A tribute to gay icons

A tribute to gay icons

Musical night HOMAGE returns for a second outing this month after packing out the Supper Club at Mardi Gras. The event, the brainchild of singer-songwriter Brett Every, is built around a simple but effective idea: members and friends of the GLBTI musical community take to the stage and pay homage to the queer singers who’ve inspired them.

“There were a lot of acts that (first) night, so they were limited in the number of songs they could perform. Now we plan to reduce the number of acts but hold more gigs,” said Maeve Marsden (pictured), who’s taken over the production reins at

HOMAGE alongside creative partner Phoebe Meredith. She also joins Every, Brendan Maclean, Girl Most Likely and the Maxine Kauter Band on this month’s line-up.

“It’s not a covers night, it’s more like a cabaret night: how can we interpret these songs? How can we change the style so it takes you a while to realise you’re hearing the Village People?”

There’ll be some lesser-known gems in amongst the expected kd lang and George Michael hits, including a tongue-in-cheek tribute to earnest lesbian folk from Marsden herself.

“I was raised by lesbian mothers and there was definitely a presence of ‘80s lesbian political folk when I was growing up: ‘how many times in a sentence can I say the word lesbian and make references to vaginas,’ that sort of thing. I just think it’s hilarious. And it’s nice to bring these songs to the fore for people who might not have heard them before.”

Joking aside, Marsden offered a theory as to why GLBTI listeners respond so personally to the work of queer singers and songwriters.

“We’re searching for heroes. We’re searching for artists that reflect our lives. With HOMAGE, we want to honour and celebrate those artists who were brave enough to stand up and come out.”

INFO: HOMAGE at Camelot, 19 Marrickville Rd, Marrickville. 7:30pm August 12. www.camelotlounge.com

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