A cast of local drag faves will bid Oasis nightclub farewell at its final musical cabaret show before the venue closes at the end of the year. Oasis co-founder and SF’s first Drag Laureate D’Arcy Drollinger will also be passing the torch to SF’s new Drag Laureate Per Sia.
As the Chronicle reports, beloved queer South of Market nightclub Oasis announced its final musical cabaret show will be taking place next Sunday, November 30, before the venue officially closes its doors after New Year’s Eve, per SFist.
Sunday’s cabaret show will be hosted by Snaxx, who’s credited as the first cis female drag queen to win Oasis nightclub’s Star Search pageant in 2019, per the site Xpress. The line-up will feature a long list of club staples, such as Manuel Caneri, Maureen McVerry and Vanilla Meringue, accompanied by the Tom Shaw Trio performing a set list about “loss, grief, memories, acceptance, and what the future may hold.”
The night will also include an onstage interview with Drollinger, who's also the owner and artistic director of Oasis, by the Chronicle’s Tony Bravo. Additionally, Drollinger will mark the conclusion of her two-and-a-half-year-long tenure as San Francisco’s first Drag Laureate when she officially steps down to make way for SF’s next Drag Laureate, Per Sia, a Drag Queen Story Hour veteran, afterschool arts program teacher, and trans woman, per SFist.
The Chronicle notes that the San Francisco Public Library, which manages the drag laureate program, is a supporter of the event.
Per SFist, Oasis was co-founded by Drollinger and the late Heklina ten years ago. Despite being a continually popular spot in the community, Oasis’s closure announcement in July cited rising operation costs and declining attendance, along with the extra burden of increased security and insurance stemming from an armed robbery in July of 2024.
See a PBS News interview with Drollinger about her role as Drag Laureate below.
Per the Chronicle, Drollinger assures the public there will be much more programming to come at local venues in the future via the nonprofit, Oasis Arts. Although it was announced in July that the nonprofit was partnering with the newly reopened Castro Theatre, per SFist, the theater is not listed as a partner on Oasis Arts’s website.
Event Information
'Happy Trails: The Final Live Musical Concert,' // 7 pm, Sunday, November 30 // Oasis, 298 11th Street, San Francisco // $47.08
Image: D’Arcy Drollinger/Facebook
Previously: Queer SoMa Nightclub Oasis Set to Close After 10 Years, Citing Declining Attendance
Breaking: Per Sia Is San Francisco's New Drag Laureate
Related: Heklina Memorial Features Hours of Laughs, and a Few Tears, for a Beloved Queen and Mother
