Oslo World & Queer World at Pride (Oslo Pride Park / Kontraskjæret)

The collaboration between Oslo World and Oslo Pride continues this year, this time in partnership with our friends at Skeiv Verden and featuring performances from the collective Drag Core, Kenyan artist Kabeaushé, DJ NEFERTITI, and DJ Refel.

Program:

15:15 - 16:00 DJ Nefertiti

17:00 - 17:45 Kabeaushé

19:00 - 19:45 Ryona Crystal & Guests presents Art Without Borders

21:00 - 21:45 DragCore

23:15 - 00:00 DJ Refel

When DJ Nefertiti began dj’ing in 2009 her mission was to bring arabic and african genres, such as afrohouse, kwaito, highlife and kizomba, to Oslos dance floors. It was warmly received and since then, DJ Nefertiti has played at The Villa, Internasjonalen, Turkish Delight and Jaeger, among other places. The dance floors have been packed from the beginning. She has become an Oslo World veteran in recent years. She has hosted her own club nights and dj’ed before concerts and in connection with several other festival events, providing music for some of our most legendary nights. It is a joy to have her on the team for this year’s Oslo Pride.

The music of Kabeaushé is an intoxicating mix of everything that makes pop music fun and seductive - their influences range from Prince and Bollywood to Tyler the Creator. It is futuristic and playful, centered around themes like cuteness and softness. When the Kenyan artist plays live, their performances are hybrids of music and theatre, developed together with a creative team in Kampala.

Kabeaushé played a fantastic concert at Oslo World 2022, during an evening in collaboration with the club concept Sweetcheeks. We can’t wait to see them again!

Ryona Crystal is an international queen and also the producer of DragCore (see below for presentation). On stage, she is known for her professional production and passionate performances. She tells stories inspired by the queer lifestyle and culture. For this show, Ryona has prepared something beyond a Drag Show, teaming up with Norwegian and International artists to bring a message of love, but also gratitude to the Norwegian society for all the support that they have been receiving.

She is joined on stage by a stellar lineup including several exciting names from the young Norwegian music scene: Ella A, LJ, BENDU and Henrik Wilhelm Wilhelmsen in addition to a collaboration between the musicians Emilie Eie, Anna Klungre, Mazlum Karataş, and Eduardo Scaramuzza. She has also invited Frida Marida from Lebanon, who was chosen the Best DragQueen in 2023 in Norway. To top it all off, members of the Oslo Ballroom family, where it all started for Ryona, will offer glimpses of the ballroom magic Oslo has to offer.

DragCore is an Oslo-based drag group, created in 2020 as an initiative for drag artists to develop their work. There is a rotation of members every year and the fixed casting for 2023 is Ryona Crystal, Tanja Mckenzie, Briar The VaudeVillain, Bambia, Chemolina, Enigma Ataraxia, Simone Pisces and Vera Brå.

DragCore often works with themed shows, both seasonal, such as Pride Shows, Christmas shows, and Halloween shows, but also other self-selected themes such as "Friends and Frenemies" (2020), "Icons" (2021) and "Space Night" (2021) and many others, where the artists themselves choose how they want to interpret the theme in their personal way.

They have been doing Pride shows all over Norway and for Oslo Pride 2023 DragCore is preparing a totally new show, to celebrate the rainbow and show why “All Drag is Valid”.

Oslo-based DJ Refel was born in Oslo and raised in a clash of different cultures. Her sound is shaped by elements from all corners of the world. The common thread you find in her music is that it makes you dance no matter what. With afrotech, Mahragen, Dabke, Arabic electronica, house and much much more, Refelita finds a way to mix it all together to create a unique and euphoric experience. Join the dancefloor!