Qmmunity: OUTsider Festival Returns for Year Six

Black Belt Eagle Scout (Courtesy of Outsider Festival)

It's that time of the year again, QTs.* That's right, OUTsider Festival returns to the Vortex for year six. Curran Nault, founder of the queer transmedia festival, has curated a grand coterie of LGBTQIA "outsider" artists – with both international and local reach – including self-described "radical indigenous queer feminist" musician Black Belt Eagle Scout, aka KP, who will play a solo set Saturday night (see below for fest deets). For the Portland, Ore.-based multi-instrumentalist, who grew up on the Swinomish Indian Reservation in Washington, holding and making space for her communities has been a central tenet of her work – with 2018 debut Mother of My Children and last year's followup At the Party With My Brown Friends – and by extension, her live shows. As KP sees it, performing at a queer festival like OUTsider speaks to the need for dedicated spaces for marginilized communities, especially with a presidential administration that's "telling us we're pretty much not human beings" as LGBTQIA rights are rolled back. "Having a community that you can be a part of that's gonna be like, 'Fuck that shit. We're going to support you. We're going to be your family. We're going to be here for you.' Those are really important things," she explains. "There needs to be a community where you can go and you can feel like people get you." KP says she'd like to see better representation of both indigineous and queer indigenous identities, though she acknowledges there are people doing the work so that "people don't think Native Americans are a thing of the past." It's a legacy KP herself has joined. "It makes me happy to be able to say, this is who I am, and there are tons of people that are like me who have similar voices that can be inspired to talk about it and be inspired to live their lives."

*It's also time for early voting, which kicked off Tue., Feb. 18, and runs through Fri., Feb. 28. You can vote at any polling location with a "Vote Here/Vote Aquí" sign. See austinchronicle.com/elections for more info.

2 To Do

Guerrilla Queer Bar We're not crying, there's just glitter in our eyes. After all, former Q editor Sarah Marloff tends to leave that in her wake, and if you haven't heard, she's returning with her wife to their D.C. roots pretty dang soon. So come out for one last queer AF takeover to end all takeovers and let's send these bbs off with lots of big queer ATX love, m'kay? Thu., Feb. 20, 6-10pm. Violet Crown Social Club, 1111 E. Sixth. www.fb.com/wherethegirlsgoatx.

OUTsider Festival: Nasty Fruits Austin's transmedia fest celebrating LGBTQIA boundary-pushers returns, with this year's Legacy Award posthumously honoring Chavela Vargas – featuring a tribute performance by Dorian Wood. The lineup includes work by Christeene, Kay Turner, and Yuliya Lanina, among other queerdos. See full schedule online. Wed.-Sun., Feb. 19-23. The Vortex, 2307 Manor Rd. Badges, $99; students & youth, $25; rush tickets, $10. www.outsiderfest.org.

Q'd Up

Joterías Tatiana Cholula is back. Thu., Feb. 20, 10pm. Elysium, 705 Red River. $6-8 cover. www.fb.com/joteriasatx.

Fat Femme Clothing Swap Swap old for new. Fri., Feb. 21, 7:15-9:15pm. Autonomy Movement, 601 Farley Dr.

ToyBOX Papi and Chique live their daddy denim dreamz. Fri., Feb. 21, 8pm. Scissor Sisters Hair Show, 6535 N. Lamar. $5-7.

allgo's Community Healing Health Fair QPOC healers, health care providers, and wellness professionals. Sat., Feb. 22, 1-5pm. Conley-Guerrero Senior Activity Center, 808 Nile. Free. www.allgo.org.

Drag Out the Vote Queens werkin' to register voters and get 'em to the polls. Sat., Feb. 22, 6-8pm. Highland Lounge, 404 Colorado. $10-20. www.dragoutthevote2020.org.

Amateur Drag Night With yer host Basüra. Sat., Feb. 22, 10pm. Indian Roller, 10006 Manchaca Rd. Free.

CYb3rqu33n 4.0 Can you feel the change? Sat., Feb. 22, 10pm. Coconut Club, 310-B Colorado. $5 after 1am.

Lesbian Wedding The queerest, sweetest, extra-est Sunday. Sun., Feb. 23, 4-10pm. Sahara Lounge, 1413 Webberville Rd. Free with OUTsider badge; $5-10.

Fat Tuesday Mardi Party Drag Show Say "balcony boobie bead toss" three times fast. Tue., Feb. 25, 7pm. The Venue ATX, 516 E. Sixth. Free.

SXSW LGBTQIA and Allies Community Meetup Hosted by Austin LGBT(QIA) Chamber of Commerce. Wed., Feb. 26, 6-8pm. 600 Congress. Free (but RSVP).

Rap Chicks Dance yer a$$ off to the women of hip-hop and rap. Thu., Feb. 27, 9:30pm. Elysium, 705 Red River. $5-10.