Michelle Zauner: Queer & Unflinchingly Honest

One of the gifts of watching Michelle Zauner live is seeing someone who lives her truth in public, in performance, in lyric. She is openly bisexual, and though she doesn’t always make headlines for it, it flows through her songs and words. Some of Michelle’s words that stick: “I’m hella bi. Always have been always

Ghosts of Alton Past

This feature originally ran in the October 25, 2023 issue of The Riverfront Times   The year was 2015, and I’d been trying to set up an interview with Janet Kolar, Alton’s hearse-racing “Mistress of the Macabre” and proprietor of the Historic Museum of Torture Devices. I had first been drawn to Alton while exploring

Saint Louis Anti-Violence Project Celebrates 10 Years of Advocacy and Impact

This year marks an important milestone for the Saint Louis Anti-Violence Project (STLAVP) as the agency celebrates 10 years of incorporation and commitment to uplifting LGBTQIA+ survivors of relational violence. STLAVP’s mission is to bring awareness of relational violence within and to the LGBTQIA+ community. Over the past decade, STLAVP has: Conducted field research of

Still Carrying the Tune of a Generation: Martha Wash Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

This past Saturday, October 4, a legend was honored in a way only legends can be. The National Blues Museum in Downtown St. Louis awarded Martha Wash a Lifetime Achievement Award, celebrating her immeasurable contributions to music—and to the hearts and dance floors of multiple generations, especially within the LGBTQIA+ community. Often referred to as

Private Reception for Jonathan Karrant in Advance of His Blue Strawberry Performance

There’s nothing like being in a room full of talented musicians, and that’s exactly where I found myself Monday evening as socialites Russell Jackson and Alex Gutierrez opened their beautifully converted Lafayette Square firehouse for an intimate gathering. The guest list included some of St. Louis’s finest entertainers—Ron Bryant, Adam Levinskas, Chuck Flowers, Kim Fuller,

Coming to Left Bank Books: Poet and Activist Steven Reigns

Former St. Louisan Steven Reigns (he graduated from Parkway South in 1994), now an LA-based poet and activist, is not afraid of spending time with life’s unavoidable finale – death. He founded the Gay Rub Project in 2011, a collection of rubbings of LGBTQ+ historical markers and monuments, including many gravestones. The Gay Rub Project

Acoustic Duo Ryanhood Celebrates 20 Years of Virtuosity, Heart and Humor at Blue Strawberry Oct. 16

Named ‘Best Group/Duo’ in the International Acoustic Music Awards, acoustic duo Ryanhood got their first break as street performers at Boston’s Quincy Market. It was there that they were spotted by a college booking agent and thrust into the college touring scene, where Campus Activities Magazine would name them “one of the most requested acts by college

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