Performing Artists
In addition to her work as a Transgender Case Manager and Peer Advocat at Women’s Place and Lyon Martins Women Health Services, Jamie Armstrong-Pouncy devotes her talents to lifting God’s name with the Transcendence Choir. She has been singing with them for the last four years, and continues to divide her time between her art, work and marriage to her husband – striving to be the best person she can be and someone that others can look up to.
The Barbary Coast Cloggers are an all-male dance company founded in San Francisco to bring the rowdiness and unique spirit of North America’s indigenous dance form, called clogging or American step dancing, out of the Appalachian Mountains all the way to the West Coast. Performing since 1981, the company’s innovative performance style is an exciting synergy of traditional American dance imbued with originality, flare, and a certain creativity that is characteristically Californian. The company has toured around Northern California and been invited to perform in Europe and Asia, but for these guys there truly is no place like home!
Nedjula Baguio is an artist/activist living in San Francisco. She is currently working on her debut CD and just recently became a new mom.
Mario Balcita is a mexipino around the way boy and one of the few last standing natives of San Francisco. As a poet/performer/singer you may have seen him performing original work anywhere around the country, on the back of the bus, at a protest, or on a stage. All of his work – artistic and professional – is about working towards the liberation of queer people of color. Some venues he has performed at include Fresh Meat, New Conservatory Theater, Jon Sims Center and his abuelita’s kitchen while rolling flour tortillas.
Kate Bornstein is a proud elder of the trans community, and one of America’s most original and thought-provoking authors and performance artists. Hir wildly successful publications Gender Outlaw, and My Gender Workbook have revolutionized the way the world thinks about gender, and identity. Seven Stories Press has just published hir new book Hello: Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws. Kate lives in New York with her partner, author Barbara Carrellas.
Kate’s books are taught in over 120 colleges and universities around the world; and ze has performed hir work live on college campuses, and in theaters and performance spaces across the USA, as well as in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria. She is currently touring colleges, youth conferences and high schools, speaking and leading workshops on the subjects of sex, gender, and alternatives to teen suicide.
Kate has two new projects ready to launch in the spring of 2007: a memoir and new solo performance piece, both with the same title: Kate Bornstein Is A Queer And Pleasant Danger. www.katebornstein.com
Colombian Soul is a dance company founded by Adriana Sanchez that was born out of a necessity to express and to share who Sanchez was, where she came from, and what she lived each day in Colombia as well as in other parts of the world. Through Colombian folkloric dance and short pieces of theatre Adriana shows the vivid expressions, idiosyncrasies and dreams of the Colombian soul. Since 2005 Colombian Soul has performed in San Francisco, San Jose and throughout the Bay Area. In the 2007 San Francisco Carnival, Adriana Sanchez participated for the first time with her own contingent, “COLOMBIAN SOUL”.
Veronica C. Combs is an accomplished producer, director, dancer, dance teacher and choreographer who has been producing groundbreaking lesbian performance programming in the Bay Area since 1995. She has received numerous grants, awards and residencies for her work as an artist, director/producer and teacher. She is the founder and Artistic Director of liquidFIRE Productions, a non-profit organization dedicated to the authentic representation of lesbians of color on stage. Veronica is the mastermind behind liquidFIRE’s lesbian-of-color multidisciplinary theatre company, The liquidFIRE Project, whose original productions are collaboratively created by the cast. As Artistic Director of Luna Sea Women’s Performance Project from 1995 to 1998, Veronica produced and directed festivals and performances including Women of Color Month, Juke Joint, Sistahs Singin’, The Liquid Fire Project; Disputed Territory, and Skin: the Black and White of It. Veronica’s choreography has been performed at various Bay Area venues and events. She has also taught jazz and Horton technique. For more information, go to www.liquidfirehot.org
Mair Culbreth received her BA in Multidisciplinary Studies from North Carolina State University, where she performed with Robin Harris’s dance company. While in San Francisco, Mair has performed with Sean Dorsey of Fresh Meat Productions, Kathleen Hermesdorf, Lizz Roman and Dancers, Project Bandaloop, Capacitor and Krista DeNio. She also creates and performs her own work, when not at SFSU earning her M.A. in Kinesiology.
Tina D’Elia is a queer mixed race Latina lesbian, actor, playwright, casting director, producer, and award-winning screenwriter. She co-wrote and producer Lucha, awarded Best Short Film Award at the Frameline International Film Festival in 2009. Tina worked as the Hate Violence Survivor Program Director at Community United Against Violence (CUAV) for ten years. She is the recipient of the Ollin Civil Rights Award from Instituto Familiar de la Raza 2006, for her work within the LGBTQ communities. She has performed in many local venues and Festivals including the Fresh Meat Festival, Liquid Fire’s productions, the National Queer Arts Festival. She co-emceed several SF Dyke Marches and is the writer and performer of “Groucho: a Day in the D’Elia Soup” her acclaimed solo show. Her film credits include The Pursuit of Happiness, The Mercy Man and her television credits include Trauma. D’Elia co-wrote and produced Groucho, which has been screened internationally at various independent film festivals. Currently Tina is developing her new solo show The Rita Hayworth of this Generation. She is the west coast producer for the feature film Saint John the Divine in Iowa (www.anothercountryfilms.com). For more info: www.tinadelia.com.
Diamond Daggers are an extravaganza of queer dancing girls tripping the light fantastic and shaking more than just their tantalizing tresses. Brought to you by thematic event-producer and exhibitionist extraordinaire, Amelia Mae Hess, style-queen-costume-maven-dancer-about-town Cherry Lix, and Northern California director, choreographer, actor, and shimmering San Francisco bon vivant Alisa Peck. For all the tasty tidbits on where to catch a glimpse of these bawdy babes, email diamondaggers@yahoo.com.
Ryka Aoki De La Cruz has recently appeared at the National Queer Arts Festival, Atlanta Pride, UCLA’s OutCRY and Santa Cruz Pride. Ryka was the inaugural performer for San Francisco Pride’s first Transgender Stage. Ryka has an MFA in Creative Writing from Cornell University, is a founder of Cornell University’s Asian American Playhouse, and is the recipient of a University Award from the Academy of American Poets.
Ryka has work forthcoming in the anthology Coming Out of the Closet Again: Queer Women on Loving Men (Suspect Thoughts Press). Ryka has been honored by the California State Senate for her work with Trans/Giving, LA’s only art/performance series dedicated to trans, genderqueer, and intersex artists. She was formerly head judo coach at UCLA and Cornell University, and is a professor of English at Santa Monica College. www.rykaryka.com
DJ Trinity although new to the Bay Area DJ community, DJ Trinity has been performing since the age of 12. She is currently working on a hip hop and spoken word collection entitled “Meditations” and is performing throughout the Bay with the Mystic Family Circus. DJ Trinity also works as an activist in the social justice community and is discovering new ways to use music as a revolutionary weapon.
Sean Dorsey is the founder and Artistic Director of Fresh Meat Productions. Dorsey has been awarded two Isadora Duncan Dance Awards and was recently nominated for a third. His dance company was recently named San Francisco’s Best Dance Troupe by the SF Weekly. He has been awarded the Goldie Award for Performance, named one the ‘Top Ten’ in San Francisco dance by the San Francisco Bay Guardian and the Bay Area Reporter, and named one of the international dance scene’s most promising choreographers by BalletTanz, Europe’s leading dance magazine. Dorsey was recently profiled on KQED-TV’s arts program ‘Spark’.
Dorsey’s work has been called “trailblazing,” “brilliance” (San Francisco Chronicle ), “exquisite…poignant and important” (BalletTanz), and “breathtaking … tearjerking and hilarious” (San Francisco Bay Guardian). Dorsey has been presented extensively throughout the Bay Area and on tour throughout the US and Canada. He is currently creating a new concert to premiere in November 2008 at Dance Mission with support from the Gerbode Foundation, the San Francisco Arts Commission and Theater Bay Area. Dorsey is also a member of Lizz Roman and Dancers and the Performance Director for Tranny Fest. www.freshmeatproductions.org
DowneFX will showcase its unique mix of exuberant hip hop with an original storyline that was hard for danceaholics to resist. Talented core members, Anh Dang, Anna Chung, Charles Ugalde, Chris Testa, Eugene Canotal, Eunice Villasenor, Jay Jay Selga, Jonathan DeLima, Lori Higa, Manny Grueso, and Santos Batimana, along with DowneFX’s newest crew, A.J Arias, Aljo Tambo, Chris Ruperto, Dane Andres, James Chico, John Pichay, Juan Carlo Monton, Ryan Labit, and Wella Ebuen will leave audiences wanting more!
The Extra Credit Cru is an all-female breaking crew centralized in the Bay Area and an accessory to Sisterz of the Underground, the region’s most prominent collective of female Hip Hop artists. Since 2001, ECC has been earning renown and have recently formed a new performance crew in collaboration with Rockforce and 5150 called Baysic Project. ECC has cultivated a demanding style through old school foundation, incorporating the novelties of its members. When ECC are not performing or competing they are enriching the community, teaching in community centers, homeless shelters, libraries, and youth emancipation centers, empowering girls and women to strive for success even in male dominated arenas, directing youth toward positive and artistic achievements. They do all this work through DEF ED, an off-site hip hop education program at Cellspace. Check them out at www.sisterzunderground.com.
Brian Fisher is delighted to be working with Sean Dorsey / Fresh Meat Productions again. As a concert dancer, Brian has appeared in works by Alvin Ailey, Kurt Joos, Choo San Goh, Igal Perry, Sonya Delwaide, Mark Franko, Lar Lubovitch, Doug Varone, Amy Siewert, Sally Streets, Rebecca Salzer, Kevin Ware, Robert Moses, and Brandon Freeman, among others. He has performed as a company member or guest artist with ODC/ San Francisco, the Mark Foehringer Dance Project San Francisco, the San Francisco Opera, Rosalind Newman and Dancers, Anima Mundi, Peninsula Ballet Theater, Berkeley Ballet Theater, Western Ballet, and Diablo Ballet. Brian was awarded the 2002 Isadora Duncan Award for Best Ensemble Performance. As always, he is profoundly grateful to Kevin, Zane, Aidan, QP, Krypto, and Buddy Boy for their love and support.
Freeplay Dance Crew (FDC) is a group of LGBT and non-LGBT dancers whose composition and creative expression reflect the diversity of its members and its local community. FDC has performed all over the Bay Area, from the SF Pride Main Stage to the San Francisco Hip Hop Dance Festival. Under the Direction of Janey Madamba and Creative Direction of Joshua Klipp, FDC is the culmination of volunteer efforts by its talented and devoted dancers.
Miguel Chernus Goldstein is 20 years old, and has lived in the city for almost two years. He has trained in many circus disciplines including Low-Flying Trapeze, Hoop, Aerial Silk, and dance. Now he trains on Aerial Silk, Hoop, and Acrobatics at the San Francisco Circus Center. He wishes to thank all his teachers for getting him so far, and for encouraging him to push his limits.
Prado Gomez is a Mestizo dude born and raised in the Mission District. He likes to sing, talk story and laugh. He enjoys his days at PAWS learning from animal medicine and his nights with family appreciating his home.
With their 4th appearance at Fresh Meat, Harlem Shake Burlesque strives to bring some color to the burlesque scene. With bodacious bodies performing sexy shimmies, Simone de la Getto and Alotta Boutte’ do not disappoint. This year HSB hooks up with The Shuga Glida Blues Revue to bring an experience well worth indulging. For more information on the happenings on Harlem Shake Burlesque, please visit www.harlemshakeburlesque.com.
Imani Henry is an Activist, Writer and Performer. Since 1993, Imani has been a Staff Organizer at the International Action Center (IAC), where his work has focused on national organizing of communities of color and the Project working with TransJustice, the 1st political group of NYC created by and for Trans and Gender Non-Conforming people of color. The 2nd Annual Trans Day of Action for Social and Economic Justice will take place in NYC on June 23rd in solidarity with the San Francisco’s Trans March.
In 2006, Henry’s multi-media theatre piece, B4T (before testosterone), was presented in Los Angeles at the Highways Performance Space and excerpted as part of the Tranny Road Show. Imani just returned from The Faroe Islands, where he performed his latest work Living in the Light at the “Rethinking Nordic Colonialism.” Conference. For links to upcoming performances and political campaigns: www.geocities.com/imani_henry.
Thea Hillman performed a birdcall on The Tonight Show, was on the cover of the Oakland phone book, but is most proud of her tag-team haiku championship title. Her first book, Depending on the Light, was published by Manic D Press in 2001. Her second book, For Lack of a Better Word, will be published in 2006 by Suspect Thoughts Press. For more info and performance updates, visit www.theahillman.com.
Dr. Jafer specializes in Homeopathy, Ayurveda & Natural Health. Jafer also has a passion for acting & dancing, for which he has received rigorous training since the age of 5. Creative East Indian Dance builds on a foundation of classical and folk dances, as well as Jafer’s own creative style. www.drjafer.com; homnat2@yahoo.com
JenRO is a bilingual, lesbian feminist rapper from the Bay Area and one of the smartest and most creative hip-hop artists to emerge in recent years. With lyrics about sexual identity, self-acceptance and hanging out with her home girls, JenRo might be one of the most honest MCs rapping today. Fans of VH1 might recognize JenRo from her appearances on “My Coolest Years: In the Closet,” where various celebs wax philosophic about growing up queer. She has performed at San Quentin State Penitentiary twice this year and has toured internationally from the Philippines to Mexico. JenRO can be found in the documentary, “Pick up the Mic”. www.Jenro.net
Juba Kalamka (aka Pointfivefag) is most recognized as a founding member of homo hip hop group Deep Dickollective (D/DC) and as founder of the groundbreaking label Sugartruck Recordings. Kalamka served as Festival Director for East Bay Pride 2003 and is the Director of PeaceOUT World HomoHop Festival. Kalamka has written on race, sexuality and class in pop culture for Kitchen Sink, Colorlines and Anything That Moves and has been a speaker for numerous organizations conferences. www.jubakalamka.com
Katastrophe is a genre-busting emo-hop MC whose stunning lyrical skills merge with beats that slide from slick to raw to solid to eccentric, creating a sonic otherworld that snags you in a dance-trance while teasing your head with rhymes that snap, pop and educate. He was awarded Producer of the Year by Out Music Awards for his debut album Let’s Fuck, Then Talk About My Problems, and has just released his second album Fault, Lies and Faultlines. Using his struggle as a trans man and his contested place in contemporary queer and hip hop culture as a springboard to discuss and express larger issues of community, space, privilege, sex and self-worth, Katastrophe occupies a singular place in the music underground. www.katastropherap.com
Thomas Michael Kennard is an Indiana born and raised, corn-fed, FTM, queer straight middle-aged white guy and he’s not sure which one of those labels is most frightening. He sings bass with the Transcendence Gospel Choir and he performs with “Transmen Tell Their Tales”, a group of FTM’s who write about their lives and their journey from womanhood to manhood.
Yoseñio V. Lewis, a dark-skinned Latino FTM transsexual, incorporates his concern for social justice into his performances, taking us to places we want to go, even when we are scared to be there. From the Mission, prado gomez likes to sing, eat and laugh with his brilliant wife, kids, beasts and down ass homies. Thomas Kennard is a mid-western born and raised, corn-fed, meat and potatoes kind of FTM white guy. Gus, a band and chorus geek since the age of 8, is proud to be coming out with the TransAms Barbershop Quartet.
Lipstick Conspiracy ‘America’s premiere trans band,’ has consistently garnered fans since their 2003 debut. The girls’ independent CD, “Don’t Tell A Soul,” currently in rotation in radio stations across the country (as well as Canada, Mexico, Italy and Serbia), has helped earn them the title of Best Girl Band 2004 by the San Francisco Bay Guardian. 2005 witnesses the band embarking on a series of national tours, with commercial success already enjoyed in the Pacific Northwest.
While relatively new to the dance world, Christopher Love has been fascinated by movement his entire life. He is a popular yoga teacher in San Francisco, has been featured in Yoga Journal, and uses aerial dance as a way to take his practice off the ground. As a spiritual teacher and movement artist, he seeks to communicate a joy of being, in his work.
Carla Lucero began composing Juana in 2003. Productions of the work-in-progress have been presented in San Francisco at SOMArts, the Marsh, and Theater Artaud, as well as in Mexico City and Madrid. Her first opera, Wuornos, premiered at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center in 2001 and was recognized by The Advocate and OUT magazines as one of the nation’s outstanding Queer arts events.
Maiana Minahal is a queer Filipina American poet and teacher who was born in Manila, and raised in Los Angeles. She studied with the late June Jordan’s Poetry for the People program, and just completed her Artist Residency at the Jon Sims Center. Maiana’s artist book/ chapbook, ‘closer,’ and her first book, ‘Sitting Inside Wonder,’ both came out last year. She is currently an MFA candidate at Mills College. For more information, check her website: www.maianaminahal.com.
Jose Luis Munoz American countertenor José Luis Muñoz is known for his expressive and powerful voice. He is equally comfortable in operatic repertoire, oratorio, art song and Mexican Cancíon. This past February José Luis made his international debut in a solo recital in Mexíco City. In 2004 he won First Place Countertenor in the California Opera Association Competition. This past year he created the role “El Alma” in the World Premiere of Carla Lucero’s Juana with Tenth Muse Productions. Previous engagements have included his European debut at the Ludinghaüsen Summer Art Festival in Germany, and performances with First Congregational Church of Berkeley, Grace Cathedral Christmas, Sonora Bach Festival, Ensemble Vocalis, Westbay Opera, Stanislaus Opera, and others. Future performances include: guest soloist for Orff’s Carmina Burana with Harvard University and recital work in SF and NY. José Luis Muñoz currently studies with Zachary Gordin. www.joseluismunoz.com.
Na Lei Hulu I Ka Wekiu is a dynamic Hawaiian dance company based in San Francisco. The company features hula as a full theatrical experience that is visually captivating. Its performances are a rich blend of traditional and contemporary forms of hula. The company’s trademark hula mua style pays homage to tradition while bringing hula into a modern realm. This innovative approach showcases hula as a living and evolving art form.
Nafis is a spoken word performer and community activist. She is a dynamic emcee, slam poet, and fierce faux queen. She is also the producer of the hot homoerotic cour de jeu, KARMA, a monthly club cabaret featuring queer and trans performers.
Navarrete x Kajiyama: José Navarrete has performed with many local choreographers, including Sara Shelton Mann & Joanna Haigood. He is also a community health educator at Clinica Esperanza, an HIV clinic in San Francisco. Debby Kajiyamahas been dancing tango for the past four years. As well as co-directing Navarrete x Kajiyama, she dances with Dandelion Dance Theater and Dance Brigade.
Gigi Otálvaro-Hormillosa, also known as the Devil Bunny in Bondage, is a San Francisco based interdisciplinary performance artist, video artist, cultural activist, curator and percussionist of Filipino and Colombian descent. She has worked with non-profit arts organizations and HIV prevention service agencies such as the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center, Proyecto ContraSIDA Por Vida, New Langton Arts, Galería de la Raza, the Queer Cultural Center, Asian American Theater Company and the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center. She has worked on various artistic collaborations under the mentorship and direction of performing artists such as Pearl Ubungen, Guillermo Gomez-Peña, Elia Arce and Afia Walking Tree. www.devilbunny.org
Other Brothers is a collective of artists of color on the female masculine to female-to-male spectrum. Their mission is to open hearts and erase restrictive stereotypes.
Jaycub Perez is a trans musician/spoken word artist who is extremely influenced by hip hop, folk, punk, rock and old school. He is currently working on a documentary film about trannie boys of color in hip hop. Jaycub strives to one day open a Guamanian restaurant and his own record label.
Johnnie Pratt is an Other Brother currently living in North Carolina as an undercover country boy back home from the big city. He now rides a Kubota zero turn mower but his soap box is always within reach for proselytizing to the unconverted about justice, more comics and the belief of his existence. He is a one man revolution trying to get televised! Reality TV stand back and make room.
Seeley Quest is an oakland gender traitor who’s featured at the first international queerness and disability conference, the 2003 national True Spirit conference, the san francisco Center’s opening week gala Some Kind of Queer, TrannyFest 2003’s Hot Rods and Hot Pants show, and in residency with hir solo show ‘Crooked’ at the Jon Sims Center.
Matthue Roth has done performance poetry for HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, Rock the Vote, and performed at high schools and universities nationally. His first novel, Never Mind the Goldbergs, will be published by Scholastic in January 2005, and his second will be released by Cleis Press in September. He keeps a secret journal at www.matthue.com.
And the flame is on! Scarletto, aka Jacob Perez, is back again with that sizzlin flame and controversial game! As one of San Francisco’s up and coming Trans-Male Queer-Hip-Hop Artists, Scarletto unleashes the “truth” about the “queerious” in all of us! His music ranges from folk, jazz, rnb, hip-hop, new-wave and so much more with his catchy tunes and sharp lyrical messages of civil rights, feminism and the infamous “Queer / Transgenderation.” So, hang on to your panties, or not! www.scarletto.com
Scott Turner Schofield is a Southern queer FTM writer / performer whose three solo shows, “Underground Transit,” “Debutante Balls,” and “Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps” have toured to nationwide acclaim since 2001. His activist art has received several honors, among them a 2007 Princess Grace Foundation Fellowship in Acting, and a “Fruity” for his Off-Broadway success as part of New York City’s Fresh Fruit Festival. To find out more, check out www.undergroundtransit.com or read his book, Two Truths and a Lie (Homofactus Press).
Julia Serano is a bad-ass trans activist, writer, and spoken word artist, who has self-published chapbooks and contributed articles and poems to queer, feminist, pop culture magazines and literary journals. She is also the vocalist-guitarist for the noisy pop band Bitesize and the host of the Trans/Intersex/Genderqueer-focused performance series GenderEnders. www.juliaserano.com.
For the past 11 years, Sile “Luster” P. Singleton has toured both nationally and internationally as a trans-entertainer, activist, motivational speaker, academic lecturer, community organizer and cultural producer, using her gift as a writer/storyteller to challenge people about what they think they know about themselves and others. As a co-founder of Fast Friday Productions, Sile is Big Papa to the International Drag King Extravaganza (IDKE), the cornerstone of the current movement of drag king culture and community.
Sisterz of the Underground is an all female hip hop collective that represents all elements – mcing, djing, breaking, and graffiti. We also teach hip hop workshops to youth at schools, libraries, homeless shelters, and other venues and programs. Please check us out at www.sisterzunderground.com.
Sonya Smith is a dance artist entranced by the intensity of physically demanding choreography. She has danced with Rapt Performance Group, Dance Ceres and Raw Footage, as well as presenting her work at 848 and Dance Mission Theatre. She currently teaches Pilates and works at 848 as site manager, producer and curator for a variety of events.
STEAMROLLER Dance Company creates physically explosive work that responds to the collisions of race, gender and sexuality. Athletic, irreverent and precise, the company dances on the street and other non-traditional locations to break down formal barriers between artist and audience and provide a more visceral performance experience.
We are Taiko Ren: “taiko” for the Japanese style of drumming, combining dynamic movement and percussion; and “ren” meaning a close-knit collaborative group. Taiko Ren has been drumming collectively since the year 2000. We come together with seven to twelve years each of training and performance experience with San Francisco Taiko Dojo and other organizations. We bring our performances to varied venues including festivals, community and school events, corporate shows and private events. Let’s play! www.taikoren.com
Taiko Ren Guest Artist Rachel Ebora: Rachel joined the Portland Taiko Ensemble in 1996 and has performed and toured with the northwest group until April 2006. She is currently an apprentice of Eth-Noh-Tec, an Asian American storytelling theater based in San Francisco and performs with their ensemble at various Bay Area schools and public venues.
The Transcendence Gospel Choir is the world’s first transgendered choir, launched in 2001. In July 2004, they will travel to Montreal to sing at the GALA Choruses’ International Choral Festival and will lead the first international Mass Transgender choir. Recognizing that religion is one of the main weapons used to justify and perpetuate misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and intolerance of diversity, the choir’s mission is to challenge those ideas from within a place of faith. A documentary film about the choir titled “Transcendence” is expected to debut at the Sundance film festival in 2005. www.tgchoir.org
Marcus Van uses hiptheword (hip-hop, theater, and spoken word) to fuse realistic tales of being a transgender poet of color with his sharp observations on race, class, and other elephants in the room. A member of Deep Dickollective (all queer male hip-hop group), Marcus has traveled to venues across the Bay and across the country, spitting bold lyrics to incense racist and classist minds. He is also recognized for his groundbreaking film, “Junk Box Warrior”, and for his curatorial and directorial work.
Shawna Virago is celebrated as a trans pioneer in music, filmmaking and activism. Miss Virago is a roots/rock songwriter whose music twists together punk roots rock and insurgent country, creating anthems for a new generation. Her lyrics dig deep at police brutality, the economic marginalization of transgender people and life lived on the sweet continuum of being trans. Miss Virago is one part poetess, one part ice queen and one part honky-tonk glamour girl. Nevertheless, she is own her own genre.
The ShugaGlida Blues Revue feature the raw vocal stylings, rhythm guitar, swagger and roll of Drag King “K.B. Bluesman – Mr. Tuff-n-Stuff” (aka singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Kali Boyce) whose deep love and respect for old time blues shines strong with Kaki Marshall (“Mother Truckers” crew) passionate and powerful classic blues harmonica style, Daria Shani Johnson on drums (London Street, 4 Year Bender, Kofy Brown) holds it all together with a steady roll!
The Transcendence Gospel Choir is the world’s first transgender gospel choir. The choir strives to empower the transgender community and reclaim its spiritual calling. The Choir’s highly moving performances have brought them to national acclaim.