BILLINGS — Drag queens in Montana are often misunderstood, many in the LGBTQ community believe, but they say they’re a very important part of Pride Month and that won’t stop the state’s top drag queens from spreading a message of joy and resilience.
“Who is the first transgender black woman elected to public office?” asks Onyx Echo, drag performer and Brick House founder.
From queer quiz nights at Sacred Ground Coffeeshop in Billings to historical reminiscences citing the beginnings of the Pride movement at the Stonewall Inn in 1969, many drag performers in Montana have taken on the unofficial mission of being keepers of queer history.
“Drag culture is so rooted in Black queer history that I’m really happy to be here,” Onyx Echo says. “Pride started with riots. Pride started with police raids on clubs that were illegal. Drag can be both a celebration of just being happy to be here and also very solemn because we know why we’re here.”
Billings-based Onyx Echo is taking their message across Montana through drag art.
“Montana is a very large state, but has a small number of performers,” Onyx Echo says.
Her medium is meticulously applied makeup and costumes. nats…Music Makeup Timelapse
“It’s theatre, it’s performance, it’s acting, it’s an aspect of modelling, it’s fashion,” Onyx Echo says.
But Onyx says all of this is decades behind the rest of the country.
“Doing drugs in Montana is very similar to doing drugs in the ’90s and 2000s. It’s still very controversial. It’s still very misunderstood here and pretty underground,” Onyx Echo says.
Shows are less frequent and it’s still dangerous to travel outside the performance venues.
“Especially in Bozeman and Helena, if you go out dressed as a woman you often get yelled at and even attacked,” Onyx Echo says.
For the drag queen, remembering her history and combining it with her pop star moment is what keeps her going.
“The people I run with and the people I know are really nice people who just want to perform, make some money and go home. I just get to be Britney Spears for four minutes and that’s it,” Onyx Echo says.
But for those who want a future in which they can express themselves freely, those few minutes are crucial.
Onyx Echo is the owner of Brick House, a drag performance group that performs bi-monthly at the Loft Dance Club in Billings. The group will be performing tonight, June 22, 2024, as part of the Pride Month celebration. Doors open at 7:30pm and the show begins at 8:30pm.
