blast 6/15


Hail the Queen! Drag Star Persephone Hits Multiple Stages and Ramps Up Fundraising for Pride Month

Robin Barr Sussman

THE DRAG ARTIST known as Persephone started doing drag on a whim in 2017. She was working at Hamburger Mary's and signed up for a “turnabout” show, where employees who've never done drag try to slay. Poof! A star was born. Flirty, sassy and fun, you can catch her performances at various venues around town; she’s especially busy during Pride month, with shows at half a dozen venues sprinkled throughout June. In our Q&A, the 20-something native Houstonian tells us how she won Outsmart magazine’s Gayest and Greatest Most Divine Drag Queen award, about her day job, and her new role for The Woodlands Pride.

Black-Owned, Locally Distilled Vodka with Charitable Bent Launches on Juneteenth

THERE’S A NEW vodka in town. General Orders No. 3 (GO3) is a Black-owned premium vodka distilled in Houston’s Fifth Ward. It launches on Saturday, June 18, during the Juneteenth HBCU Alliance Music Fest, a concert and scholarship benefit at 713 Music Hall. The concert features performances by Nigerian-American rapper Wale, Grammy-winning R&B singer Chrisette Michele, British pop singer Aiyana-Lee, and others; proceeds benefit TSU and Prairie View A&M University.

Hot Young Artist Grayson Chandler’s Lovely Work Transports You to ‘Foreign Yet Familiar’ Place

"PAINTING, MORE THAN half it, isn’t actually putting brush to paint,” says 27-year-old Houston-born artist Grayson Chandler, who used to run cross-country, and believes there are many parallels between athleticism and creativity. “A lot of it is just sort of seeing, watching and looking. Like a basketball player dribbling a ball before they take a shot, or a golfer teeing up and getting their feet right. Before you dive in, know where you’re going to land.” For Chandler, that means a new collection of mysterious, beautifully composed watercolor and gouache paintings titled In Via, which lands at Deborah Colton Gallery on July 16.
music

With New Concept Album, Jacob Hilton Processes Mental-Health Struggles

Dakota Garrett

Jacob Hilton, a.k.a. Travid Halton, at home in his kitchen, where he enjoys cooking as a form of therapy.

PINK FLOYD'S THE Wall. Sinatra’s In the Wee Small Hours. Beyonce’s Lemonade. Three divergent examples of the album as a cathartic, psychological, conceptual work, meant to be experienced in a single sitting. Houston singer-songwriter Jacob Hilton, 37, who records as Travid Halton, a portmanteau of his mother and father’s names, might balk at being mentioned in such company. (This is a thoroughly unpretentious man, who describes himself as an “archaeologist turned singer-songwriter.”)

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Art + Entertainment
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Leadership in Action: ‘Family, Community and Spiritual Connection’ Drives Success for Henry Richardson

Al Torres

How did you get to where you are today? The present moment is a combined history of my family, my time as an athlete, my passion for learning, and my desire to see the world be better. I grew up as a successful springboard and platform diver, however, an injury caused me to seek alternative treatments to heal my body. In that process, I discovered the power of yoga, exercise, meditation, mindset, and nutrition. This holistic approach eventually led me to open a Pilates and cycling studio called DEFINE body & mind. I opened studios around the nation, and after selling most of my business between 2017-2019, I was ready to explore how I could make an even greater impact on the wellbeing of our community. In 2023, I started actively working on a brand new multi-family/apartment concept called, Define Living. The idea focused on offering health and wellness services within a beautiful apartment setting to increase the wellbeing of our residents. Having a strong sense of community is the number one factor in living a happy life, so why not build a community where daily fitness, cooking classes, and social connection are the norm? We opened Define Living in March of 2024, and we couldn’t be happier with how things are being received. We are already looking at building more concepts like this in the Houston area and beyond.

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