Queer Choir Benefit Concert

Come out for this QUEER EXTRAVAGANZA and support our 2SLGBTQIA+ youth a cappella group RISE while you're at it! Hosted by two of Eugene's most fabulous drag queens, Judy Jitsu and Shirley Mental, this show will feature performances from singer-songwriter Elias Wolf, jazz pianist Vicki Brabham, Queer Choir, HOMOPHONIC and a debut performance from the youth in RISE themselves! Come for the queens and the choirs, stay for the big gay sing-along, local vendors and raffle with fun prizes! All proceeds go toward keeping RISE tuition-free.

Shirley Mental, the people’s princess of the Haus of Blunt, exudes old Hollywood glamour with a mix of the Avant-Garde. You can see her at Starlight Lounge every first Thursday for Jazzy Queens a live jazz drag show! You can find Shirley on IG @shirley_mental.

Judy Jitsu is Eugene’s fierce queen who packs a punch! She has a brown belt in jiujitsu, a black belt in charisma, and a chokehold on charm! Whether she's slaying the stage or hosting karaoke night, she’s here to make you laugh, cheer, and leave you breathless! You can find Judy on IG @judy_jitsu.

A Eugene-based multi-hyphenate artist, elias wolf (formerly Lisa Forkish) creates music that infuses soul stirring harmonies with life-affirming lyrics, reminding us of our interconnectedness while singing into the seemingly lonely paradox of the human experience. Through themes of destruction and rebirth, grief and joy, transformation, justice and love, their music can be described as queer song alchemy for the revolution, rooted in the musical traditions of jazz, folk and contemporary a cappella. Elias is also the facilitator of Queer Choir, RISE and HOMO PHONIC and their dorky claim to fame is that they were part of the inspiration for the cult film Pitch Perfect.

RISE is a new grant + community-funded vocal ensemble for 2SLGBTQIA+ youth with a centered aim to cultivate belonging, connection and community for all participants. Students are learning singing as a tool for nervous system regulation, freedom of expression, and developing healthy relationships with peers - all while learning challenging contemporary a cappella music with a social conscience. RISE is a non-gendered, strength-based and trauma-informed program open to singers of all backgrounds ages 11-18 in Lane County. Made possible in part by a grant from Lane Arts Council with support from the City of Eugene Cultural Services, RISE is part of a larger movement, currently called Queer Choir Collective, to serve queer, trans and gender-expansive singers of all ages through liberating singing spaces.

Queer Choir is a non-gendered, intergenerational, re-humanizing community choir for queer, trans and gender-expansive individuals of all identities and voice types, weaving lush vocal harmonies with messages of love and liberation.

HOMOPHONIC is a brand new contemporary a cappella group based out of Eugene, putting the "homo" in "homophonic." They have yet to nail down their sound as a group, but are excited to be living into their queerest a cappella dreams.