Casey, a country lad running from a small-town scandal, finds himself down and out in the big smoke of Sydney. When he meets Tib, a young city lad, struggling with his own scars of isolation, both men find something they have been missing but neither of them knows quite how to negotiate it.
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
CAAMP Announce North American Summer Tour, Return to Red Rocks
Last summer Caamp released their latest album, Lavender Days via Mom+Pop. The album quickly sprung to the top of the Billboard charts with opening positions in the Top 10 on 4 different charts, including Americana, Alternative, Vinyl and Indie and Top 20 positions on 7 charts total including #83 on the Billboard Top 200. The band also hit #7 on Spotify’s U.S. Album Debut Chart. Caamp’s music has dominated the charts at Triple A radio scoring three #1 singles and five total songs that have landed in the top 10. The band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and CBS Mornings and toured extensively, selling more tickets than ever before including their first arena headlining show. Lavender Days was produced by Caamp and Beatriz Artola and featured Nathaniel Rateliff and Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield on vocals. Lavender Days is available here.
Monday, February 20, 2023
Are You Gay With Something To Say? Bloggers Wanted to Write About Denver's Gay Community
MileHighGayGuy is looking for regular and guest bloggers to write about local news and events, do music and movie reviews, or write opinion or feature pieces from a gay perspective.
These are unpaid positions but offer the opportunity to be published in Colorado's Best Gay Blog (2010, 2011, 2012 OUTstanding Awards, Denver 2012 #WebAwards), expand your audience and gain valuable experience. There's also swag available in the form of free movie and concert tickets, music, books and other cool stuff.
If interested, shoot an email over to Drew Wilson at drew@milehighgayguy.com. And if you've got column or story ideas to pitch, this is the place to do it.
PFLAG to Honor Big Freedia at 50th Anniversary Gala
On Friday, March 3, the iconic LGBTQ+ community organization PFLAG will present Big Freedia, herself an icon and GRAMMY Award winning musician, with the inaugural Breaking Barriers Award at PFLAG’s 50th Anniversary Gala. The event will also feature host Amber Ruffin, appearances by Tati Gabrielle (YOU, Uncharted), Eureka (WE’RE HERE), Rose Abdoo (HACKS), and more, with performances by Robin S., Evann McIntosh, Johnny Manuel, and more.
“I know what it is to have unconditional love and affirmation from my mother, Ms. Vera, who was my biggest champion in my life and my career. She was what every PFLAG parent strives to be, and is one of the reasons I can be the loud, proud Black, gay, gender fluid advocate I am,” said Big Freedia, PFLAG National Breaking Barriers Award honoree. “I am truly honored to be recognized by PFLAG National with the Breaking Barriers Award, because I know the power of the walls you can break down when you do it with your parents and allies.”
The PFLAG National Breaking Barriers Award honors an individual who uses their platform to help remove obstacles to LGBTQ+ and intersectional equality in pursuit of a more just, equitable, and inclusive world. Big Freedia is the first recipient of this honor.
“Whether it’s making the dance floor a place where every person of every body type is welcome, or it’s being unabashedly herself on the world’s biggest stages as a genderfluid Black and beautiful musician, Big Freedia has used every part of her talent and joy to open doors and break barriers to inclusion. We are proud to honor Big Freedia with the inaugural PFLAG National Breaking Barriers Award,” said Brian K. Bond, Executive Director of PFLAG National.
Serving on PFLAG’s 50th Anniversary Gala Honorary Host Committee are celebrated LGBTQ+ people and allies: Andrew Rannells, Audra McDonald, Chef Melissa King, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Justin Mikita, Kristin Chenoweth, Martha Plimpton, Matt Doyle, Nate Berkus, Patrick Stewart, Sunny Ozell, Will Swenson, and Wilson Cruz.
Conversations P!NK releases ninth studio album 'Trustfall'
To celebrate the album, P!NK will make special appearances next week on NBC’s TODAY and CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on February 21, followed by a show takeover special on The Drew Barrymore Show airing February 27.
“This might be the album I’m most proud of,” says P!NK. “Get in your coziest pair of sweats, grab yourself an hour of self-care, and start on track one. Two ingredients needed: tissues and dance shoes.”
In tandem with its release, P!NK has also announced The TRUSTFALL Tour. Produced by Live Nation, the 14-city tour kicks off on October 12 making stops at arenas across North America, including a date at Madison Square Garden in New York. The fall tour will follow P!NK’s previously announced 2023 Summer Carnival Stadium Tour, which will mark her highly-anticipated return to touring with special guests Brandi Carlile and 2022 Hall of Fame inductees Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo on select dates. GROUPLOVE and KidCutUp will be special guests across all tour dates.
TICKETS: Tickets for The TRUSTFALL Tour will be available starting with Citi and Verizon presales (more details below) beginning Tuesday, Feb 21. The general onsale for The TRUSTFALL Tour will start Friday, Feb 24 at 10AM local time on LiveNation.com. Tickets for 2023 Summer Carnival Stadium Tour are also on sale now at LiveNation.com.
Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra presents "Compared to What" Featuring Marion Powers and Robert Johnson
A major component of the CJRO’s mission is to introduce new listeners and jazz lovers to its music and fantastic musicians. After inviting former Tower of Power and Temptations lead singer, Larry Braggs to perform with the big band in 2021 and again in 2022 discussions began about collaborating on an album. The result is Compared to What with Larry Braggs, a fresh blend of jazz and soul including several new arrangements by CJRO artistic director Drew Zaremba, musicians Zach Rich, Remy Le Boeuf and Paul McKee. The recording will be available for purchase in March.
Twist: New Memoir Chronicles a Tumultuous Life Growing Up Queer in the Foster System and 1980s New York
Twist begins with her mother, whose delusions of grandeur bring both wonders and horrors to the Bertei home. Bertei details her mother’s battle with undiagnosed schizophrenia that eventually leads to the removal of her children, and the beginning of young Maddie’s wild journey. By her middle school years, Maddie Twist has moved through several foster homes and reformatories. With each new posting, she discovers sanctuary amongst her peers—outcast girls—while gaining belief in her identity, and unwavering trust in her own voice.
As she ages out of the system and finds herself navigating the world alone, Maddie’s only constant is a ribbon of music that weaves itself around her heart. She can sing, and she is certain it will be the beacon that guides her toward another life. Her turbulent childhood and teenage years led to Bertei never completing a formal education and becoming an autodidact. During those years of constant change, Bertei started to write poetry and was discovered by legendary Cleveland musician Peter Laughner who mentored her and convinced her to pursue a career in music.
In frank prose without an ounce of self-pity, Twist is an episodic survival of the fittest, navigating the crooked rivers of poverty, race, sexuality, and gender. It is a world of little girl gangsters, drag queen solidarity, wild roller-skating, and magical thinking. With Twist, Bertei gives us a story of violence and madness, of heartbreak and perseverance, and, ultimately, redemption.
Adele Bertei was the lead singer of the Bloods, an all-girl lesbian band whose sole release, Button Up, was released by the Au Pairs' label Exit Records in 1981, and was a favorite of John Peel. Bertei was the duet voice on Thomas Dolby’s UK top 10 hit in 1984, “Hyperactive!” and the lead voice of Jellybean’s UK top twenty hit “Just a Mirage” in 1988.
Tuesday, February 14, 2023
OUT in Theaters & on Digital: The First Fallen
After strong festival play in some of the prestigious film festivals around the globe, writer/director Rodrigo de Oliveira’s powerful LGBTQ drama about the start of the AIDS epidemic in 80s Brazil releases this February in theaters and On Demand.
At the turn of 1983 in a small Brazilian town, a group of LGBTQIA+ men and women celebrate the New Year with no idea of the approaching. The biologist Suzano knows something terrible is disrupting his body. Uncertain of his future and desperate at the lack of information, Suzano reaches out to transsexual artist Rose and videomaker Humberto, both equally ill. Together they’ll try to survive the first wave of the AIDS epidemic.
Says de Oliveira, “The first time I understood the word “gay” could describe me, the word “plague” was already intrinsically attached to it. The people I wanted to be as a kid were dying on TV, and I was told that for every pop idol in the spotlight there were hundreds of thousands in the darkness, invisible. Those were my elders, and yet I was denied their humanity.
And so, AIDS is not only a subject to explore, but the very foundation of my identity, of the identity of every LGBTQIA+ person, as tragic as it is transformative. To film those first bodies, to listen to those first voices, to rally behind those first radicals, it’s to reject that invisibility. The First Fallen is the loving imagination of lineage, the invention of my family tree. A film about the dream of being yourself fully, whatever weight the world puts on your shoulders; about the importance of community and the support from our chosen family. The stories never told deserve a place at the forefront. These characters created the possibility of me, not the other way around.”
At the turn of 1983 in a small Brazilian town, a group of LGBTQIA+ men and women celebrate the New Year with no idea of the approaching. The biologist Suzano knows something terrible is disrupting his body. Uncertain of his future and desperate at the lack of information, Suzano reaches out to transsexual artist Rose and videomaker Humberto, both equally ill. Together they’ll try to survive the first wave of the AIDS epidemic.
Says de Oliveira, “The first time I understood the word “gay” could describe me, the word “plague” was already intrinsically attached to it. The people I wanted to be as a kid were dying on TV, and I was told that for every pop idol in the spotlight there were hundreds of thousands in the darkness, invisible. Those were my elders, and yet I was denied their humanity.
And so, AIDS is not only a subject to explore, but the very foundation of my identity, of the identity of every LGBTQIA+ person, as tragic as it is transformative. To film those first bodies, to listen to those first voices, to rally behind those first radicals, it’s to reject that invisibility. The First Fallen is the loving imagination of lineage, the invention of my family tree. A film about the dream of being yourself fully, whatever weight the world puts on your shoulders; about the importance of community and the support from our chosen family. The stories never told deserve a place at the forefront. These characters created the possibility of me, not the other way around.”
Pride Film Fest announces programming for March 2023
Pride Film Fest – providing year-round LGBTQ film programming presented in streaming and occasionally in-person formats in Chicago – has announced its programming for late February through early April. The slate for this five-week period will include two dramatic features, a documentary feature and two programs of shorts. The festival website is at http://pridefilm.org/
Streaming from February 22 through March 5 will be the feature-length German documentary TUNTEN ZWECKLOS, which delivers a look into gay life in Germany over the past 40+ years through the history of an activist group called the Hamburg Bollenmädels. The next offering, from March 1-12, will be YOU CAN LIVE FOREVER, a dramatic feature from Canada that is the story of a teenage girl sent to live in a Jehovah’s Witness community who falls in love with a devout Witness girl. From March 8 -19, Pride Film Fest will offer five winning short films from the KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival of India.
The offering for March 15 -26 will be the 2022 feature BEFORE THE NEXT TEARDROP FALLS, from Hong Kong. In it, a wealthy breeder of horses faces changes in all aspects of his life as he pursues a dream of becoming a filmmaker but finds his most dramatic change will come as he begins to recognize the truth of his relationship with the chauffeur who has been his most loyal friend. The final program of the month will be BESTS OF THE FESTS – a collection of award-winning shorts from LGBTQ festivals around the world.
Access to the films is $12.00 per film. Monthly memberships are also available for $10.00 per month which entitles the purchaser to view short and mid-length programs for no additional charge and to view the feature length films for $7.00 per film. Tickets for the individual programs are now on sale at https://www.goelevent.com/
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Ice Dance International (IDI) Announces GRACE: A Spellbinding Theatrical Ice Show Experience with a Cast of LGBTQ Skaters
Grace, a theatrical ice show experience will be presented at select venues across the United States.
Grace features an ensemble company of ten world-class figure skaters, five of whom are from the LGBTQ community including Karina Manta and Joe Johnson. Karina and Joe are the first LGBTQ couple to compete for the United States at Grand Prix Events and have medaled internationally. Karina is the author of On Top of Glass, published by Knopf, an autobiography about growing up Queer in figure skating. IDI is directed by Douglas Webster, a gay man, who states that IDI is an ensemble that celebrates the legacy of John Curry. John Curry is the 1976 Olympic Champion who worked to change the perception of figure skating from sport to art. Curry passed away from AIDS in 1994. Grace features choreography by 2022 OLYMPIC Choreographers’ Benoît Richaud, Rohene Ward, and leading choreographer for Disney on Ice, Cindy Stuart.
IDI’s work has been seen primetime on PBS stations across the United States. PBS broadcast “The World of Ice Dance International” and “In Flight: The Art of Ice Dance International” from 2018-2020. Performances from the two public television specials will be seen in Grace.
Friday, February 10, 2023
Queer artist MATHEW V announces new album 'ANYTHING GOES'
Today, Vancouver-based queer singer Mathew V announces Anything Goes, a new record that seeks to reframe the assumed heteronormative narratives of the Great American Songbook. Due out April 14 on 604 Records, Anything Goes takes standards by the likes of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Henry Mancini and draws out queer perspectives from the elegant imprecision of their timeless lyrics.
“Queer culture, gay history, and jazz music have a lot of parallels,” explains Mathew V. "Jazz music was vilified not just as a genre of music but as a lifestyle that society looked down upon. It was synonymous with sin. This music lives at the intersection of camp, glamor, and showmanship, which are all aspects that inform the very essence of my performance."
As the most traditional arrangement and delivery on the record, Mathew V’s take on George Gershwin’s “The Man I Love” pushes the boundaries of conventional jazz from the queer perspective. Of the process, Mathew says, “It's been exciting choosing songs like ‘The Man I Love,’ which a man like me may not have been able to sing when these songs were written,” and adds, “I’m at a place in my career and in my life that I not only want to sing at my highest caliber, but I want that music to come from my heart. I owe that to the little Mathew that was looking for this record all those years ago.”
“Queer culture, gay history, and jazz music have a lot of parallels,” explains Mathew V. "Jazz music was vilified not just as a genre of music but as a lifestyle that society looked down upon. It was synonymous with sin. This music lives at the intersection of camp, glamor, and showmanship, which are all aspects that inform the very essence of my performance."
As the most traditional arrangement and delivery on the record, Mathew V’s take on George Gershwin’s “The Man I Love” pushes the boundaries of conventional jazz from the queer perspective. Of the process, Mathew says, “It's been exciting choosing songs like ‘The Man I Love,’ which a man like me may not have been able to sing when these songs were written,” and adds, “I’m at a place in my career and in my life that I not only want to sing at my highest caliber, but I want that music to come from my heart. I owe that to the little Mathew that was looking for this record all those years ago.”
The Mellon Foundation Awards $1M Grant to Samora Pinderhughes to expand The Healing Project
Distributed over 38 months, the funding will go towards the expansion of art works in The Healing Project exhibition, the creation of a book version of The Healing Project, the continuation of THP’s exhibitions and free community programs, and the creation of additional albums & films. The grant also provides the initial funding for The Healing Project Transformative Impact Fund, which provides seed money and mentorship for selected interviewees who are currently or formerly incarcerated to work on their own special projects over the course of the grant, aiming to make their own dreams & goals come true.
Pinderhughes’ work encompasses over 10 years of recorded conversations with more than 100 people of color across 15 states about their experiences, stories and ideas surrounding healing from structural violence. By highlighting the specific stories of people such as Keith LaMar, Pitt Panther, and others who have urgent cases regarding their imprisonment, The Healing Project aims to shine light on their stories, show their brilliance, and ultimately help free them.
"We celebrate and support artists like Samora whose work transcends the confines of performing arts practice – experimenting with how their work is created, delivered, presented, and received” said Emil J. Kang, Mellon Foundation Program Director for Arts and Culture. “At Mellon, we aim to cultivate conditions that empower artists to center contemporary performance as a primary vehicle for their creativity."
Pinderhughes states: “With this funding, and this next iteration of The Healing Project, we aim to provide a blueprint for how music projects can expand, not just artistically, but in the ways that they materially change lives and policies. The heart of the work is in our belief in the freedom dreams of those who are currently and formerly incarcerated and our understanding that the deepest healing strategies come directly from those who have been traumatized and oppressed, and they never get the chance to make policy or build institutions. We aim to change that.”
In 2022 Pinderhughes released three integral elements of The Healing Project including his exhibition debut at The Yerba Buena Center for The Arts. The exhibit featured a constellation of creative works including films, sound works, physical pieces and contributed artworks from established artists like Titus Kaphar and currently incarcerated artists including Pitt Panther. The heart of the exhibition was the Surround Room, where the audio interviews that Pinderhughes conducted for The Healing Project were scored to original music presented in surround sound. The exhibition also included workshops and events, all free and open to the public, and free performances featuring Pinderhughes and special guests.
The critically acclaimed album GRIEF marked Pinderhughes’ debut as a vocalist and was written in the spirit of music from the ’60s and ’70s by artists like Nina Simone and Curtis Mayfield who made powerful statements about life and social justice through their music. The album was included in several “Best of 2022” lists including The New York Times and NPR.
Finally, the digital archive of the installation was also unveiled in 2022 as an open-source, mobile-friendly site built on AR/VR technology where people can listen directly to the recordings of The Healing Project interviewees scored to music. Pinderhughes created the digital archive alongside collaborators including Rafiq Bhatia, Chris Pattishall, Jack DeBoe and Adam O’Farrill, which features a brand-new visual world created by CRUX that site visitors can digitally walk through.
Victory! Lambda Legal Secures $372k Settlement in California HIV Medical Data Breach Case
The Superior Court of California (San Francisco) ordered final approval of a class action Settlement Agreement. As a result of the settlement in the class-action lawsuit Lambda Legal filed five years ago, each of the 93 Settlement Class Members are eligible to receive $4,000 in compensation for the potential data breach. Any remaining funds not disbursed to Settlement Class Members will be divided between two nonprofit organizations serving Californians living with HIV, APLA Health and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF), to be used exclusively for state-wide HIV advocacy work.
“We are pleased that this settlement will compensate those people whose trust was violated by this vulnerable maintenance of sensitive confidential medical information; it sends a clear message of the importance of proper care and management of this information. HIV-related stigma is still a major driver of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, so privacy interest in one’s HIV-positive status remains a priority issue. We hope this lawsuit has raised awareness of the importance of treating health information of people living with HIV, with extreme care and confidentiality, because unauthorized disclosure could increase risk for discrimination, harassment, or even loss of trust in health care providers. People living with HIV need to know who has access to their personal and private medical information, and that those who are handling this information will keep it safe and confidential,” said Kara Ingelhart, Senior Attorney at Lambda Legal.
“I’m relieved to see this case come to an end after my and others’ private medical information was improperly accessible to others. Unfortunately, there is a lot of stigma and discrimination attached to HIV-positive status, so breaches like these could jeopardize our safety and livelihoods. As members of already vulnerable communities—transgender people, women, people of color, undocumented people—we already overcome many barriers to access health care, so mishandling of our data creates community mistrust in the service providers. It is up to me to decide how and with whom I share my HIV status,” said Alan Doe, who is using a pseudonym for purposes of the lawsuit.
CDPH identified the 93 Settlement Class Members whose HIV-related medical information may have been accessed in the data breach and previously sent each of these class members notification in a letter by mail in 2017. CDPH has maintained the confidentiality of the full list of potentially impacted persons and has contracted with the Claims Administrator Kroll (Kroll) for authorized confidential use of the CDPH-held contact information to reach those 93 people individually and administer the class settlement agreement. Settlement Class Members may contact Kroll by phone at 1-833-512-2305.
The settlement comes five years after Lambda Legal filed the class-action lawsuit, arguing that vulnerabilities in the ADAP portal operated by A.J. Boggs may have led to unauthorized third parties accessing and viewing the private medical information of 93 Californians – including their HIV status – between August and December 2016. The enrollment process requires applicants to provide detailed information and access to their medical records, sensitive and confidential information that California state law requires not to be disclosed or disseminated without consent.
ADAP is part of the federal Ryan White CARE Act, through which states are eligible to receive federal funding to conduct a program that helps ensure access to HIV medications for lower-income people living with HIV who are not eligible for Medicaid and do not have an alternative source to obtain HIV medications at a reasonable cost. In California, approximately 30,000 people are enrolled in its ADAP.
Kara Ingelhart of Lambda Legal, joined by pro-bono co-counsel Kara L. Kapp of Cozen O’Connor are representing Alan Doe.
Thursday, February 9, 2023
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson Joins Lawmakers and Advocates in Michigan to Celebrate Legislation Ensuring LGBTQ+ Protections
Today, the President of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization – joined advocates, lawmakers, and press at the Michigan State Senate Office Building to discuss the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) amendments, which would modernize Michigan’s civil rights laws by including explicit protections for sexual orientation and gender identity in Michigan law. The bill, introduced by State Senator Jeremy Moss, passed out of committee today and is anticipated to pass the state Senate next week.
Volunteers and leaders from Equality Michigan, ACLU, HRC gather in front of Michigan’s capitol building.
Currently 29 states – including Michigan – do not have laws that explicitly protect LGBTQ+ people from discrimination. Although the Michigan Supreme Court ruled in favor of LGBTQ+ protections this past summer, this decision could be reversed by a future court ruling.
State Senator and ELCRA Bill Sponsor Jeremy Moss said the following:
“For far too long, LGBTQ+ Michiganders have not been able to live as their true and authentic selves here with equal protection under the law. Without employment and housing protections in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, our community is vulnerable to being kicked out of our economy as workers and consumers. By including sexual orientation and gender identity or expression as protected classes in the act, we signal that Michigan is a safe place to call home. This committee vote is a win for all of Michigan.”
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson said the following:
“This is nothing short of remarkable, this is the government working for the people and it's powerful. You can hear by every testimony, every story that was shared, this is about the fundamental values of being American. Restoring dignity, ensuring equality, ensuring fairness, and we can do that in the halls of government for everyone!
Being here in this space shows also the rest of the country what is possible. There are still 29 states that don’t have codified non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people in this country. Michigan isn’t going to be one of them for very much longer. This is setting the bar - setting the bar of what’s required, in a way that shows when you do legislation that sits with and centers the people of the state - it's good for business, it’s good for education, it's good for everyone. This is a powerful moment indicative of what happens when people come together to support the wellness of the whole. This is an important moment and HRC is so proud to stand alongside our partners.”
Equality Michigan Executive Director Erin Knott said the following:
“Listening to the business community today was such a thrill. We know the business community supports amending Elliott-Larsen. We know that it’s good for business, it’s good for retaining and attracting talent. But I don’t want to forget about the fact that you heard from me and the rest of the community last week. At Equality Michigan, our department of victim services gets calls from members of the LGBTQ+ community on a daily basis that are experiencing some form of discrimination, harassment, or a horrific act of violence. Today’s vote on the behalf of this committee sends a message to the LGBTQ+ community that they are valued, that they are loved, and that discrimination will not be tolerated anymore.
I heard today that there was concern about litigation and going to court. If that’s your concern, just don’t discriminate - it’s that simple”
HRC President Kelley Robinson, Equality Michigan Executive Director Erin Knott, ACLU of Michigan Legislative Director Merissa Kovach, and State Senator Jeremy Moss spoke after the hearing about the grassroots efforts to add explicit protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity over the decades since ELCRA was originally adopted. In the 2022 midterm elections, mobilization efforts of the Hate Won’t Win coalition, made up of Equality Michigan, HRC, ACLU, community centers and other organizations across the state, helped re-elect Governor Whitmer and elect a pro-equality legislative majority, resulting in movement on the ELCRA amendment for the first time in 40 years.
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