On Sunday, the Queens of Canopy held a “Beyoncert,” a Beyoncé tribute drag show, at The Canopy Club with special guest Kelasia Karmikal.
Ceduxion Carrington, the matriarch of the Queens, emceed the event. During the show, she said that the Beyoncert was the first in a series of drag shows they are planning in tribute to artists who have shown longstanding support to the LGBTQ+ community.
Champaign-Urbana showed out, with many audience members wearing black and silver, colors in theme with Beyoncé’s recent album “Renaissance.” Many folks were able to show off their outfits strutting down the catwalk during a Best Black and Silver Contest toward the end of the show.
After some technical difficulties due to an entertainer dropping out last minute, the event kicked off under a cloud of fog and an array of lights in rainbow succession.
Corrina Carrington began with her soulful performance of “Dangerously in Love,” the title song on Beyoncé’s solo debut album. Carrington was adorned in a black and silver snatched bedazzled blazer and a sheer glitter skirt.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
While the entertainers had to make some quick adjustments due to some unforeseen circumstances, Ceduxion Carrington was quick to occupy the anticipatory audience with her sly jokes and crowd work.
She continued to live up to her name in the following act with her fast-paced alluring choreography down the stage and into the crowd.
Guest queen Kelasia Karmikal, native to Illinois but based in Las Vegas, brought energetic leg work and incredible stage presence to “Run the World (Girls)” in a lime green bodysuit and an enormous frill wraparound in the same color.
Karma Carrington, known locally for Drag Story Hour at the Urbana Free Library, stunned in black thigh highs and a white and gold shimmer bodysuit during a “Hold Up” and “Countdown” mashup. Throughout the show she secured the audience’s eyes by performing stunts, dancing on bars and finishing with a crowd-pleasing dead drop.
Drag shows are often interactive, with audience members commonly tipping their entertainers directly. In between acts, Ceduxion hosted a slew of Beyoncé-themed contests where six contestants would perform their best vocal run and seductive chair dance.
In their impromptu finale, all three members of the Queens of Canopy performed improvisations on “Lose My Breath” by Destiny’s Child. Ceduxion Carrington finished by cartwheeling into a dead drop.
At the end of the show, Ceduxion Carrington spoke about the welcoming nature of drag and how it is often demonized and oversexualized.
The queens asked the crowd for suggestions on what artist to pay tribute to next, getting answers like Lady Gaga and Britney Spears, but eventually landing on Aaliyah.
