350. Sitanya Face
Actor and writer Alex Scelso brings the body hair along with intensely personal poetry slam performances onstage as Sitanya, paying homage to the creative Golden Age of bohemian drag and reminding the younger generations that splits, dips and stoned tights aren’t the only way to gag the gig. Right now you can mostly find her doing guest spots and competitions, but we don’t doubt something special lies in store for Ms. Face.
349. Marcia Marcia Marcia
Another breakout star of the competition circuit (she recently won the Halloween cycle of Lady Liberty at the Q), Marcia shows a shocking mastery of fashion, makeup, comedy and showmanship for such a young queen.
348. Angel Au
Always surprising us with drag mixes that could be funny, poignant, scary or all of the above, young performer Angel is already an exciting stage presence for competitions and guest spots, and a strong representative of the Asian trans community.
347. Mel Lennon
A stylish performer quite new to the queer music scene, Mel brings a soulfulness and sex appeal to everything he touches, including a sharp piano riff on Lagoona Bloo’s track “Greedy With My Love” and smooth choreography in the video for his own single “WERK,” from his debut 2021 EP OVERthinking Out Loud. We urge you to listen to our favorite song of Mel’s, “Night Ends” (a duet with French hottie DAPAW); it’s a vibe.
346. Kyle Motsinger
Known for his flair of theatricality in both his musical arrangements and live performances, bear favorite ginger songsmith Kyle is a GLAM nominee this year thanks to a fun video for his ode to vintage thrift shopping, “Retro.”
345. Olympia & Koko Nutwata
These two dancing divas became favorite guest and ensemble performers during lockdown when only a smattering of outdoor venues were hosting shows. Now that most venues have reopened, Olympia and Koko continue to tear it up all over New York and New Jersey.
344. Bianca Star
Keep your eyes on this relatively new-to-the-scene dancing queen, whom you can current find in a more stationary way as the Lady Liberty door goddess at The Q. She has a great attitude and is called “Star” for a reason.
343. Identity
Opened this summer as lockdown restrictions eased, Identity immediately filled a void long left in the Bronx. Restaurateur Aidan Loughran’s friendly neighborhood queer bar offers an atmosphere that caters to the very specific needs of its diverse community, producing lesbian nights, bingo, sexy dance parties with gogo boys and girls, and drag shows starring Misty Mountains and Kelly KaBoom. Time will tell how the new space will evolve, but locals seems pretty pleased with Identity’s early efforts.
342. Little Nella
The St. Louis native is proving to be a colorful, avant-garde addition to the New York drag competition circuit, and even had a show of her own in the form of a Dragula viewing party at Brooklyn’s Wonderville.
341. Jupiter Gallaxxi
With a Broadway sensibility and a punky, thrifty style, Neon Calypso’s drag daughter was one of the queens who emerged during lockdown performing in outdoor venues like 3 Dollar Bill. She’s since hosted Brooklyn shows of her own at spots like Nicky’s Unisex and City Reliquary, and was a Drag Diva brunch queen.
340. n0t listed
Iconic nightlife producer and recording artist Kayvon Zand emerged from “retirement” to join forces with singers / producers Josh Lumsden and Leo Henry on a series of original songs and music videos. It’s all tailor-made for the nightclub, with a cosmic, dreamy sound that sublimely drifts on R&B and EDM waves; their look is “space wizard cyberpunk” courtesy of scene designers like Pissy Pussy. The group’s members have released solo music before and after this collab, but since making their live performance debut at Thotyssey’s own “Night of 5000 Thots” in July, we all want to get on the list for n0t listed’s next group show.
339. Marilyn Monhoe
The towering Broadway diva made several appearances this year, amassed a sizeable following, performed in Bushwig, partook in several competition shows and made her solo hosting premiere at Upper West Side eatery Bustan. And this just in, she recently announced that she’s joining a production of KinkyBoots!
338. Coma White
The Long Island-based horror queen has been increasing her profile with several appearances and competition slots, while also gagging us with a ghoulishly glamorous Gram.
337. Young Viper
A fairly new artist who frequently performed with The Dragon Sisters before branching out on her own, runway model turned drag queen Viper brings something unique to the stage with her dramatic music choices and performance style. Catch her with the brunch and dinner queens of Lucky Chengs at Secret Room.
336. Bea Belize
This young Jersey queen premiered a show called “Werk Night” at Brooklyn’s Branded Saloon shortly before the Covid lockdown, then revamped it into a popular live web show on Instagram. Now that the world’s reopened, “Werk Night” has resurfaced at C’mon Everybody, and Bea’s guest performed in a few other shows as well.
335. Dotty Spartans
Westchester’s premiere spooky queen keeps busy hosting both a monthly drag showcase at Birdsall House in Peekskill and a horror podcast, “I Spit in Your Mouth.”
334. T-Boy
Always serving those OG East sounds and styles, T-Boy currently spins weekly at Phoenix Bar and the Lucky Chengs drag brunch.
333. MysterE Mel Kiki
One of NYC’s most prolific drag kings at the moment, the Haus of Kiki’s suave and stylish son can frequently be found turning it out in drag competitions, guest and door spots in venues across all the boroughs.
332. Eddie Wayne
A favorite bartender at Rockbar and a staple of the city’s bear scene, Eddie (aka Stevin) hosts the popular “HEFT” party, and back in March dropped one of the scene’s most nug-tastic videos for his groovy hit track “Instant Connection.”
331. Sucia
The multi-talented drag star’s been busy with a number of pop-up shows and brunches across town, and can now add “condiments maven” to her resume thanks to her homemade-to-order business Tia Sucia’s Salsa.
330. Stella D’oro
New York drag’s favorite auntie and longtime health activist remains a fixture at Barracuda’s long-running competition show “Star Search,” even as the host reigns passed down this year from Tina Burner to Kizha Carr. Showing that she can turn it to a new number with the same gusto as a comedy mix or classic standard, Stel’s one of the show’s most frequent winners as well. Now she’s also a regular co-host for Heather Wood’s Star Trek viewing parties, also at Barracuda.
329. Astala Vista
Known for bringing drag to restaurants, banquet halls and pubs across outer New Jersey and for her general professionalism and vivid style, Astala enlarged her profile even more when she competed on the game show Frogger (based on the old video game) which airs on the Peacock streaming service.
328. JRoc
The DJ Zaddy became quite busy in 2021, spinning weekly dance parties at Boxers and Toolbox.
327. Vanity Ray
This radiant young queen is a frequent guest performer at venues in both New York and New Jersey, and hosts “Showtime” a few nights a month at Jersey City’s Six 26. But perhaps even more importantly these days, Vanity has one of the most eye-catching Instagram layouts in cyberspace.
326. Andy Starling
With a rep for Old Hollywood glamor and a classic repertoire, drag queen Andy’s 2021 highlights included her hilarious take on Maggie Simpson in a revival of The Simsinz show at The Caveat (which she created and starred in alongside a troupe of sisters), as well as a recreation of Marilyn Monroe’s iconic Seven Year Itch look (see above) that accompanied a photoshoot and a performance at The Q.
325. Unkle Spooky
New York’s answer to horror hosts in the vein of Elvira and Vampira, Spooky terrified us with horror movie and Dragula viewing parties at Fire Island’s Ice Palace and Brooklyn’s Pine Box Rock Shop, as well as a popular Zoom watchalong.
324. Ginger Von Snap
A fashion forward young queen who fits in seamlessly with both the Brooklyn and Manhattan scenes, Ginger annoyed the girls back home in North Carolina with her fast progression in drag. The momentum continues as she progresses to be one of our city’s more popular guest queens, thanks to her fun fashions and performances.
Keeping the spirit of glam rock alive in NYC are these two fierce live performers, who rock seperately and often together along with a full bands and a cadre of like-minded friends in venues such as Arlene’s Grocery (where a Christmas show evolved into a surprise birthday party for their mutual bestie Sharon Needles) and Eris Evolution. Greko is the baby-faced Mod who got a GLAM nom last year for his original song that he performed with nightlife and rock legends, and Michael is an epic nightlifer known for chanelling David Bowie who’s kikied with all the legends in all the legendary places. The pair also DJ at Beauty Bar in the EV, and guarantee an old school badass New York night wherever they show up.
322. Crystal Comedowns
An old school drag diva known for her dancing and punk fashions who ruled Lips and the East Village, Crystal recently resurfaced as an iconic competitor for competition shows like “Polish the Queen.” She’s since become a hostess once again on weekends for a gogo boy party at the recently-closed XOXO Bar, and we have no doubt we’ll see a Comedowns Comeback in a nearby venue soon enough.
321. Atlas Social Club
One of Hell’s Kitchen’s more loungy and laid back destinations, Atlas did a pretty good job of surviving the doldrums of post-lockdown (and an “attack” from a random pyro nutter) thanks to a large and loyal community of regulars. Having gorgeous bartenders doesn’t hurt either, and now it’s also the weekly Tuesday home of *ahem* Thotyssey and Shane Cherry’s game night, “Level Up!”
320. Civilization
The GLAM-nominated door queen of events like Devo Monique’s weekly “Dream Queen” at Metro, Civilization is one of a handful of recent Boston transplants to shake up the NYC scene. Certainly her style on and off stage makes her an eye-catching standout.
319. DJ Vescovo
Known for a while as a good time Fire Island DJ, the adorbs Vescovo can now be seen and heard more frequently right here in the city thanks to regular gigs like “Pop Rave” at The Q and “Ultramaroon” at Blue Midtown.
318. Ruby Slay Monroe
All eyes are on this sexy young dance queen as she twirls her way through shows in both her native Long Island and all of New York’s gayborhoods. She’s also now part of Lucky Chengs‘ drag brunch and dinner shows at Secret Room, and is apparently ready to start dropping original music as well.
317. Mikey Mo
Despite a hearing deficiency that he often discusses, Steve Sidewalk’s DJ prodigy’s certainly has what it takes to turn the party out in venues like The Ritz and Asbury Park’s Georgies Bar.
316. Fancy Drew
The furry femme fatale who wowed the crowd as an Ultimate Drag Pageant contestant back in the West End days, Fancy became an official brunch queen at The Liberty NYC this year.
315. Aaliyah Martinez
Known as a frequent contestant (and winner of Miss Gay United States in 2018) and major advocate for national drag pageantry’s systems, Aaliyah is one of the few queens to maintain a popular digital show (on Saturdays, no less) post-lockdown. In fact, her work with pageants is so highly regarded that she was nominated for Best Vocalist for the Let’s Talk Pageants forum’s People’s Choice Awards.
314. Oliver Herface
The gothic punk rock king / thing is proving himself to be a solid and lasting entertainer and producer, with frequent showcases at diverse venues like Club Cumming and Starr Bar. And this just in, Oliver won a preliminary round of Lady Liberty at The Q as well, and headlined a king night at HUSH.
313. Candy Buttons
Holly Dae’s monthly co-host at Monster, the bright-bearded Candy is now also a bar manager there; in fact, she’s GLAM-nominated for Best Bartender this year.
312. Queen Robert
As much of a stage and screen actor as they are a drag queen, Queen Robert’s hyper realistic appearance as Divine in a Studio 54 segment of the Netflix mini-series Halston led to several turns as the drag legend for various nightlife gigs. Beyond Divine, the former Rosemont bartender Robert also starred in the play Cory & Smin’s Love Conquers the Earth, and was the recipient of an all-star drag birthday roast at Good Judy in October.
311. Robin Rose Quartz
Another rising star who emerged as a performer during the limited capacity outdoor shows of lockdown, Robin is now a strong presence in the competition show circuit and a favorite guest performer. Meanwhile, her Instagram is a vivid and creatively cultivated lookbook of drag fierceness.
310. Kia Karr
Once a regular karaoke performer at the old Boots & Saddle, the hairstylist who would become Kia Karr is now a popular karaoke hostess herself at both Boxers in Chelsea and Six 26 in Jersey City.
309. Jack Tracy
The podcaster and web series star / producer is also a recording artist and live performer known for steamy, stylish and polished music videos. In just these past few months he’s released two of his sexiest clips, (“Daddy Made It” and “Overdrive“) that had even racier versions available exclusively on OnlyFans.)
308. Davida Jones
Crowned Homecoming Queen at the start of one of Fire Island’s biggest seasons in years, the loveably kooky comedienne Davida has won a large fandom both in Cherry Grove (where she hosted karaoke at The Island Breeze) and here in NYC. For a reasonable sampling of the Davida experience, watch the music video for her original song “Fabalous.”
307. Jette Grey
Apparently changing her performing name to “Ember Suxx” to reflect her very popular online porn presence, then recently revealing that was all a ruse to expose peoples’ untoward behavior towards sex workers and that she was Jette once more, this electrifying Brooklyn showgirl certainly knows how to keep us engaged and on our toes.
306. Angel Elektra & Shay D’Pines
We’ll deeply miss this loveable on and offstage pair of Yonkers comedy queens, who kept the drag scene alive in their city throughout quarantine thanks to their homebase restaurant Guapo’s outdoor seating capacity, and who were always quick to join a benefit or do what they could for a good cause. They’ve recently relocated to Miami where they already seem to be slaying the game, and next year we’ll likely be focusing more on their Guapo show’s successors Kitty Kaboodlez and Sasha Renee.
305. Dexter Driscoll
As of this writing, we’re looking forward to hearing new musical selections from Greenwich Village’s Elven Prince of Dreampop. In the meantime we can catch him hosting, DJing and performing in the venues Rockbar and Nowhere, the former of which is where he’s also the weekly karaoke host.
304. Phoebe Jeebies
Serving vintage vibes much like her drag mom Gloria Swansong with her own unique spin, the graceful Ms. Jeebies became The Toolbox’s weekly bingo mistress this year.
303. Lola Ceilings
Hardware Bar’s towering Bar Babe, musical theater maestro and renown pumpkin carver Brent donned drag to host a happy hour show with fellow tall queen Lexington Banks early in the year. The show’s had a few name changes over time (now it’s called “Through the Roof”) and often functions as a Drag Race viewing party, but remains a popular and fun local drag destination today.
302. Lambda Lounge
Having launched their own indie vodka label Lambda Vodka, queer Black entrepreneurs Charles Hughes and Richard Solomon had the bravery and wisdom to make their next step opening what would be only one of two Black-owned queer bars in the city. Then along came Covid, and Lambda Lounge’s grand opening in Harlem was forced to be a lot less grand than the gorgeous new space deserved. However, the venue has survived and thrived, and is now a hub for queer uptown programming, networking and good vibes.
301. J’royce Jata
The stage actor, dancer and recording artist has been entertaining us with chill, soulful beats for a few years now. In September J’royce released the EP Quartz which continued this smooth, albeit dark and moody, vibe; videos for singles “2CUTE” and “Wasted” featured intense visuals and choreography, as well as colorful turns from scene folks like God Complex.
Thotyssey 