QRave’s second edition to be held in Bengaluru

“This is a space that we have been craving for…a utopic space where we can be ourselves,” says multi-disciplinary artist Avril Stormy Unger, drag alter Chutney Mary, the co-founder of QRave, a club night revolving around queer and women DJs and music producers. QRave is a space, which is “not just queer-friendly, but queer-affirming,” she says of the event, which has already had seven editions in Goa and will be hosting its second edition in Bengaluru on 11 July at The Burrow.

QRave was launched back in December 2023 by Avril and her friend Aadhi, aka Mo’Homo, in Goa “We used to run certain community-based queer events, and we just decided to launch QRave as something we could do in a recurring way,” she says, explaining that unlike many other queer events, which have “drag, open mic, poetry and so on, this is specifically a club night in the mainstream music scene in India. Also, while our line-up are queer and women, this is open to everyone.”

Highlights and more

Some of the highlights of the event include Atita Verghese, also known as RattyAtty, a DJ and one of India’s first female skateboarders; Disco Puppet, the moniker of Bengaluru-based producer and musician Shoumik Biswas; and, of course, Chutney Mary herself. “We also have this Goa-based visual artist called Poyo,” says Avril, adding that these text-based visuals are “very queer and creates the kind of atmosphere where being queer is normal, and we are not the outsider anymore.”

After all, as Atita, who usually plays “percussive, low-end wobblers with feel-good high-energy bounce,” says, representation still matters. “People feel more welcome and safe when there are underrepresented identities behind the decks and on the floor,” she says, pointing out that seeing others like themselves in these spaces helps foster community because people can relate to and feel safe around each other. “That’s key in nightlife culture,” believes Atita. “To foster a space where one can completely let loose and feel free enough to feel themselves and the shared energy of dancefloor dynamics.”

QRave will be held at The Burrow, Seshadripuram, on July 11, starting at 8 pm. Tickets are available at sortmyscene.com