Miss Golden Messenger – BERTHA: Grateful Drag Welcomes M.C. Taylor At Kennedy Center

The Kennedy Center kicked off a celebration of the Grateful Dead last night by hosting a BERTHA: Grateful Drag concert. Hiss Golden Messenger frontman MC Taylor joined the all-star collection of queer and allied East Nashville talent for multiple songs during their 90-minute set.

The Grateful Dead are among 2024 Kennedy Center Honorees set to be recognized on Sunday, December 8. This year’s class of honorees also includes legendary musicians Bonnie Raitt and Arturo Sandoval, renowned film director Francis Ford Coppola and receiving a special “iconic American institution” recognition, the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York.

BERTHA: Grateful Drag performed on Kennedy Center’s Millenium Stage on Wednesday. As always, the members were dressed in wigs and full face for their set. The group delivered a performance straight out of 1974 filled with such classics as “U.S. Blues,” “They Love Each Other,” “Casey Jones” and “Cassidy.”

M.C. Taylor embraced the spirit of the night by dressing in drag for his appearance with BERTHA: Grateful Drag. “This wasn’t on my bingo card for this year, but damn I’m here for it,” Taylor said before leading the band through “Brown-Eyed Women” and “Bertha.” Grateful Drag then went it alone for a sequence pairing “Scarlet Begonias,” an abbreviated “Drums > Space” and “Wharf Rat.”

BERTHA: Grateful Drag urged Kennedy Center attendees to get up on their feet as they threw down a raucous “Sugar Magnolia.” M.C. Taylor then returned to stage for “Going Down The Road Feeling Bad.” Taylor stuck around to help BERTHA: Grateful Drag close out the night with a short instrumental run through “And We Bid You Goodnight” and “Sunshine Daydream.”

Watch pro-shot video of BERTHA: Grateful Drag’s Kennedy Center set below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtCsbZIR9_c&ab_channel=TheKennedyCenter

Setlist

Set: U.S. Blues, Ramble On Rose, They Love Each Other, Casey Jones, Cassidy, Brown-Eyed Women*, Bertha*, Scarlet Begonias > Man Smart (Women Smarter) > Drums > Space > Wharf Rat, Sugar Magnolia > Going Down The Road Feeling Bad* > And We Bid You Goodnight* > Sunshine Daydream*

* – with M.C. Taylor on guitar and vocals