Joy Rider

Joy Rider is a multi-award winning international burlesque artist and headliner. She is a 3-time winner at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas (Most Innovative, and Best Small Group 2023, Best Debut 2022), burlesque’s most renowned international competition and showcase.

Based in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal, she is a featured regular performer at Montreal’s most established burlesque venues, and produces unforgettable interdisciplinary cabarets. She uses her signature blend of glamour, power, storytelling, and sensuality to create acts about identity, queerness, struggle and joy.

Kajol

Keith Fernandez is a multidisciplinary theatre director, performer, and drag artist. A graduate of Grant MacEwan University and Concordia University, he founded Berlin Musicals in 2018, producing full-length musicals and revues. Select directing credits include Crash (Associate Director – Imago Theatre, 2026), An Uncomfortable Dinner Party (Fringe, 2025), Sinkhole (Infinitheatre, 2024), and Hedwig & the Angry Inch (Fringe, 2024). He has collaborated with Imago Theatre, Infinitheatre, Montreal Arts Interculturels, and Vancouver Opera. He is the Program Manager for the Artist Mentorship Program at Black Theatre Workshop & Apprentice Artistic Director at Imago Theatre. Named YES Employment’s Most Promising Emerging Theatre Producer in 2024, Keith continues to explore performance through his drag persona, KAJOL.

Kě

Kě is one of Montreal's simplest, silliest guys. You may have seen them at various gay comedy shows across town as well as Comedy is art in Toronto, Fierté Montréal, Lady Fest, Festival Accès Asie, The Asian Comedy Festival in NYC, LGBTlol Festival New Orleans and they’re a Just for Laughs Originals recording artist. They also recently starred in the short film Gender Reveal, which was a hit at Locarno, TIFF and many other festivals. Weaving words together through self expression, humor, storytelling and biting commentary, they pull you into their performative world, in hopes of bringing you all some joy. Don’t forget to check out their new podcast Throuples Therapy.

Kuya Atay

Kuya Atay is Toronto’s FilipinX Ube Babe, your "Hello M'am/Sir'' of Burlesque. Pulling faces in Nerdlesque and dripping in Boylesque. Unzipping with pinoy charm with a dash of stupid. As a Sculptural Visual artist, they are versatile in prop making and stage masks that lend to their performance magic of Kuya. Part of Canada’s premier Boylesque troupe BoylesqueTO, who competed at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas in the Best Large Group category in 2023. Also a current crown holder of Drop Deadly Gorgeous Pageant 2022 presented by Weird Alice. Bow down and bless your Kuya!

Komodo

Komodo is a queer artist of Chinese-Bruneian descent whose artistic journey began with over a decade of classical piano training through the Royal Conservatory of Music, later evolving into an autodidact dance practice spanning salsa, voguing, whacking, and burlesque. As the founder of Paifang, a queer cultural event series in Montreal’s Chinatown, their artistic practice is deeply rooted in community, exploring themes of intergenerational connection, queerness, and diasporic identity.

Lørra

Maria-Lorraine “lørra” Caluya was born in Montreal to Ilocano parents who immigrated from the Philippines and settled in Côte-des-Neiges. She grew up surrounded by Filipino children and other immigrant youth, either born in Canada or displaced at a young age. From an early age, she began writing songs and poems while closely observing the social realities and struggles around her.

She has a background in psychology and a certificate in audio engineering. Since 2020, she has been performing her original music and is actively involved in local community projects.

Her songs are about various themes deeply related to her and her heritage as a dark-skinned south-east asian person (Filipino).

Mx. Masala

Hailing from London, England, Mx Masala bends gender and melodies to reconnect with their Punjabi roots. For them, music is a form of storytelling, exploring everything from family ties, to cultural pressures and the beauty and joy of their queer identity. Their favourite tracks, "Hello" and "Surinder", blend western melodies from soul and folk with introspective lyrics about race, positionality, and being "brown enough".

Over the past few years, Mx has performed at Jhalak's Chutney Cabaret, Café Depanneur and Cabaret Boop. They are immensely grateful to connect with so many wonderful artists, and they can't wait to play some music for all.