Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Oct. 11-17
Parties, concerts, exhibits and more for the coming week


New York City based ‘Vegan Drag Queen’ Honey LaBronx hosts Acorn-A-Go-Go’s Vegan Fall Festival Saturday. (Photo courtesy Honey LaBronx)
Friday, Oct. 11
The Sugarloaf Crafts Festival kicks off its 39th year at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds (16 Chestnut St., Gaithersburg, Md.,) today from 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. Festival continues through Sunday. Meet the jury selected artists and purchase their artwork including pottery, sculpture, home accessories, jewelry, fashion, furniture, photography and more. Sample gourmet food, listen to live music and participate in interactive children entertainment. Tickets are $8 online for adults and $10 at the door. Children under 12 are free. Free parking. For more information, visit sugarloafcrafts.com.
“Love Heals Homophobia” screens at St. Marks Episcopal Church (301 A St., S.E.) tonight from 7-8 p.m. The film was made in response to the appeals made by countries where it is illegal to be LGBT. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour tonight from 6-11 p.m. There is no cover charge and admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For more information, visit towndc.com.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts “National Coming Out Day Celebration” today from 5-7 p.m. Decorate cupcakes, listen to music and more. For details, visit smyal.org.
Saturday, Oct. 12
Washington National Opera (WNO) honors Giuseppe Verdi’s 200th birthday with a performance of “The Force of Destiny,” the tale of three lives on a path to ruin, beginning tonight at 7 p.m. and running through Oct. 26 at The Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.). Tickets range from $25-$300. For more details, visit kennedy-center.org.
The D.C. Center (1316 U St., N.W.) hosts free and confidential HIV testing from 4-7 p.m. today. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts adult entertainment stars Levi Karter, Jake Bass and Max Ryder tonight. Doors open at 10 p.m. Cover is $8 from 10-11 p.m. and $12 after 11 p.m. $3 drinks before 11 p.m. Drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. Admission limited to guests 21 and over. For more information, visit towndc.com.
Acorns A Go-Go hosts its vegan fall festival today at the Roosevelt Center (131 Centerway, Greenbelt, Md.,) today from 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Enjoy vegan food vendors, exhibitors and live music. Watch demonstrations including how to use acorns in vegan bread and cookies. Kids can participate in a hula hoop competition and activities at the Animal Rights Youth Booth. The mistress of ceremonies is “Vegan Drag Queen” Honey LaBronx. For more details, visit facebook.com/acornsagogo.
A free screening of the documentary “For the Bible Tells Me So” is today at 11 a.m. at Mt. Pleasant Library (3160 16th Street, N.W.) hosted by Queers For Christ and Revive DMV: A Gathering of Queer Christian Women.
Sunday, Oct. 13
Club Bunns (606 W. Lexington St., Baltimore) hosts “Baltimore Black Pride Block Party” today from 4-9 p.m. Cover TBA. For more details, visit facebook.com/n.g.a.clubbunns.
Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va.,) celebrates its third anniversary with “Pop Art Fun: Free Family Day” from noon-4 p.m. today. The Andy Warhol-inspired day includes the interactive Warhol “Silver Clouds” exhibit, pop art projects and a magic show. Baby Loves Disco hosts a dance party for all ages in the ballroom. Admission is free. For more details, visit artisphere.com.
Perry’s (1811 Columbia Rd., N.W.) hosts its weekly “Sunday Drag Brunch” today from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The cost is $24.95 for an all-you-can-eat buffet. For more details, visit perrysadamsmorgan.com.
Monday, Oct. 14
The D.C. Center Youth Working Group hosts its monthly meeting today at the D.C. Center (1316 U St., N.W.) from 6-7:30 p.m. The meeting focuses on positively impacting the lives of D.C. area youth. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.
Us Helping Us holds its 25th anniversary awards celebration “A Passion for Living” featuring Jennifer Holliday this evening at Arena Stage (1101 6th St., S.W.) from 6-9 p.m. The event raises funds for Us Helping Us’s prevention programs and recognizes individuals and businesses in their commitment to fight HIV/AIDS. Tickets are $150. For details, visit tickets.arenastage.org.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts coffee drop-in hours this morning from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT community. Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy complimentary coffee and conversation with other community members. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Tuesday, Oct. 15
Green Lantern (1335 Green Crt.. N.W.) hosts its “FUCK!T Packing Party” this evening from 7-9 p.m. Bring friends or make new ones while packing safer-sex packets. Challenge yourself and your friends to see how many FUK!T packets you can pack in two hours. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
Whitman-Walker Health offers free HIV testing in honor of National Latino AIDS Awareness Day today at Whitman-Walker Health Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center (1701 14th St., N.W.) 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Whitman-Walker Health Max Robinson Center (2301 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., S.E.) from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Columbia Heights Fountain (1345 Park Rd., N.W.) from 3-6 p.m. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.
Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) offers all drinks half price tonight until 2 a.m. Enjoy pool, video games and cards. Admission is free. Must be 21 and over. For more details, visit bachelorsmill.com.
Wednesday, Oct. 16
Queers for Christ, a young adult LGBT Christian group, has a happy hour this evening from 6:45-9 p.m. at Number Nine (1435 P Street, N.W.).
Bookmen D.C., an informal men’s gay literature group, meets this evening at 7:30 p.m. at the American Foreign Service Association (2101 E Street, N.W.) to discuss “The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered,” an anthology. All are welcome. Visit bookmendc.blogspot.com for details.
The National Symphony Orchestra presents organist Cameron Carpenter at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) in the concert hall at 8 p.m. tonight. Tickets are $15. For details, visit kennedy-center.org.
The Tom Davoren Social Bridge Club meets at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) this evening at 7:30 p.m. for social bridge. No partner needed. For more information, call 301-345-1571.
Big Gay Book Group meets tonight at 1155 F St., N.W. Suite 200 at 7 p.m. to discuss “The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard” by Stephen Jimenez. For details, email [email protected].
Thursday, Oct. 17
The Dance Theatre of Harlem performs the world premiere of its ballet “past-carry-forward” at the Sidney Harman Hall (610 F St., N.W.) tonight at 8 p.m. Other performances include “Gloria” and “Contested Space.” Tickets range from $40-$75. For more information, visit shakespearetheatre.org.
Publick Playhouse presents “Bailé Folklórico de Bahia” at 8 p.m. tonight. The dance blends Afro-Brazilian folk, samba reggae, African liturgical dance and capoeira. It includes dances from the days of slavery and dances that celebrate Carnival. Tickets are $20. For details, visit arts.pgparks.com.
Wear purple today to show support for LGBT youth and stand against bullying for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation’s (GLAAD) Spirit Day. Showcase your support on social media platforms using “#spiritday.” For more information, visit glaad.org/spiritday.
“Marriage Equality,” a free seminar presented by the law firm of Gimmel, Weiman, Ersek, Blomberg & Lewis, is this evening at 7 p.m. at Hampton Inn (960 N. Frederick Ave.) in Gaithersburg, Md. It’s free to attend but a reservation is required as seating is limited. Local attorneys will speak about Maryland’s same-sex marriage law and the repeal of key sections of DOMA and their effect on several LGBT issues such as marriage, adoption, custody and more. To make a reservation, call 301-840-8565 or visit gweblaw.com.
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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