One Year Back – Thank You, I’m Just Getting Started!

What. A. Year.

I truly never imagined I’d come out of retirement only to be immediately thrown into a full-blown whirlwind of drag—but here we are. Surprise, bitches. First things first, I have some people to thank, because none of this chaos happened by accident.

Jeff Gale—your generosity and your relentless nagging for Anita’s return have not gone unnoticed. You wore me down, and honestly? Thank you for that.

Ashlei Iman—the HAIRS. The wigs. The drama. Drag is not drag without DIVAS like you absolutely slaying lace fronts. THANK YOU.

Justice Taylor—same energy. So grateful Joe introduced us. You are wildly gifted, and I’m very happy to have you in my arsenal.

Jimbo—thank you for the inspiration. You know what you did.

Sapphira—thank you for teaching me that talking about yourself too much is nauseating and that being Miss Congeniality means you’ll never win the actual CROWN. A public service, really.

And Roy—I could not do any of this without you. Your support, feedback, ideas, and—yes—harsh criticism have been everything. You keep me sharp, honest, and occasionally humbled. Occasionally.

And to the fans—believe it or not, there are still countless numbers of you showing up to my “shows” after all these years. That’s the reason I do this. I love you all, and I’m genuinely full of gratitude.

This past year came with a few personal firsts:

I had to start wearing a primer.

I did more private bookings than ever before.

I officiated a wedding for THE CUTEST couple on 4/20.

I had a show canceled by a hurricane (very on-brand, honestly).

It’s been an insanely busy year, and I’ve enjoyed every chaotic second of it.

My August show (8/24 at 6:30 PM) at Artwalk will debut the brand-new “Wheel of Drag.” You’ll just have to show up to see what that mess is all about. I’m also resurrecting my old sketch/comedy bits using a TV monitor—very Weekend Update meets Talk Soup. Old-school, sharp, and actually funny. I should have that ready by October.

Overall, I’m thrilled to be back entertaining again. I love seeing my Galveston/Houston friends every six weeks, and I promise you this: it will never be stale or repeated. I’ve seen far too much terrible drag over the past year—and it’s painful. Someone lied to everyone and said you can be whatever you want to be. That is simply not true. Not everyone can be a drag queen… and quite frankly, not everyone should be. I said what I said.

I’d be lying if I didn’t mention I was a little disappointed that Joey Guerra somehow missed mentioning me in his Top 32 Queens to Check Out list in the June Houston Chronicle. I shed a couple of tears while wiping the dust off my 2007 Houston’s Best Drag Queen award. It’s fine. I’m fine. I’ll just have to make a stronger presence this year and get my ass into BarCode for some shows.

Because make no mistake—this old bitch still has it.

Seatbelts on. The ride is far from over.

See you at Artwalk.

Xoxo, AB 💅💄💋