With the return of in-person Pride activities this June, 12th Avenue's Rhein Haus has announced its biggest Pride weekend to date, with performances from R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson and iconic RuPaul's Drag Race queens.
In partnership with Revolution Productions, the weekend lineup will begin Pride Saturday with a drag brunch from 12 pm to 3 pm and continue with drag performances throughout the evening, leading up to headliner Keri Hilson.
Let's do the "Pretty Girl Rock"
Keri Hilson is a singer-songwriter and vocal advocate for the LGBTQ community who has previously dated women and men. Her pop-infused R&B music became essential to the genre of the time upon its release in 2009 and 2010, including the tough-love anthem "Knock You Down," which features Kanye West and Ne-Yo, and the platinum single "Pretty Girl Rock," with its upwards of 100 million streams across Spotify and YouTube.
Hilson earned two Grammy nominations for her 2009 album In a Perfect World..., for Best New Artist and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. She is rumored to be releasing her long-awaited next album soon and has, in the meantime, performed at Pride in Atlanta, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC.
Hilson has also contributed much of her downtime to the fight against HIV and AIDS, having previously served as a Reed for Hope Foundation ambassador, and having joined AIDS Walk New York. "We all know someone who has been affected by it, yet no one wants to talk about it," she said of her efforts in 2013. "That's why I am so passionate. It needs to change."
Beer and bocce made Gay
Deming Maclise and James Weimann, owners of Weimann Maclise Restaurants, developed Rhein Haus by transforming the previous 1940s candy factory space into their own 10,000-square-foot "slice of Bavaria."
Inside, Rhein Haus offers a killer combination of "bier, bocce, and brats," aka an 80-seat beer hall, an outdoor Biergarten, five indoor bocce ball courts, and house-made sausages. The sports-pub atmosphere you would expect is warmed by Pride flags flying high outside and an entirely welcoming staff.
Over the last decade or so, Seattle has seen businesses hoist the Pride flag as a marketing strategy, but we checked in with Weimann Maclise's director of public relations and marketing, Erica Waliser, to see what drove Rhein Haus to fly theirs and get involved as a venue for drag.
She said that the restaurant shares ownership among three individuals beyond Weimann and Maclise, including Matt Fundingsland and his husband Dustin Jeremiah. The general manager and long-time industry professional Jeremy Walcott also identifies as Gay.
"The LGBTQ community has always been an important community for us, because it's part of [Rhein Haus]'s foundation. It's who we are; it's a part of our own family," she said.
Walcott described the business's relationship with Revolution Productions, a Seattle-based nonprofit event management company focused on hosting drag shows, sports tournaments, fundraisers, and more to support local and national LGBTQIA+ organizations.
"We started working with Revolution Productions in 2019 to bring drag performances to Rhein Haus," he said.
Waliser added that Revolution Productions co-founder Tyler Keys first tapped Rhein Haus to become the bar sponsor for his Gay softball league, which the venue started doing in 2019, in addition to working with Keys to put together the first Drag Brunch events. "We are really excited about all the talent that's coming out for this and working with Tyler," she said.
Waliser said that the lineup is largely credited to Revolution Productions. "Tyler works with drag queen talent bookers, and got connected with Keri Hilson," she said. "Keri mentioned that she loves doing Pride shows, and she was super excited to join ours."
Keys said he enjoys the relationship they have forged to create a new space for drag. "Working with Rhein Haus to provide a new venue for local drag queen talent and bringing in drag queens from around the country has been a highlight of the last year for us," he said. "Having Keri Hilson headline the weekend will be the largest event yet, and we know the team at Rhein Haus will make this a spectacular destination for Pride weekend."
Excitement brewing for Pride
According to the restaurant's announcement, it has snagged a star-studded lineup of queens for the weekend surrounding Hilson's performance Saturday night. From RuPaul's Drag Race, Rhein Haus patrons will see Symone, Joey Jay, Trinity K. Bonet, Ra'Jah O'Hara, Blair St. Clair, Tatianna, Thorgy Thor, and Mayhem Miller.
Performances from local Seattle and visiting queens will include Anita Spritzer, Mila Skyy, Kungpow Meow, Lucy Paradisco, Sable Jones St. James, Alaysia McKenzie, Beyonce Black St James, and others.
DJ Tone, DeeJay Sessions, DJ Alfonso Tan, and additional DJs to be announced will provide an ongoing soundtrack for the weekend.
"With the city opening back up, we are excited to throw our biggest event to date over Pride Weekend in 2022," said Walcott. Waliser added that after 2020, Rhein Haus feels that this is their year to "really go all out."
General admission and VIP tickets will go on sale Friday, March 18, at 10 a.m. PT. Some ticket options will include the entire day Saturday, from brunch to evening admittance, and others for certain performances, Waliser said.
Visit rheinhausseattle.com/pride for tickets and programming information. Follow Rhein Haus on Facebook and Instagram to see lineup updates and more announcements. You can also check out the venue prior to Pride to play some friendly indoor bocce ball at 912 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122. Visit www.rheinhausseattle.com for hours, menus, and reservations.