At the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden on July 9, the smell of incense and the abundance of greenery and ponds worked in tandem with the five member R'n'B hip-hop girl group NADUH to transport the audience to another astral plane.
NADUH's debut EP “HOMIESEXUAL” launched on July 8. Band member Taraneh Krispil described “homiesexuality” to the crowd as “putting each other’s souls first.” They put this sentiment into practice by celebrating other artists at their own album release party.
Hosted by non-binary drag artist Continental Breakfast and in partnership with The Ice Cream Truck Live, NADUH curated the event to highlight local musicians and vendors in a Queer-friendly space. While the event started later then initially advertised, it was worth the wait.
NADUH had an angelic start to their set as they stood above the audience in an elevated gazebo, overlooking the garden. In clear view of the moon, they invited event attendees to ignite their “creator energy” before joining them on Venus.
Before NADUH took the stage, drag performers SKIM, Kara Juku and Maiden China from all-Asian drag house HOUSE of RICE kicked off the show. SKIM and Kara Juku brought high energy with pop hits like “I’m Feeling Good” by Michael Buble and “Words (feat. Zara Larsson)” by Alesso. To close out the first round of drag performances, Maiden China lip-synced “Running Up that Hill” by Kate Bush in a wedding dress.
There were a handful of short breaks throughout the event with sets from DJs Haina from China and Como Hombre. During these breaks, event attendees were welcome to check out the various vendors, get a flash tattoo from seekshaed, or even be married for 24 hours by small papa.
Lowkita “disrupted the peace” with her Jamaican-infused rap stylings. Alt-pop artist MAUVEY shouted the affirmation “I am important” for the crowd to repeat. NADUH shared the value of being mindful of the stories we tell ourselves.
“Your words cast spells, that’s why they call it spelling,” said NADUH member and UBC master's of science in Forestry student Rosita Alcantara (A.K.A. Rosa Corbett) later in their set.
To end the set, the girl group formed a half-circle and invited audience members up on the stage to dance with them. As NADUH repeated the phrase “How she doing that?”, audience members stepped forward to freestyle.
This event created a space which encouraged event attendees to express themselves and NADUH hyped them up like friends. By breaking down the power dynamic of fan and artist, NADUH showed the world what homiesexuality is all about.
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