Intro
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250. Prada G. Major
2024 marked the tenth and apparently final year of Prada’s “Don’t M.S. With Major” show that benefits the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (Prada was diagnosed with M.S. years ago, but never allowed the condition to hold her back). It’s also apparently the year that she’s decided to end her decade-plus running Saturday night West Village show (originally at Boots & Saddle, then moved to Stonewall after Boots’ closure). Ms. Major’s certainly earned the rest, but hopefully we won’t be missing out on her dancing and comedy forever. [Update: we’re well into January ’25 and she’s still kicking it weekly at Stonewall.]
249. Bertha Vanayshun
A 2024 Glam nominee for Best Comedy Performer, Bertha serves some wildly unexpected and goofy performances that bely her chic, glamorous looks. That’s all on display in “Jack-Offs,” her twice-monthly residency at Brooklyn’s Sandy Jacks. For something a bit more educational and produced, look out for Bertha’s “Drag Story Hour” shows at C’mon Everybody where she and the guest cast serve numbers themed to a “lesson.”
248. BaeJing
A makeup artist by day who is her own canvas by night, this fierce queen makes any party brighter whether she’s turning numbers onstage or beats from the DJ booth. Bae was busy in both capacities this year as one third of of Fresco’s “Whisky & Wasabi” show cast, the DJ for Brookyn parties “The Ki” and “Hawt Topic,” and a Bushwig performer among other gigs.
247. Linda Simpson
Note to newbies: not all drag queens are lip synchers! Linda is a longtime legendary hostess of special nightlife parties and events dating back to the glorious big club and bohemian cabaret days. But perhaps more importantly in recent times, she stands out as an important drag and NYC nightlife historian thanks to thousands of casual photos of friends and moments she took through the era of her 80’s-90’s come-up. Linda’s since repurposed those images into slideshows, panel events, exhibits, and ultimately in print–where she has experience also, as she happens to be the creator of another vital nightlife record, the zine My Comrade. Linda released two publications to the public this year, all while maintaining her “Linda Loves Bingo” nights at The Broadway Bar in Nordstroms.
246. Sissies of Mercy
Vileblood and Fruitbat share a macabre aesthetic, a growingly rabid fanbase and a cross-genre DJ sound, as well as residencies at Trans-Pecos and Gabriela.
245. Porsche
Porsche’s more than just just an iconic live singing drag queen… she’s an entire Fire Island Institution! 2024 saw the completion of another successful summer of Porsche shows at Cherry’s on the Bay, and the final season under that venue’s longtime owner, Jacque Piazza. Throughout the other months of the year, the place to see Porsche is Sayville’s Station Pub, where she performs monthly.
244. Maya Margarita
Formerly known as DJ Br0nz3_g0dd3ss, the magnificent Maya continues to be an in demand beatmistress who frequently spins big local parties like “Body Hack” and major events like the November Ali Forney Center “SERVE” benefit at Knockdown. She’s also a fashion model and stage performer who has joined the casts of a number of Brooklyn shows, and even starred in a few installments of a stage show she created and headlined, Stupid But Cute But Sexy & a Little Mysterious, at The Broadway and Paragon.
243. M. Samurai
We picked the rare hatless photo for DJ Michael “M. Samurai” Molina here, but we’re sure you don’t mind. Samurai fought his way to the top level of the DJ temple in 2024, is currently a resident at Rebar and Fresco’s Grand Cantina, and played several of the final weeks of Boxers HK’s weekend party “Bops.”
242. Motherdisco
The Christopher Street Reader and Emil Cohen are the DJ duo behind this party brand that pulls vibes from the sexiest disco beats to shake the asses and freak the nasty of the young and the grown alike. Motherdisco had great runs at 3 Dollar Bill and The Ice Palace throughout 2024, and ended the year spinning with the top notch “Body Shop” lineup at The Chocolate Factory.
241. Spindarella & Civilization
Fresco’s fiery game night girl Spindarella is a fierce dancer and performer who otherwise regularly performs in Brooklyn. When she joins forces with equally fierce, ex-Bostonite “Demonic Banjee Kunt” Civilization, they are cxnt… “Cxnty Creations” that as, a production team that’s given us many fun drag show tributes to everything from To Wong Foo to Flavor of Love to the Miss Continental pageantry system.
240. Mambiché
The Puerto Rican born drag queen, event producer and photographer has had a banner year: an extensive photo gallery of gorgeous Bushwig performers, the weekend “GLOW” party she produced at The Rosemont, and most recently hosting Metropolitan’s hot new Thursday “And What About It?” weekly kiki.
239. Sean McMahill
Best known for the popular party ‘Yes Homo” at C’mon Everybody and other nights there and at sister bar Good Judy, DJ Sean has come a long way since his breakthrough “Fire In The Hole” ginger worshipfest at Nowhere Bar (although, gloriously, he did bring that one back for a one-off at C’mon back in June).
238. Michael Musto
New York nightlife’s most prolific writer, critic and media personality–and the go-to guy for cable news with a great anecdote about a recently deceased celeb–Michael was as busy in 2024 as he was through the past several decades. His articles were published in The Village Voice and on a number of freelance platforms, he won his millionth Glam Award and was the was the recipient of a Jim Owles Gay Pride Award, he emceed a number of events, performed with Dorothy Bishop at the Triad and for City Winery NYC’s The Stonewall Jukebox: A Documentary Concert event, and even started up a new celebrity feud! (Well not really, but it made for a fun post).
237. Shia Ho
The sexy / busy diva served us several steamy morsels of drag and production this year; she one third of Fresco’s “Whisky & Wasabi” monthly Asian queen drag show (alongside Angel Au and BaeJing), produces a recurring tribute to Studio Ghibli anime (“Studi-Ho Ghibli,” of course) at C’mon Everybody, took part in several large cast shows at 3 Dollar Bill, and produced the large AAPI drag showcases “Club East” and “Made in Asia” at 3DB with Jiggly Caliente.
236. Damn Steven
Beginning as a party host associated with Papito Suave’s events like Hush Bar’s “NSFW,” the Haus of Muse’s Steven has becoming a noteworthy producer in his own right best known for the Glam-nominated “Mercury in Reggaeton” (co-produced by Lucas Skywalker) which was alternately held at Elsewhere, SILO and The Chocolate Factory in 2024.
235. Sam Gee
Popular in the circuit and “circuit adjacent” scene for his hot DJ beats and remarkable looks, ex-gogo boy Sam spins parties and venues the world over throughout the year. When in town, he can most likely be found at The Eagle NYC, but has also played True Colors in Jackson Heights and Red Eye in Manhattan.
234. The Cake Boys
Rapper / DJ Senerio and star kings Sweaty Eddie and Muscles Monty were among the original production team that created this network of drag kings and things in the city (a third creator king, Richard, is currently busy with school) and the monumental king / thing competition “Takes the Cake.” In more recent times they exist as a Glam-nominated performing trio who recently concluded a monthly gig at Metropolitan to prepare for the next step of their evolution. Separately, Senerio continues to work on music, bartends at Metro and Macri, and produces events like the recurring “Wallbreaker” benefit show and the soon-to-return “Queer Talent Show” (we hosted that! It was fun!); Muscles takes part in lots of Brooklyn shows; and same goes for Sweaty, who is also a brilliant in-demand animator and artist.
233. Joe Fiore
While it began humbly at New York’s LGBTQ Center as one of the first ever bear parties, Fiore’s “Furball” is now a globally recognized, sexy big boy circuit party. These days, a recurring version of it can be found at The Eagle NYC with a roster of amazing DJs. Joe also runs “Underbear” now, a successful monthly underwear party at Rockbar.
232. Boy Radio
One of NYC nightlife’s most talented and photogenic performers, Radio has us sweating in anticipation for his forthcoming album Himboism which he’s spent much of this year working on. He still found time to grace us with a few events throughout the year including sexy C’mon Everybody parties “Himbo,” “Super Hole” and “Bike Jock Disco” as well as starring as the titular Frank N. Furter in the Fire Island Pines-based Rocky Horror shadowcast “Frank.” Also, check out Radio as a screen actor! He was in Fantasmas on HBO and Todd Verow’s You Can’t Stay Here.
231. Dallas DuBois
When Dallas returned to the drag world, and more specifically the pageant world, years after her “retirement,” all the girls were shook and knew they’d have a powerful contender to smite on their path to the crown (well, that’s our dramatic interpretation, at any rate). They might not have been prepared for just how powerful, though–Dallas went on to place in several major pageants, won Fire Island Entertainer of the Year ’22 and ’23, Miss Hammonton 2023 and most recently South Florida Entertainer of the Year 2024. Combining her eye for high glamour and mouth for blue comedy with a timeless physicality, Dallas is always so fun to watch on any stage, bar or pageant.
230. Lacy Stoner
The artist and performer has become a lot more associated with the bear scene in recent years, and also a lot busier. Lacy was a host and performer for both The Urban Bear’s monthly event “Bear Naked” at Phoenix and the sexy pic-centric monthly “Noodz” at Rockbar, and his self-produced underwear party “BEEF” has been bringing all the boys out to Astoria’s Albatross each month.
229. Daniella Darling
We’re not sure as of this writing which of Daniella’s three nominations will turn out wins at the January 2025 Glam Awards ceremony, but she is hands down one of the true Breakthrough Artists of 2024. Daniella just has that beauty, poise, talent and presence that keeps your eyes firmly on her whether she’s serving lip sync, a classic feathery burlesque moment or just sitting on a bar stool. She works constantly and contributes to shows in all the gayborhoods; notably, she co-hosts “Double D” with Didi Opulence monthly at All Night Skate, and the former “T-Girl Tuesdays” at Boxers HK. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for Daniella; it will certainly be bright and beautiful.
228. Temple Grandé
The hairy-larious and follically fabulous Mx. Rockbar 2024 hosted her pageant-prized show “Vespers” and a monthly show at Icon Astoria, performed with the NYC Gay Men’s Chorus, and twirled for several prominent Urban Bear events in ’24.
227. Alpha Moses
Besides DJing hot weekend parties at Balcon and Boxers, recording artist and musician Alpha’s most thot-tastic moment of 2024 was the release of his single “Icon,” a sexy ode to House and ballroom with an aptly iconic Glam nominated video starring a cast of New York’s drag superstars in the making.
226. Bright Light Bright Light
A musical artist whose recordings often ooze with vintage sex but still feel fresh and new, Rod “Bright Light Bright Light” Thomas dropped Enjoy Youth to great reviews and streams in May. His live shows took him to Joe’s Pub, back to his native Wales, Seattle Pridefest and other destination. He additionally streamed some of his creative homemade mashups on his socials, and continues to get the kids up and moving for his weekly “Romy & Michele’s Saturday Afternoon Tea Dance” at Club Cumming.
225. Nani Tsunami
Nani’s a comedy queen who boldly mashes juicy stage presence with dry wit. We popped into the first anniversary of “GRRRL On Gworl,” the monthly VERS Bar show she co-hosts with Vanity LaVain, and it was a packed, engaged audience… no easy feat for a Tuesday night! Nani also co-hosted the Hush Bar weekly “The Cookout” earlier in the year, and occasionally takes the stage for “Spotlight Mondays” at Industry.
224. Archangel
The internationally booked DJ is perhaps best known here in New York as the producer of “Body Hack,” a popular monthly queer femme / trans-centric monthly happy hour market with rave afterparty at Nowadays.
223. God Complex
One third of the cast of C’mon Everybody’s popular “Fagnet” monthly, God is a prolific Brooklyn drag / burlesque / circus performer with a dark edge who is much in demand for show casts in need of that shadowy flavor. A crowning 2024 achievement was “Absolutely Kunst,” a “maximal” stage production he presented in April at House of Yes, where he regularly performs.
222. Pink Pancake
Starting 2024 strongly with the now-Glam nominated Today You Are a Man–an autobiographical one woman stage show they wrote, produced and performed in at The Tank–Pink kept up the perfect blend of smart, sexy and silly throughout the year. The Duplex in the West Village became a home base for several shows, as did Red Eye for the recurring queer comedy show “Pinkakke.” Pink also performed with sis Plasma at The McKittrick Hotel in May, and buttered up the Bushwig stage in September.
221. Adriana Trenta
She’s the third queen on this list that we must point out that y’all have slept on over the years, given her keen eye for big fashion moments and genuine comedic flair. But she’s got the system beat! While Adriana has appeared in a number of large cast shows, she’s also a top DJ in the scene now–spinning dance parties and supporting drag shows at Barracuda, Icon and Fresco’s Grand Cantina, and often dropping the soundtrack to your meals and drinks at The Dickens.
220. Morabito
A major draw for EDM fans the world over, this veteran DJ and producer has played in countless cities and festivals. When in town, Morabito often rocks the nest at The Eagle NYC, take charge of the Fire Island Pines Pavilion a few times in the summer, and recently launched the recurring after hours rager “Sanctum” with DJ disciple Bare Naked.
219. Petti Cash
Deftly weaving glamor and comedy chops with acrobatic dance spectacle, Petti was the perfect drag entertainer for hosting gigs as diverse as dance parties at Icon, shows with Ruby Roo at Playhouse and trivia at Fresco’s Grand Cantina. She was also tailor-made to slay the summer weekend Pool Shows at the Ice Palace on Fire Island. But she has now Cashed it in! Petti took a big step away from drag after this summer, and as of this writing is now bartending at The Dickens. Hopefully not too much time will pass before the next Petti Party! [Update: Petti returned to the drag stage to fill in for Ruby at Pieces Bar’s “Frisky Fridays” for a night in January 2025.]
218. Nora Burns
The 70s NYC disco party girl evolved over time into a prolific stage figure, both as one third of the comedy trio Unitard and with her own penned productions like David’s Friend, a memory play dedicated to her titular bestie during that disco era, and the Glam-nominated The Village: A Disco Daydream (starring several nightlifers) that loosely fictionalizes that period of her life. These two plays were brought to the Soho Playhouse this year for acclaimed simultaneous revivals over the summer. With material that deftly balances laugh-out-loud comedy with the bittersweetness of nostalgia and the reality of grief, Nora’s work appeals across generations. We look forward to seeing what’s next.
217. Chola Spears
A Britney Spears enthusiast with a punk rock edge, an occasional bop maker and a comedy queen who can squeeze a few dozen laughs from a quick facial expression, Chola enjoyed her post-Mx. Rockbar reign with a fun new venture at Hardware Bar in Hell’s Kitchen: “Skinny Brunch,” which she co-hosts with Harriet Tugsmen every Sunday. You can also catch her at the nearby Boxers HK hosting karaoke every other Wednesday, and she pops up at Icon in Astoria frequently as well.
216. Aja
The Brooklyn dance / drag innovator turned Drag Race alum (Season 9 in 2017, All-Stars 3 in 2018), rap recording artist, spiritualist, and ultimate ballroom star Aja Miyake-Mugler has been in a constant state of evolution for as long as we’ve known her… and throughout that process has never once been boring. 2024 was no different: seeing Aja travel and tour, offer spicy unfiltered commentary about drag and Drag Race and life as she knows it on podcasts and social media, and prestigiously winning “Femme Queen Runway of the Year” at the Miyake-Mugler Ballroom Awards in September. She also performed several times with 3 Dollar Bill’s “OTA” weekly, and… could we be seeing her return to our TV screens soon?
215. Mauve & Evangeline
This potent power couple of nightlife keep it dynamic both on the stage and from their producer chairs. Mauve is one third of C’mon Everybody’s “Fagnet” trio (along with God Complex and Showponii–Evangeline often DJs) who bring queer monthly joy to the children. The pair helmed Dromedary’s recurring “Knick Knacks” variety show as well as the gender swapping drag competition “Sex Change” which recently resurfaced at Purgatory, and they’ve added something special to tons of large cast Brooklyn shows throughout the year.
214. Gingy
While remaining adjacent to his native musical theater interests, Gingy has also evolved into one of nightlife’s most valued DJ talents working with drag shows and dance parties alike at Icon Astoria, Rise, Playhouse and The Dickens. More importantly, he’s the city’s proper authority on Elaine Stritch drag, so respect.
213. 9th Ave Saloon
One of the best news items of post-Covid NYC nightlife was the reopening of the 9th Avenue Saloon, a no frills Hells Kitchen watering hole (“no frills” being a novelty in the drag drenched gayborhood) with an engaging staff, digital jukebox and sexy Tom of Finland chrome wallpapered bathrooms. It’s the rare HK space for mingling with regulars, tourists and incognito out of drag performers alike.
212. Angela Mansberry
“NYC’s Campy Killer Queen” serves a healthy dose of classic, sharp, silly drag with the slightest dollop of potential murder. Angela’s primarily an Astoria bingo queen these days, rolling our balls at Albatross, Kween and Alewife, and was also a Mx. Rockbar finalist in November.
211. Myster E. Mel Kiki
Winning a Glam Award for Best Drag King in 2023 after years of that category being excluded from the show was an important milestone both for Mel and male presenting drag in general, and the start of a great year for him. He’s since guest performed in many shows and joined several ensembles, shared the stage with Sasha Velour for an installment of the prestigious “Nightgowns,” co-hosted a Stonewall Invasion, launched a monthly brunch at Fresco’s with fellow king Showponii, and won another first-time-presented-ever award in September when he was crowned Mr. Bushwig.
210. Joe Michael
Busy during the week as an MTV producer, Joe generally crams all of his DJing into weekend gigs like the Saturday drag show “Chaotic” at Hardware with Brie Bordeaux and Stasi as well as Nick Laughlin’s monthly Red Eye-based bear party “Goldiloxx.” Other than that, check his socials; Joe can likely be spinning anywhere–3 Dollar Bill, Metropolitan, The Rosemont and Playhouse to name a few possibilities.
209. Avant Garbage
With Astoria game nights at Albatross, Icon and Kween and an outrageously creative array of prop-centric numbers and “trash”-adjacent looks, Avant has deftly carved out her own niche of drag expression and fandom over the years. She’s recently delved deeper into helming larger cast productions as part of the team behind Midnight at 6, which presented shadowcast odes to Reefer Madness, Rock Horror and Hocus Pocus in Astoria this year.
208. Vanity LaVain
Olivia Lux’s stunning drag child recently enjoyed the first anniversary of “GRRRL On Gworl,” the monthly show she co-hosts with Nani Tsunami at Hell’s Kitchen’s VERS, as well as the launch of her new monthly at Fresco’s, “Show Time.” Vanity’s also a frequent performer for Industry Bar’s “Spotlight Mondays,” hosted her own Christmas stage show at The Rat NYC, vied for Miss Monster in March, and is preparing her Miss Paradise package for February 2025.
207. Amber Martin
Amber is one of those artists you frequently hear about who work constantly and creatively for years and years, just to suddenly become a practical overnight success. She’s been known as a singer, recording artist, and comedic stage performer in NYC for years–the kids probably best identify her as the long-running vinyl DJ of “Mattachine” at Julius’ Bar with co-spinners Angela Di Carlo and John Cameron Mitchell of Hedwig & The Angry Inch fame. Amber and John’s “anything goes” musical duet show Cassette Roulette has been a big recurring hit at Joe’s Pub, and her show / party “Bette Bathhouse & Beyond” where she channels early Bette Midler for towel-clad audience members is another out-of-the-box hot ticket item for The Ice Palace and Red Eye. She starred in several variations of the wacky rural parody The Jo-Lynn Butterfly Country Hour of Sunshine. She performed, as she’s often done in the past, for “Night of 1000 Stevies” at Irving Plaza. She joined JCM on the stage again for his Bowie tribute “Queen Bitch” in December. She recorded a red hot dirty disco track “Devil Came Down the Dance Floor” with sis Jake Shears last year. And she concluded 2024 quite epically, utilizing her mighty, soaring vocal chops to record a spectacular OG country album, Unbreakable Heart. The future looks bright through Amber-colored lenses!
206. Blue & Rayne
The playful Brooklyn duo’s Good Judy drag show “Bad Judies” recently got absorbed into MissMa’amShe’s and Roque’s drag show that went down before theirs, creating a monstrous drag show hybrid: “Shows!” Separately, Blue continues to host the extremely popular Metro Bar open stage “Mad Mondayz,” and Rayne is the monthly karaoke host at Sandy Jacks.
205. Spiral Sisters
Major players in the Ridgewood and Brooklyn scenes, DJs Soo Intoit and Xana 101 make beautiful noise for the trans / femme / nonbinary ravers and their allies to bop to. The Spirals work frequently together throughout the city (notably at Brooklyn’s Purgatory), but are also quite prolific separately: Soo has her throbbing monthly “Critical Hit” at Trans-Pecos, while Xana is popping up at every damn place, often accompanied by another star in the scene, Cyb3rbull.
204. Ginger’s Bar & Mary’s Bar
Sheila Frayne opened Irish pub Ginger’s in Park Slope in 2000 during that neighborhood’s lesbian boom, and for many years it was Brooklyn’s sole queer women’s watering hole. The pub weathered the challenges of the much reported period of national “lesbian bar decline,” and cultivated a loyal patronage in the process. In 2023, Sheila and crew opened sister venue Mary’s in Greenpoint, another queer venue that wasn’t lesbian specific per se and eventually offered programming that included DJ dance parties, drag and burlesque shows, open mics, trivia and karaoke. It was a noble experiment born from love, but sadly Mary’s closed its doors this November. The original Ginger’s continues to thrive, and now offers some hit programming of its own including the monthly “Dyke Drag” hosted by I’m Baby.
203. Papito Suave
Glam nominated for best Party Producer, Mr. Suave was behind Hush’s hit body and sex positive “NSFW” rager, and is both behind the scenes and front and center for many events featuring his sis Kandy Muse and her Haus of Muse, including their “Winterball” takeover of the Brooklyn Monarch in December. In January of 2025, Suave and friends premiered a new weekend kiki at Boxers HK, “Steam Saturdays.”
202. Merrie Cherry
Don’t abandon us, Mom! Actually, hold up–the often described “Mother of Brooklyn Drag” has earned a moment of respite and reinvention, after creating and producing so many legendary events (including twelve years of Metropolitan Bar’s “Dragnet” competition and that venue’s cherished Sunday patio BBQ shows, both of which concluded this spring and summer) that helped define what queer Brooklyn nightlife is: exciting, artistic, multifaceted. The Dragula star is leaving it all behind for undiscovered horizons, and when next we see her we can only expect the unexpected.
201. Natalie Joy Johnson
A very popular, high energy, multitalented New York musical entertainer, Natalie was featured in successful Broadway runs in Legally Blonde and Kinky Boots and later starred in one of The Q’s most cherished programs, the weekly cabaret “Miss Natalie,” before that venue’s controversial closing in 2022. This year she joined the original Broadway cast of new historical musical Lempicka which ran for April to May at the Longacre Theatre, and garnered some Tony nominations. Amazingly during that run, Natalie also hosted a weekly cabaret show “Monocle” at Friki Tiki which functioned as a Lempicka afterparty. Then later throughout the year, she hosted a number of self-contained cabaret shows at Yotel’s Green Room 42.
Intro
#500-451 | #450-401 | #400-351
#350-301 | #300-251 | #250-201
#200-151 | #150-101 | #100-51
#50-1 | Previous tHOTlists
Thotyssey 