(Photos courtesy The Ryot Tour)
Discord Addams knows there’s a lot of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” on the air. It’s why the season 18 breakout and St. Petersburg local wanted to bring fans something different. Something iconic.
“Since there is such an oversaturation of drag, we have to start thinking of things differently,” she says. “It can’t just be pumping ‘Drag Race’ girls into lip sync performances every year.
“America’s not tired of seeing drag, but I think America is tired of there being a new ‘Drag Race’ season every six months — so you have to make things fresh,” Addams continues. “You have to keep things new.”
Thankfully, industry vet Michael Benedetti had the perfect thing in mind. In addition to working as Addams’ booking agent, he’s also the founder of Dragapalooza.
The live tour launched in 2016 as a mix of drag, live vocals and theatrical production. It’s featured “Drag Race” finalists and winners like Courtney Act, Shea Couleé, Trixie Mattel and Orlando’s own Ginger Minj in “a celebration of live music, fierce performance and unapologetic self-expression.”
Dragapalooza paved the way for the Ryot Tour, Benedetti says, but he wanted to do more than just create a carbon copy. It’s officially billed as “a premium live touring brand dedicated to creating unforgettable concert experiences through a series of original productions featuring iconic artists, emerging talent and one-of-a-kind live events.”
First up is the nine-city Ryot Tour: Icons, which kicked off in Seattle this month before moving cross-country. It’s scheduled to stop at The Plaza Live in Orlando Sept. 21 before a final show in St. Petersburg at The Floridian Social on Sept. 30.
The venture was co-founded by Scott Mosher, executive director of Purple Mountain Recovery. A portion of ticket sales benefit the Colorado nonprofit, which provides a safe space for members of the LGBTQ+ community to recover from mental health and addiction issues.
The duo also co-founded Life’s a Drag, which produces drag experiences benefiting the organization, and a series of OutLoud Recovery events in recognition of National Recovery Month. They’re channeling all that experience into the Ryot Tour, intent on letting it chart its own course.
“I felt like it was time to bring this kind of show back,” Benedetti explains. “I hadn’t done the live-band format since Dragapalooza, and I really missed what happens when you put these artists onstage with actual musicians behind them. It completely changes the energy of the performance.
“Ryot grew from that idea, but I didn’t want to simply recreate Dragapalooza,” he continues. “I wanted to take what we started 10 years ago and build something new around it — a touring brand with different concepts, incredible artists, live music and a connection to something bigger through Purple Mountain Recovery.”
Dallas drag legend Cassie Nova is hosting the Ryot Tour’s first iteration. The fan favorite entertainer is an outspoken LGBTQ+ advocate and writer for the Dallas Voice, the region’s LGBTQ+ news source and fellow member of the National LGBT Media Association.
“Ryot Tour is a premium live touring brand dedicated to creating unforgettable concert experiences,” she told the outlet before its launch. “This tour stars a bunch of literal icons of our community, singing live and performing their asses off. It’s a very different style of show than I am used to … I actually got the gig because a queen in Denver told Michael about me and said I was a funny bitch. I need to send her flowers or something.”
The tour features an eclectic cast of “Drag Race” performers. Other than Addams and fellow season 18 competitor Mia Starr — who will join in St. Petersburg — the majority of Ryot Tour participants rose to international fame on earlier seasons of the series.
They include Coco Montrese, a former Tampa Bay and Central Florida local who competed on season 5 and “All Stars” season 2; Willam, who was disqualified during season 4 but remains a franchise favorite and Kylie Sonique Love, who competed on season 2 before winning “All Stars” season 6.
Also featured is Adore Delano, an “American Idol” semifinalist and runner-up on “Drag Race” season 6. She’s joined by Sasha Allen, an Ariana Grande mentee from season 21 of “The Voice” and Delano’s boyfriend.
They aren’t the tour’s only couple. Addams will be joined on stage by fiancée Gidget Von Addams.
“We’re performing the whole set together, we are the band, and it’s going to be a lot of classic punk,” Addams teases. “We’re not really reimagining any new songs by covering them. We’re taking classic punk songs that we grew up on and giving them to the people — you’re going to get a little bit of everything.”
“It is absolutely crazy that I get to be part of this in general,” von Addams says. “This entire cast is full of just absolute icons — so little Gidget from St. Pete getting to come along on tour with them is crazy.”
The “Drag Race” fiancée is a musician in her own right, of course, and she’s toured with Addams since season 18 ended.
“Being on tour with her this entire year has definitely helped prepare me,” von Addams says. “[Discord] had me open for her pretty much every single show that I could attend, and with us being so similar in what we like — when it comes to drag performance and music, and not always lip syncing — I think that helped.”
“We’ve realized that when we’re performing together on stage, we’re kind of naturally doing the same choreography without having planned anything out,” Addams adds. “Our natural rhythm on stage flows and works together, and the audience really works it up. We have a good time doing it, so it just makes sense to have us on stage at the same time.”
Each act will get their own set lasting 15-20 minutes, Addams notes, backed by the same band that includes the guitarist from the punk rock staple Goldfinger.
“It makes it even more full circle for me,” Addams notes. “I’ve been listening to punk and ska music since high school — I’ve been listening to Goldfinger since high school — so to get to share a stage not only with these ‘Drag Race’ icons but with an actual punk legend, it’s all really, really incredible.”
Benedetti praises the entire cast for what they bring to the tour, noting most of them participated in Dragapalooza.
“I loved the idea of bringing artists from that original experience back together to launch the first Ryot series, and the name Icons really fits this cast,” he says. “These are artists who have built careers, developed their own identities and proven that they can command an audience.
“Discord represents the next generation in that mix, which I think makes the cast even more interesting,” he continues. “So there is something very intentional about who is on that stage. Ryot is new, but there’s 10 years of history behind the people launching it with me.”
Benedetti also calls the tour “an evolution of everything Scott and I have been doing together.”
“We’re taking that relationship between entertainment, community and recovery and building it into a touring brand,” he explains. “The mission isn’t an afterthought. It’s been part of what we’ve done together for years.”
The team behind the Ryot Tour doesn’t see it as a one-off. Benedetti notes future legs are already in development, each of which will have an independent identity.
“I don’t want every tour to simply be another version of Icons with a different cast,” he says. “You’ll see different combinations of artists, different musical directions and different ways of presenting live drag and queer entertainment.
“We already have concepts including Rebels, Unplugged and Encore in development,” he continues. “Ryot is being built as a touring brand, not just one tour.”
It’s part of what drew Addams to the mix.
“I like showing people this is what drag can be,” she says. “I think it’s, hopefully, going to shift the atmosphere of performing for drag queens a lot. I would like this to kind of push the pendulum for all of drag — not even just specifically for our show.
“I want it to feel like Warped Tour, but like if Warped Tour was drag queens,” she laughs. “I want a mosh pit at a drag show. That’s what I want.”
“Let’s keep this party going,” von Addams adds.
Tickets for both the Orlando and St. Petersburg stops are on sale now. Before fees, general admission is $40 while VIP meet and greets are available for $100.
“I love the idea that people can come out, have an incredible night, see an amazing show and at the same time know that part of their ticket is helping support people in recovery,” Benedetti says. “Entertainment can be fun and still mean something.
“I’ve spent more than 25 years producing, booking and working in live entertainment, and I’ve watched drag change enormously during that time,” he continues. “Come expecting a concert. Come expecting drag. Come expecting a little chaos. Live. Loud. Always. That’s Ryot.”
The Ryot Tour is 18+ and plays Sept. 21 at 8:30 p.m. at The Plaza Live, located at 425 North Bumby Ave. in Orlando. The tour ends Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. at The Floridian Social, located at 687 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit RyotTour.com.
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