Cover Stories
About Face: How Louisville’s House Ball Scene has Turned Trials into Triumphs
Picture this: Amori Garçon is tall and lean with a chiseled face, cappuccino-colored skin and a certain something in his walk. He’s strutting down the catwalk next to another man, but the other man doesn’t seem to matter, as all eyes are drawn to him – Garçon, whose real name is Koree Antonio. He’s the…
Part I: Homicide in Louisville — Engaging the people with the guns
This is the first in an occasional series of stories about Louisville’s youth violence problem and the record homicide rate, examining their causes and the ways in which the city and community are fighting for peace. On the same day that Muhammad Ali passed away last summer, Eddie Woods was trying to save a young…
10 things to do under $5 this week in Louisville (1/9)
MONDAY Metal Monday Highland Taproom Free | 10 p.m. If your Monday motto is “Fuck Mondays,” then Metal Mondays are for you, my friend. This week’s show features acts by local black-metal band Deapscufa, and fellow black-metal band, Order of Leviathan, who are on “an infernal quest for total darkness through transcendent art.” Death Worship…
A Double Dose of AC
On March 11, two of the most prominent, influential and recognizable gay men in the world will be sharing tequila on the stage of The Louisville Palace. Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper are bringing their two-man talk show, “AC2: An Intimate Evening With Anderson Cooper & Andy Cohen,” to Louisville, which will be, at least…
Standing Tall
As we begin the harsh and unforgiving winter months and anticipate the upcoming presidential inauguration, one can’t help but feel a sense of dread and even hopelessness at what the coming months and years may bring. Sadly, the cold weather and recent election are only but additions to the pain that many LGBTQ people feel…
The Fluidity of Definition
Nailing down the definition of the word “queer” is a bit like wrestling with an umbrella on a windy street corner. Just when you think you have everything situated, another gust of wind comes along and turns everything inside out again. For those who use the term to describe themselves, however, it is a blanket…
Wellness & Well-Being
So long, 2016, and hello, 2017. For some, the start of a new year means resolutions – a time to kick bad habits, adopt healthier lifestyles and achieve new goals. With an overload of information on diet hacks, quick fixes and fitness products galore, it can become overwhelming in the quest to take care of…
LEO Presents # 1: 1200 live in studio
Welcome to the first LEO Presents, where we ask local musicians to come into our studio and perform three songs, acoustically (although our version of acoustic is a little loose, basically meaning no electric guitars). First up is 1200, the multidimensional brainchild of hip-hop artist/composer Jecorey Arthur, who performs songs off of a forthcoming debut…
5 Things To Do This Weekend in Louisville (1/6)
FRIDAY Suicide Squad’s GoreWhores Purrswaytions (2235 S. Preston St.) $5 | 11 p.m. For your first weekend of the new year, head over to Purrswaytions (the self-described “one and only Lesbian bar in Louisville where everyone is welcome”), for a Suicide Squad-themed drag show. Acts include Felicia D Knight, Stevie Dicks, Mary Fagdalane and Auntie…
Best of the Web: A Q&A with artist Ed Hamilton, creator of the Lincoln Memorial
My guess is you are familiar with, or have at least heard of, Ed Hamilton (edhamiltonstudios.com). He’s the guy with the beret on the Hometown Heroes mural at the Glassworks building. While best known locally for his “Lincoln Memorial” in Waterfront Park, he is also nationally known because of “Spirit of Freedom,” the African-American Civil…
Kentucky Republican legislature in favor of abortion, expected to pass law
One of the first bills introduced in the Kentucky Senate when the legislature was gaveled into session in 2017 was an abortion bill, banning most abortion procedures after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The bill’s language does not exempt cases of rape and incest, but it does include an exception for a medical emergency. Thank you, Republicans! This bill protects…
7 concerts you shouldn’t miss in January
In Lightning Friday, Jan. 6 Zanzabar An outside-the-box, instrumental jam-band that’s cinematic in nature, In Lightning features high-flying prog-rock guitar antics with meticulous orchestral-leaning sounds, resulting in an Explosions in the Sky-style roller-coaster ride. The Louisville Accord (Album Release) Wednesday, Jan. 11 Copper & Kings The Louisville Accord — a 10-song compilation that pairs two…
A GOP legislative session, oh no!
Ushering in a new era of Republican domination for the Commonwealth, the state General Assembly convened this week. In case the luster of New Year’s Day wooed you into forgetting what voters set in motion back on Election Day: Republicans for the first time since 1921 control the state House, they carry a supermajority in…
Thorns & Roses: The Worst & Best
Year of the babble | Thorn Gov. Matt “Oblivious” Bevin has declared 2017 the “Year of the Bible” in Kentucky, signing a proclamation written by state Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, in support of a Bible reading marathon. So much for separation of church and state when the governor uses his bully pulpit to promote a…
20 musicians, 10 songs, one album: The Louisville Accord pairs musicians from different genres for a compilation
There is something to be said about the stylistic diversity inherent to the Louisville music community, and the Louisville Accord is here to say it. Conceived, in part, by Brian Cronin of Goldsmith Studios and radio hosts CJ Cumberland and Charity Radcliffe, both of Crescent Hill Radio, the project finds collaborators from across the genre…
Talking about a resolution
Is it worth making a resolution? Why do we do it? To better ourselves? To give us hope that we’re not really lazy sacks with boring lives? To give writers something to write about in the alt-weekly? (I kid. Sort of.) I don’t usually make a resolution. I like to think that I’ll be able…
Offbeat looks at Shakespeare and Billie Holiday
A new year is upon us, and the second half of the theater season races in with intriguing productions from outstanding companies that over the last few years have led and inspired a renaissance in Louisville’s exciting theater scene. Kentucky Shakespeare, best known for its summer festival, offers Tom Stoppard’s strange and brilliant comedy “Rosencrantz…
Tom Mabe on Linkin’ Bridge, Amiri King and turning down the LEO Readers’ Choice Award
Tom Mabe is one of the biggest YouTube stars, and on stage he delivers comedy that is clever, witty and a bit naughty, without having to drop a single curse word. His YouTube channel shows his prankster side, with videos that go from controversial to confrontational to downright silly. When he isn’t busy running his…
Ciao Ristorante, creative Italian — with pizza
“Ciao!” Pronounce it “chow,” or something close to that, which makes it an ironically cheeky name for a friendly eatery. There’s ambiguity in this Italian greeting, though: Much like “aloha” or “shalom,” or maybe even “good day,” you can use it to say hello, and you can also use it to say goodbye. So let’s…
Putting the Band Back Together
Building a culinary team can be one of the most challenging things any chef faces. Naturally, chefs have a lot of tough challenges: food cost, sourcing, equipment upkeep, menu development — the list is endless. Staffing, though — staffing is the key that unlocks the puzzle of being successful at all these other things. It’s…
The Perfect Bacon Bowl™
“Everything tastes better in a bacon bowl!” Or so says the print on the Perfect Bacon Bowl™ box. You’ve probably seen this thing on late-night TV ads: You basically mold some bacon over a scoop-like thing, pop it into the microwave or oven, and after a few minutes, you have weird-looking, bowl-shaped bacon. Well, as…
Why We Ride: Biking Bridges
Unless you’re spinning away in your pain cave, or you’ve been riding out of town for the holidays, then you may have heard about the opening of the brand-new Lewis and Clark Bridge on Dec. 18. This beautiful piece of multi-modal infrastructure is the most-inclusive, publicly-funded road project I’ve seen in our area. It is…
Police create ‘Safe Harbor’ for LGBTQ community
The Louisville Metro Police Department has become the first major police department outside of Seattle’s to partner on an initiative designed to fight hate crimes and bullying against the LGBTQ community. In November, the police department announced its partnership with Starbucks for the Safe Harbor project. “The idea is to create a safe place, which…
Savage Love: Advice on meeting escorts
Q: My brother is a virgin and turning 30 in a few weeks. He said he wants to hire an escort just for drinks and conversation for his birthday, but he doesn’t really know how to tell what’s a reliable service or what criteria he should be looking for to tell whether an agency is…
If there is a hell, Gov. Bevin will be down there with us
Ye gods. Relieved that’s over. I expect that’s what your family said after you left on Christmas Day. An excruciating experience for them, I should imagine. Very funny. No, 2016. Not just because the creators of my entire record collection kicked the bucket, and American voters made Brexit voters appear prudent, but also because Louisville…
We have to trust ourselves
A lunatic will be president of the United States in a few weeks. Soon, a privileged, insulated, pussy-grabbing, monosyllabic, megalomaniacal reality-television star, who instigates fights on Twitter and cannot form complete sentences, will be the leader of what was arguably the most powerful nation on Earth. His election underscores how social media has led to…
LEO Weekly and Modern Louisville
In July 2016, Modern Louisville magazine and LEO Weekly became sibling publications, both owned and published by Red Pin Media. Even before they shared a parent company, the two publications — both revolutionary and iconoclastic — had much in common. Covering the LGBTQ community has always been essential to LEO’s editorial mission, as is speaking…
How to retake the U.S. House
This is the year for Democrats, and I have the plan for them to take back the U.S. House of Representatives. Nobody needs another analysis of what went wrong for Democrats in 2016. But to understand why 2018 will be an opportunity to retake the U.S. House, it is important to consider that, for this…
Your Voice
on Transgender on the job This Dee chick — I wouldn’t be staring, wondering if she was born a boy. I’d be wondering where one gets purple lipstick. — Wanda Vest on Curb Your Foodieism Wow, just wowee wow! Michael C. Powell provided a wonderful catharsis for me in his Dec. 28 article … With…
