Article Contributed by June Reedy
Published on 2026-02-19
Bertha: Grateful Drag | Thalia Hall | Chicago, IL | February 6th, 2026 | photos by June Jameson
Bertha: Grateful Drag began as a protest, and now it has become a formula for fun. There must be something about a warm February – March that gets the ol creative juices flowing. It was February – March in 1969 when the Grateful Dead played a run at the Fillmore West, recorded by Owsley Stanley. Those performances became Live/Dead, the live album that helped pull them out of debt and into legend status. That is a story for another time, but it got me thinking about pristine, clean, excellent live recordings – the kind that don’t just document an evening with the band, they pull you back into the magic of the moment.
Recording a live show is like catching lightning in a bottle, so they say. Maybe it is less about the lightning and more about the storm. There is that sense that something could go beautifully wrong at any minute. Is it true that a band is only great live? Nah. It’s lightning in a bottle, and it’s one of the best ways to get your friends to come with you to the show next time. Lord knows YMSB got me hooked with Mountain Tracks Vol 1 – oh heck, any volume but that one with the Legalize It jam mid Keep On Goin is still in heavy rotation with me.
Bertha: Grateful Drag is giving us nineteen tracks compiled over the course of 2024 & 2025. There are 3 tracks from the 4/18/25 Brooklyn Bowl Vegas show, a track from the 9/12/24 Brooklyn Bowl Brooklyn show, 3 tracks from the Asheville 5/17/25 show, a couple of tracks from Vail CO’s 6/17/25 show. The last track, Terrapin Station, and track #8, Samson and Delilah, make me long for the Mishawaka Amphitheatre as if I didn’t so much already! There is a track from everyone’s favorite dirty little secret, the Aggie in Fort Collins, and behold… There are 6 tracks from Thalia Hall, Chicago 2/1/25! It’s a love letter to America. The America that gives us her tired, her poor, her huddled masses yearning to breathe free. Bertha lifts their lovelamps beside the Golden Road. They placed their flag in the land of live recordings.
Slaying in the Band Vol 1 is evidence that Grateful Drag as a protest will be a very curvy road, no doubt. It’s available now to hold you over until the circus comes back to town. Holding onto the happenings and hearing what you missed in other cities is the stuff of roadtrip daydreams. It’s a must-have for musical connoisseurs who choose a show instead of a song when you throw them the aux cord. It’s truly something to ponder: this protest ain’t ending anytime soon. This band is making their loop again with more rhinestones and tighter harmonies. Their musicianship proves that the higher the hair, the closer to God.
I hope Auntie Bertha don’t get bunions stepping in all that funk. We have these developed characters hiding out in drag who are, inconveniently for the haters, incredible musicians in their own right – complete with original projects and long musical histories of their own. The twins back on drums and keys (and yes… I still gotta know, do the twins have their own identities? Their own names? Or is it just “the twins?”) Tickling the ivories at Thalia Hall 2/6/26, the first of their 2-night Chicago run – that twin was tuning into the frequencies of Brent so very well. At times, a little Pigpen too, but dang. The sounds are materializing and maturing, and woaa buddy, it’s a party!
Thalia Hall itself feels like a character developing this peaceful leapfrog. The gender neutral bathrooms, the dead-icated staff, the Romanesque Revival landmark theatre embraces it all while the audience rejoices and renews the cycle. Chicago shows up! They did last year as Greeley Duvall did her thang, and they did again this year for 2 nights. They show up not just to spectate but to participate, whistle, shimmy, shake, and testify! Two nights at Thalia Hall feels fresh every time. You never know who you’ll meet and where.
Adorned on that beautiful stage, Mommy Bertha Caitlin is a dream – a vision of 80’s Dolly Parton with her own flair, big hair, and bigger heart. Cinderella leaves that stage, and we all return to this shitty timeline, but for a few hours, we get to live here at Bertha’s pageant.
Thalia Hall, Friday, 2/6/26
1st set: Hell in a Bucket, Ramble On Rose, Greatest Story Ever Told, Casey Jones, Queen Jane Approximately, Bird Song, It’s All Over Now, Dire Wolf
Asked them for water, and they poured me some wine. Bird Song had Mommy and Daddy Bertha off in the wings while the music soared, searching for truth. Ah, the flight of Bird Song! At least we’re enjoying the ride. Please don’t murder me! Capture this storm, I hope somebody got the soundboards for this Thalia Hall Chicago run.
2nd set: Help on the Way> Slipknot!> Franklin’s Tower, Hard to Handle, He’s Gone, Drums> Space, I Need a Miracle, Morning Dew, Good Lovin’
E: U.S. Blues
The second set started off with Help>Slip>Franklin’s Tower. I know I have said it before but it bears repeating: Women on vocals doing the Grateful Dead’s catalog is my idea of a great time. Yet somehow here I sat feeling awkward, like climbing the rope in gym class, when I caught myself watching Baby Bertha’s legs in fishnets, waiting for that Bobby stankleg/flamingo/four stance that may never happen the same way again. Still here I was, helplessly hoping it would – and thrilled when it almost happened! Thank you, Mike Wheeler. Your freckles are adorable. I’m confident in my cis straight self, but you help me push the boundaries and see beauty differently. That shit was hot.
Everyone deserves to be here, rolling away the dew. If you see something, say something. They are selling merch and giving out whistles. This show donated proceeds to Life is Work Resource Center. Slaying in the Band will donate proceeds to Trans Aid Nashville. These are folks that treat money like currency – like energy – not like something to hoard for control. Mama, they sure are hard to handle.
Auntie led with a stankface, the joy amps up to 11, now everybody had the stankface. In this garbage data-mined world where attention is the real commodity, Grateful Drag is stealing your face right off your head. Baby Bertha grabbed the vox for “He’s Gone.” Suddenly, it went from a Roll Away the Dew Dance Party to something hushed and holy. You could hear a pin drop when somebody from the back of the house hollered, “We Miss You Bobby!” and right then they brought us to church. Like a steam locomotive rolling down the track…
The other one, that’s what I’ll call the Twin on drums. The other one busted out a Drums>Space that included a rockette-style washboard jam. It was a big vibe and totally enthralling for the audience to feast their eyes upon. Hearing Melody Walker belt out, “I need a woman twice my height,” with a smirk, just does it for us. It’s protest, but make it poppycock. The whimsical message lands for us wayward travelers. Take Dean, for instance – flew in from Arizona for this Midwest run. Indy then two nights here in Chicago. This was his 12th Bertha show. Pretty cool for a band that is only a couple of years deep. I met Dean outside waiting for Tom. I made friends in the balcony. We all shared a kaleidoscope to watch the show a little more magically.
Not only is this band developing but the colors are getting brighter. The jams are way more confident. The transitions are tighter. Slaying in the Band Vol 1 is a mile marker they have already launched upwards from. The album proves they can bottle it. This 2026 Thalia Hall run proves they are still setting it free. They are honing their skills in both music and hair & make up. It keeps the kitsch at bay, but that doesn’t mean they have to; we all want a reason to wear sequins and share kaleidoscopes. There is still so much to stand up to. It’s a wonderful way to celebrate mutual aid for all.
These are excellent musicians hiding out in drag, calling out the disorder and creating a diaspora. We can huddle in their light while we practice being together. The albums and the shows will be a great start. We will continue to believe that the four winds will blow us all safely home again, and we can all hope to one day rock a comfy Kaftan, ditch the MaraLago face, and have a Bertha make-over instead, inside & out.
