Texas Burlesque Festival Takes It All Off

This year’s celebration celebrates diversity, freedom, and glove peels

By Richard Whittaker, Fri., April 25, 2025

courtesy of Texas Burlesque Festival

In times of fear and oppression, any art is a form of defiance. When cultural reactionaries have entered the fray, can there be any greater act of rebellion than boobs, butts, and the sound of clothes hitting the ground to thunderous applause? As it enters its 18th year, the Texas Burlesque Festival is letting it all hang out for freedom.

“It’s scary times out there for performers of our ilk,” said festival director Lynn Raridon. “Now more than ever you need to be coming and seeing and enjoying the fantastic release that burlesque brings.”

Running May 1-3, the Texas Burlesque Festival has become a fixture on the calendar for fans of ecdysiasts. (That’s striptease artists to you and me.) Yet, like all art forms, burlesque was affected by the pandemic. The festival was forced into hiatus for two years, which Raridon called the “burlesque for the bedroom” years. When it returned in 2022, many performers who had been thinking about leaving the stage decided to pack up their pasties and head for the stalls, but for others, Raridon explained, “it put a fire in their belly to double down and get even more engaged.” Co-founder of Austin’s Frisky Business troupe Gemmi Galactic was among those to hang up their tassels and boas, “and we talked her into joining our team and joining the board.”

This year, Galactic will also host TBF’s opening night mixer at Kick Butt Coffee, where John Q. Public can rub shoulders respectfully with the stars they’ll see on the stage of the Rollins Theatre on Friday and Saturday night. With 90% of this year’s performers coming from outside Austin or Texas, it’s truly a national event. But there’ll always be space for Austinites, including familiar local faces like Ruby Lamb and Ryder Strong. Every year there’s even a local headliner, and this year that rumpshaking honor goes to Fat Bottom Cabaret, with founder and director Nikki DaVaughn serving as Friday night’s emcee. “We have such an embarrassment of riches when it comes to burlesque performers in Austin,” Raridon said,

The 2025 festival isn’t just proof that burlesque is still thriving post-pandemic; it’s also a chance for a slight redo on 2024. Last year, several of the scheduled performers had to drop out last minute due to unforeseeable circumstances. This time, Raridon’s cashed in those rain checks so that the biggest missing acts – Ray Gunn and Bazuka Joe of Chicago’s Stage Door Johnnies, Friday night headliner Jeez Loueez, and burlesque legend Lovey Goldmine – will be a-shaking and a-shimmying what they’ve got for the Austin audiences they left quivering in anticipation.

And if you think that burlesque is just sequins and ostrich feathers, think again. “We don’t want 15 classic glove peels,” Raridon said. This show will highlight the crème de la crème of styles and specialties, from old-school glamour to neo, solo performers and troupes, and maybe even a little magic. Male burlesque (commonly known as boylesque) is stronger than ever, with not just Ray Gunn and Bazuka Joe but Eros Sea from New Orleans, and Austin’s own Silver Fox, Brad French, all taking the TBF stage. Burlesque has also been a welcoming space for queer performers, but Raridon noted that she’s seeing more trans performers getting involved. “Diversity is not a dirty word in the burlesque community,” she said. “Diversity is our mantra.”

And if you need any more justification for celebrating this great American art form, Raridon has this simple reminder: “This is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.”