s difficulties are eased when he meets Carmen (Wally Baram), another freshman trying to navigate the politics of college life; a gamer from a home marred by tragedy, she’s an outsider who feels like she’s putting on an act, too, and they click – giving him the convenient “cover” of female companionship while providing them both with much-needed support and encouragement. He’s also befriended by a handsome film major from England (Rish Shah), who has already caught his eye, stirring other kinds of feelings and possibly even reciprocating them. Meanwhile, he’s being courted by the school’s “exclusive secret society” – headed by his sister’s aggressively “alpha” boyfriend Pete (Adam DiMarco) – and trying to stay interested in his studies, despite a growing realization that a career in business doesn’t actually appeal to him all that much.
That’s a lot to juggle for anybody, even an overachiever like Benny – whose “lucky” life so far has largely been the result of playing a role he is finding harder and harder to maintain. As the series goes on through its eight-episode arc, it becomes clear that he’s not the only one who is “keeping up appearances,” and he, along with the other confused and damaged young people in his orbit, begins the painful (but often hilarious) process of evolution that is required in order to become truly oneself.
Directed toward appealing to a younger demographic, “Overcompensating” is the kind of show that requires a few episodes worth of invested time to make an impression that feels like substance. Full of the bawdy farcical antics that go hand in hand with stories about hormonally charged college kids, it’s not above leaning into the formulas and tropes that have always driven these kinds of comedies. At first, while its broadly comedic strokes and frequently explicit sexual hijinks might elicit plenty of chuckles, the show might easily feel tiresome for more mature audiences; there’s a nostalgic fun to it, made even more appealing, somehow, by the “political incorrectness” of its frequently sexist and homophobic humor, but for a while things may feel like an unnecessary attempt to reinvent “Animal House” for the Gen Z crowd.
By the time the season reaches its halfway point, however, things have started to get real. The antics of these horny almost-adults take on a more pointed absurdity, informed by the increasingly tangled web of defensive deceit they weave among themselves – and, as things draw toward a cliffhanger climax, the consequences of maintaining it – until it achieves a sense of empathy toward them all. There’s a wisdom that smacks of lived authenticity underlying the whole affair, transforming it from the “sexploitative” teen comedy of its surface into something deeper. To be sure, things stay expectedly wacky, and the soap-operatic melodrama of its twists and reversals continue to maintain the show’s “mature YA” appeal; but beneath those trappings, by the end of the season a truer identity has begun to emerge, just as its characters have begun to find their own levels of self-actualization for themselves.
As creator, primary writer, and star, it’s obviously Skinner who deserves much of the credit. While it might be tempting, early on, to dismiss the show as an “ego project,” the internet-spawned sensation proves his talents quickly enough to get past such judgy suspicions, delivering a pitch-perfect blend of sauciness and sensitivity that extends its appeal toward both ends of the taste spectrum; just as crucially, he brings the same aforementioned “lived authenticity” to his winning performance – after all, he’s essentially playing himself in a fictionalized version of his own life – while also making sure that equal time (and compassion) is afforded all the other characters around him, each of whom are pushing at the boundaries of their own respective “closets,” too. It’s unavoidable to notice that – like most of his co-stars – he’s plainly a decade too old to be playing a college student; but by the time we reach that crucial halfway turning point, we’ve become too engaged by him to care.
The show is full of excellent performances, in fact. Relative newcomers Baram and Barone offer layers of complex nuance, while the more familiar DiMarco (“White Lotus”) is close to heartbreaking as the toxic BMOC clinging to the illusion of power as his life begins unraveling around him. Other standouts include the mononymic actress Holmes as Carmen’s “wild child” roommate, solidly likable turns as Benny’s parents from mature veterans Connie Britten and Kyle MacLachlan (whose presence, along with stylish elements in several key scenes, hints at an homage-ish nod to the late David Lynch), and podcaster Owen Thiele as an openly gay fellow student who has Benny “clocked” from the moment they meet. Finally, Lukas Gage makes a deep impression as a former high school teammate at the heart of Benny’s most haunting memory.
There’s no official word yet on whether “Overcompensating” will be renewed for a second season, despite the multiple loose ends left dangling at the end of its first; it has proven to be popular, and Skinner’s large fanbase makes it likely that the story will continue. Even if it doesn’t, the place of uncertainty in which it has left its characters rings true enough to serve as a satisfying endpoint.
As for us, we hope that won’t happen. For all its sophomoric humor, generic plot twists, and purposefully gratuitous sexual titillation, it’s one of the sweetest, kindest, and most savvy shows we’ve seen about breaking free from conformity to embrace your true self – and that’s a message that applies whether you’re queer, straight, or anywhere in between.
Photos
PHOTOS: Independence Day Weekend in Rehoboth
Wicked Green Pool Party, fireworks among festivities

Vacationers and residents alike enjoyed Independence Day Weekend activities in Rehoboth Beach, Del. The Wicked Green Pool Party drew hundreds to the CAMP Rehoboth fundraiser on Saturday. That evening, revelers went to the rooftops to watch the fireworks display.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)













Music & Concerts
Red, White, and Beyoncé: Queen Bey takes Cowboy Carter to D.C. for the Fourth of July
The legendary music icon performed on July 4 and 7 to a nearly sold-out Northwest Stadium.

Just in time for Independence Day, Beyoncé lit up Landover’s Commanders Field (formerly FedEx Field) with fireworks and fiery patriotism, bringing her deeply moving and genre-defying “Cowboy Carter” tour to the Washington, D.C. area.
The tour, which takes the global icon across nine cities in support of her chart-topping and Grammy-winning country album “Cowboy Carter,” landed in Prince George’s County, Maryland, over the Fourth of July weekend. From the moment Beyoncé stepped on stage, it was clear this was more than just a concert — it was a reclamation.
Drawing from classic Americana, sharp political commentary, and a reimagined vision of country music, the show served as a powerful reminder of how Black Americans — especially Black women — have long been overlooked in spaces they helped create. “Cowboy Carter” released in March 2024, is the second act in Beyoncé’s genre-traversing trilogy. With it, she became the first Black woman to win a Grammy for Best Country Album and also took home the coveted Album of the Year.
The record examines the Black American experience through the lens of country music, grappling with the tension between the mythology of the American Dream and the lived realities of those historically excluded from it. That theme comes alive in the show’s opening number, “American Requiem,” where Beyoncé sings:
“Said I wouldn’t saddle up, but
If that ain’t country, tell me, what is?
Plant my bare feet on solid ground for years
They don’t, don’t know how hard I had to fight for this
When I sing my song…”
Throughout the performance, Beyoncé incorporated arresting visuals: Black cowboys on horseback, vintage American iconography, and Fox News clips criticizing her genre shift — all woven together with voiceovers from country legends like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. The result was a multimedia masterclass in storytelling and subversion.
The “Cowboy Carter” tour has been a social media sensation for weeks, with fans scrambling for tickets, curating elaborate “cowboy couture” outfits, and tailgating under the summer sun. At Commanders Field, thousands waited in long lines for exclusive merch and even longer ones to enter the stadium — a pilgrimage that, for many, felt more like attending church than a concert.
One group out in full force for the concert was Black queer men — some rocking “denim on denim on denim on denim,” while others opted for more polished Cowboy Couture looks. The celebration of Black identity within Americana was ever-present, making the concert feel like the world’s biggest gay country-western club.
A standout moment of the night was the appearance of Beyoncé’s 13-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. Commanding the stage with poise and power, she matched the intensity and choreography of her mother and the professional dancers — a remarkable feat for someone her age and a clear sign that the Carter legacy continues to shine.
It’s been nearly two decades since Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child parted ways, and since then, she’s more than lived up to her title as the voice of a generation. With “Cowboy Carter,” she’s not just making music — she’s rewriting history and reclaiming the space Black artists have always deserved in the country canon.
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