For 2025, we’re collaborating with Rachel Rampleman and drawing from her Life is Drag archive to curate a stellar lineup of artists—visionaries of the Brooklyn art drag scene and powerhouses of the NYC and DC drag worlds—artists who inspire locally and globally through their brilliant and joy-inspiring drag, and who create and connect beyond the stage through their unique and artistic activist voices.

Alongside the performances, SoMad will be alive with video projections from Rachel’s 364-piece-and-counting archive, and the Rosemart (a volunteer-run queer marketplace) will pop up on the 4th floor. We’re also thrilled to welcome The Chosen Family Law Center, offering legal support for low-income queer communities.

Hosted by the iconic Julie J, and soundtracked by DJ duo The Rage (Dinahfire & Brik Olson), the night brings together drag luminaries from NYC, Brooklyn, and D.C.—all featured in Life is Drag. This year’s Mad Pride performance lineup showcases a powerful, extraordinary group of diverse drag artists who not only advance and extend the boundaries of drag, but also lead, organize, and uplift their communities as activists and community leaders.

ACT ONE: 8:30PM

Amygdala is celebrated for their fusion of fine art and disembodied drag. They are the creator of Pleasure Dome, a quarterly immersive showcase exploring queer futurity and utopia at Brooklyn Art Haus. Brooklyn’s comedy it-girl Miss Ma’am She, producer of Mall Drag, a beloved monthly show at C’mon Everybody spotlighting rising drag talent. Blending the worlds of burlesque and drag, Divina GranSparkle: a longtime member of Switch n’ Play, helping to shape Brooklyn’s gender-expansive drag scene. DC-based drag king and reigning Best Drag King of DC (2022-2025)—King Molasses combines mindfulness, Black surrealism, and self-liberation in performances featured at the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, and Sasha Venour’s NightGowns.

ACT TWO: 10PM

Sweaty Eddie brings high-energy comedic brilliance to the stage and produces The Cake Boys, a NYC drag king and alt-queer collective spotlighting underrepresented voices in nightlife. Enchanting audiences with poignant sad songs and signature 60-inch wig glamour, Patti Spliff is the creator of SAD SONGS, a thematic performance showcase staged in Brooklyn. Voxigma Lo, a multimedia artist and co-creator of Sylvester, the groundbreaking all-Black experimental drag variety show. A beloved figure in New York’s drag scene, she curates spaces for poetry, performance, and healing, creating platforms for queer and BIPOC artists to shine. Multidisciplinary performer, writer, and conceptual comedian Paris Alexander, Sylvester co-creator, and curator and director of Squirts at La MaMa, blending drag, theater, and experimentation. Julie J: A performer and producer of Stand Up NYC, a grassroots drag benefit that has raised over $108,000 for LGBTQIA+ organizations and brought together more than 135 performers for causes that continue to grow in importance. Julie is also a co-creator of Sylvester.

The night will close with NYC-based DJ duo The Rage made up of disco/house visionary Brik Olson and techno/punk provocateur Dinah Fire brings their genre-defying atmosphere to their their third consecutive year DJing Mad Pride.

This year's Mad Pride pop-up shop will be curated by The Rosemart, a queer art market celebrating the creativity of local LGBTQ+ artists and makers. Now in its fifth year, the Rosemart has grown into a vibrant community tradition, held monthly at the iconic gay bar The Rosemont. More than a shopping destination, it’s a space where friendships spark, collaborations form, and a true sense of community thrives. 

Hosted by Lena Horné, Mad Pride vendors include: Alegria, a Colombian artist in NY creating art and fashion from recycled and vintage pop materials; Astro Boi, offering out-of-this-world fashion for all gender expressions; Flora Zhai, a metal and accessories designer with an unwavering passion for crafting one-of-a-kind creations that blend nature’s ethereal beauty with the raw power of metal; Gaypin’, pins and products for queer folks; Haus of Toys, a queer-centric and kink-friendly marketplace for all things pleasure, wellness, and education; Le Sylphide Tattoos, a non-normative body art practice rooted in a holistic and spiritual approach to working with the body; and Matthew Dean Stewart, a queer-owned brand making handmade candles. 

Grounding the event in collective care, the Chosen Family Law Center (CFLC) will be on-site to share resources and offer legal support for LGBTQIA+ and polyamorous families. Dedicated to building equitable legal frameworks, CFLC combats discrimination and works to ensure access to affirming providers–lawyers, therapists, and advocates.