Fri 9/19 & Sat 9/20 @ 9PM
Lakota Shekhar is a familiar face onstage at local burlesque shows, but she’s also a producer of shows in her own right. One of those is the Blackwater Cabaret aka BIPOC Rock: The Festival, a star-studded two-night event taking place at Studio West 117’s Muze Gastropub in Lakewood.
It features some of the top Black and brown drag and burlesque performers in northeast Ohio and across the state. It began life in 2021 as a Saturday night event, before Shekhar restructured it and created a full-scale festival what she calls in her press release an “annual celebration of alternative, rock, heavy metal, goth, emo, and KPop music.”
Mexican-American performer from San Diego, Chica Cabra, headlines both nights; she performed here and wowed the audience at the Beachland Ballroom at the Ohio Burlesque Fest in August. On Friday she’ll co-headline with a local drag legend, Erica Martinez, who has been performing since the ’80s.
Other Friday night performers Alexis Milan, Agata Why, Jace Blaze, Main Void, Hickey Hunny, Dom Ben Bear Martinezand ZaZa V. On Saturday the cast includes Saturday Lady Slay, Ruby Rabbit, Soley Santana, Dakota Cox, PoundCake, Kooky, Kat Serpentine de La Muerte, Dolly The Lover and co-header Lakota Shekar.
The shows will be emceed by Silky The Body from Columbus. Get your tickets here.