Be queer. Be brave. Leave the real flames at home. Those are the rules at Smoke & Queers, the troupe that built its own burlesque stage when nobody else would build one for them.
Read MoreAnd Then There Were None Louisville opens Sept 4-13 at Highview Arts Center with queer director Joy Beth DeWitt-Riley and a mostly LGBTQ+ cast.
Sex-positive Ohio LGBTQ+ print magazine nymph(o) returns with Issue 4 on August 29, exploring collective liberation through art, poetry, and photography rooted in the vision of activist Fannie Lou Hamer.
Throughout the weekend, attendees can expect nationally and locally recognized performers, drag entertainers, DJs, community organizations, small businesses, food vendors, networking opportunities, and experiences that celebrate the richness and diversity of the Black LGBTQ+ community.
TBALLER, a Northern Kentucky artist blending funk, pop and queer self-expression, talks influences, identity and his upcoming EP.
The “I’m Feeling Queer Today” podcast returns July 30 for Season 4, with young LGBTQ+ hosts interviewing writers, drag artists, and storytellers shaping queer culture. The show is a free artistic mentorship program through The Future Perfect Project, a nonprofit co-founded by Celeste Lecesne of The Trevor Project.
Pikeville native Samantha Ratcliffe draws on her Appalachian roots, the punk scene, and the literary community to write poetry and music that pushes back against hatred and harmful stereotypes. Her upcoming thesis collection explores what it means to live openly as a queer person in the South.
Founded by Louisville artist Tayzzy, the event features R&B performers Baby Grace, Just Joey, and Penny Marguax, plus face painting, tarot readings, and local vendors LOUISVILLE, KY — On Thursday, July 23, from 7:00–11:00 PM, Louisville’s Jubilee Field will transform into a vibrant celebration of music, creativity, and community during the inaugural Love Out Loud […]
LGBTQ+ youth ages 13 to 23 are invited to a four-day residency at ACT Louisville to help shape a new musical about queer history. Applications close July 13.
Poet Melissa Helton found her queerness, her voice, and her found home in Appalachia, and she’s using all three to challenge stereotypes and turn rage into art.
A community is finding ways to honor Murry Foust, the transgender Northern Kentucky University art student who went missing and was later found dead in Wilder, Kentucky, almost a month later. Foust was a 22-year-old artist from Crescent Springs, Kentucky. In the weeks since they were found, the outpouring of love from the Cincinnati and […]
Louisville’s Kentuckiana Pride announced late Tuesday night that it would no longer have gay celebrity DJ Eliad Cohen of Miami Beach perform during its annual event on June 20 as part of its entertainment lineup that also included Drag Race superstar Alaska and other acts. Cohen served in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the country’s […]
In a time of political backsliding, artists are at the forefront fighting against white patriarchal ideals with acts of rebellious queerness and authenticity. One singer in particular, Cain Culto, blends unapologetic queerness and witchy aesthetic—long fingernails, grills with tusks, and jockstraps—with music that takes on themes of sexuality, battling colonialism, and healing his inner child. […]
National Queer Theater opens applications for global queer playwriting program.
Kentucky artist John Brooks explores memory, queerness, and time in his evolving artwork.
Lane Rogers, known as Blake Mitchell, a proud Kentuckian, died at 31 after a motorcycle accident.
Jen Tullock’s new play blends Kentucky roots, queer faith, and storytelling with deep compassion.
Davis Shoulders’ Queer Communion explores queer faith, identity, and resilience in Appalachia.
Sasha Velour brings “The Big Reveal Live Show” to Louisville for a night of drag and art.
Shapeshifting, Exploring Queer Identity, Code-Switching, and the Art of Self-Expression.
Louisville’s Time Slip Theatre opens 12th Rocky Horror run Oct. 17-Nov. 1 at PLAY | $15
Explore our Northern Kentucky Special Issue—street art, drag, affirming businesses, and Bourbon & Belonging—celebrating queer people and places across the region.
Actors Theatre of Louisville names queer leaders Amelia Acosta Powell and Emily Tarquin to top roles.
Trans Kentuckian share their journeys navigating HRT through clinics and DIY routes.
A gathering of raw, radiant voices: Kentucky’s trans youth share stories of truth and care.
This issue isn’t about policy debates — it’s testimony, resistance, and survival. Kentucky’s trans youth wrote and designed this magazine themselves, speaking directly to their peers and communities. “Protect. Trans. Youth.”
Delusiona Grandeur redefines drag with sex work, satire, blood, glitter, and defiance.
Queer Appalachian artist Sam Gleaves explores love, roots and truth on new album “Honest.”
Dustin Hall’s art reclaims Appalachian memory, queerness, and grief through layered materials.
Photographer Trish Gibson captures Appalachian grief, trauma, and queer identity through film.
Kentucky Shakespeare casts non-binary actor as Hamlet, debuting first queer romance on its stage.
Louisville Orchestra spotlights LGBTQ+ voices in new Pride songwriting concert June 20.
Every Memorial Day weekend, something extraordinary happens in Paducah: queer women from across the country and around the world gather for Cinema Systers Film Festival, the only all-lesbian film festival in the United States. In a town known for quilting and riverboats, this four day celebration of lesbian filmmakers has quietly and powerfully carved out […]
What do you get when you pair up a documentary photographer invested in subcultures like hardcore music and wrestling with an anti-disciplinary queer artist?
What’s your favorite scary movie? If you’re a Kentucky queer, that answer may soon be “Horrified,” a meta-horror comedy on track to film in Bowling Green and Lexington next year. Los Angeles-based queer director and writer Mike Zara is behind the film, and it stars Hallmark superstar Aimee Teegarden, renowned for her roles in “Friday Night […]
BLINK Cincinnati brings lights and queerness to the Northern Kentucky region.
This story is part of ISSUE 05: Reimagining Masculinity. The magazine is available for purchase here.I struggle with understanding my own masculinity. Constantly, I am reminded in passing of my physical “unmanliness” whether it be in regards to my style of choice or how my attention to more feminine beauty regimens. I am not ashamed […]
Tickets and season subscriptions to Pandora Productions fifth show season celebrating queerness, relationships, and love are now live. Gil Reyes, producing artistic director for Pandora audiences are in for a fun and meaningful season. The stellar “MONSTER 2024-2025” themed season presented itself naturally and organically. “We had our calendar slots set before the selection of […]
Yayoi Kusama takes self-reflection literally. Her immersive experience, “LET’S SURVIVE FOREVER,” offers Kentuckians 90 seconds of unbridled introspection. The room, filled with angular and spherical mirrors, also reflects the unique lens with which Kusama engages the world. Born in Nagano Prefecture, Japan, Kusama moved to New York in 1957, where she lived and supported the […]
After selling out Kentuckiana Pride last week, pop sensation Chappell Roan has dipped her pink pony toes back into the Kentuckiana community, however this time she worked with regional native Gunnar Deatherage on the perfect dress for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The Project Runway alum took some time to chat with Queer Kentucky […]
photos by Brett Loudermilk I Will Follow You to BG ‘Cause That’s What Us Boys Are For In 2022, I stumbled upon an Instagram post of a sun-kissed bronze, tatted, and otteresque artist, Zain Curtis. He had recently gained notoriety from screen printing T-shirts with blood infused paint to raise awareness of the homophobic blood […]
It’s a complex question that traverses the realms of politics, media, and personal identity. In today’s world, where male lawmakers legislate against women’s bodies and entire American cities are banning queerness in public, masculinity can feel overwhelmingly like an oppressive force. However, amidst this narrative, masculinity can sometimes also symbolize rebellion, strength, and provide a […]
This story is part of ISSUE 05: Reimagining Masculinity. The magazine is available for purchase here. As a trans man, I’ve been asking myself for years what it means to be a man and to be masculine. This is one of the things that led me to creating this piece, which originated from the time […]
In case you didn’t know, Covington is bursting with queerness. From their downtown rainbow crosswalks, ever-growing queer-owned businesses sprinkled on Main Street, and flamboyant theater productions, the Northern Kentucky city is an underrated queer-friendly mecca. No one knows this better than Carnegie Theater Director and queer culture leader, Tyler Gabbard. “People are friendly here,” the […]
Highview Arts Center