The Lavender Blues is a showcase of queer music before World War II. It is music history. It is queer history. It is women’s history. It is great entertainment.
With The Lavender Blues, modern cabaret performer Sarah Kilborne brings to light for the first time the quiet, yet powerful emergence between the world wars of songs that spoke about what it was like to be gay or “in the life.”
From such legends as Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Gladys Bentley and Josephine Baker, Kilborne performs songs – written almost a century ago – that describe what it is like to be non-binary. The themes in the music are as emblematic of yesterday as they are relevant today, addressing issues of masculinity, femininity, same-sex love, cross-dressing, the desire for freedom from prejudice and more.
Sarah Kilborne is bringing the show to The Linda in Albany, NY on Friday night.