Meet The Cake Boys: A Queens Drag King Collective

Kick up your brunch game this weekend at the only drag king brunch in NYC—right here in Astoria!

The Cake Boys—made up of four long-time friends, Richard, Muscles Monty, Sweaty Eddie and Geminemisis—are a drag king collective working to revive the drag king scene in NYC. Though they’re making their Astoria debut this weekend at Singlecut Brewery, it’s been a long time coming.

“The Cake Boys were born out of frustration,” Richard told us. “There was a huge lack of representation of drag kings in the NYC drag scene. At one point we could count all the kings there were on one hand. We decided we had enough and wanted to prove to the community that kings are just as good as the rest!”

He founded The Cake Boys along with his friends (some whom he knew even before starting drag) in order to provide a platform for drag kings and non-binary performers, and help restore the community to how it was in its heyday in the ’90s.

“We really try and incorporate the ideas of all the kings in the community and we welcome anyone we work with to help us develop our show ideas and concepts,” he said. “We meet very regularly and brainstorm our next steps, show ideas, and strategies for the future! The four of us just clicked and we’re all really passionate about this project.”

Both Muscles Monty and Richard are Queens Natives—Richard is from Astoria and Muscles Monty is from College Point, and Sweaty Eddie lives in Sunnyside. They didn’t see a drag king scene exist here before, and “are working really hard to carve out a space for all Drag Kings through all the boroughs.”

Their first show—which is likely the very first all drag king brunch in NYC—is taking place this Saturday, February 8 at 12 p.m. at Singlecut (19-33 37th St, Astoria). 

“It may only seem like a simple brunch show, but it’s a lot more than that to us,” Richard explained. “Drag brunches have been heavily populated across all of the US—but mostly feature Drag Queens. What you don’t see are many drag kings producing events and especially events that are not just at LGBTQ specific bars and clubs. We’re really excited to have the opportunity to produce this show and especially that it’s going to be in Astoria!”

The show on Saturday has been modified to be more family-friendly, and some other kings they work with will be in attendance with their kids. A lot of their own families will be attending too, and it will be the first time for many of them seeing them perform.

As for what to expect, the show will definitely be very interactive with the audience, with games, raffle prizes and song numbers that pull up unsuspecting audience members. “If you plan on attending, be prepared we may have you lip syncing to some Queen with a feather boa!” he said.

There will be $10 carafes of beer and a brunch food menu. And be sure to bring cash so you can tip the performers!

The Cake Boys hope to make this show a monthly occurrence at the brewery, but in the meantime, be sure to check out their next show called THE DOOD NETWORK in Ridgewood. Tickets can be purchased here. You can stay up to date on all details on Instagram @the_cakeboys.