Violet Chachki & Gottmik on chemistry and self-identity ahead of their Knockout Tour show at The Truman
Javiera Perez
For many artists, a national tour is a dream come true. For RuPaul’s Drag Race icons Violet Chachki and Gottmik, it’s the result of years of friendship and boundary-pushing drag. Their Knockout Tour blends burlesque, live original music, and fashion into a celebration of queer art.
The electric night of high-glam drag and bold self-expression will be on full display at The Truman on Sunday, Oct. 12. Opening the show will be KC’s own Lana Luxx, Kora Kayyy, and EV Vega, setting the stage for an unforgettable performance.
The tour brings together everything Violet and Gottmik have built over the years—it honors their friendship, creative freedom, and the courage to live authentically queer.
Violet and Gottmik’s chemistry, which has been built for years performing together, is what makes their performances a vibrant display. Violet, the RuPaul’s Drag Race season seven winner known for her corseted silhouettes and classic showgirl style, pairs effortlessly with Gottmik—the first trans man to compete on Drag Race and a rising fashion star known for a punk-inspired edge.
“We both do anything just so we can wear the outfit,” Violet says. For them, fashion is an extension of identity and a key part of how they tell stories on stage. “I love getting on stage and just laughing with Violet. We’re literally best friends and chosen family,” Gottmik says.
That easy dynamic, both fierce and funny, keeps audiences coming back. Their chemistry is magnetic because it’s real. What you witness on stage is a collaboration built on shared history and a profound understanding of what it means to live loudly in a society that usually demands the opposite. In our current political landscape, where drag has been scapegoated and legislated against, Violet and Gottmik are aware of what it means to take up space.
“I think drag is such a beautiful, glamorous figurehead for our community—you can perform anything, tell any story,” Gottmik says. Their work combines artistry and activism, turning performance into resistance. “The louder we are and the more to
gether we are, the better, because we’re not going anywhere, no matter what anyone says.”
Similar to any events centered around LGBTQ+ individuals, The Knockout Tour is about building a safe and inclusive community. “Providing a safe space for people who don’t have one—that’s the most rewarding part,” Violet says. After each show, the pair meets fans at the merch table, hearing stories about how much their presence means, especially in cities where queer spaces are limited or under threat. They urge LGBTQ+ community members to extend this olive branch outside of configured events.
“Find your chosen family. That changes everything,” Gottmik says. The advice resonates deeply, coming from two performers who have built their lives and art on that foundation, having turned their identity and self-expression into a nationwide tour.
Even after the lights fade and the wigs come off, both performers know their impact reaches far beyond the stage. When asked what advice she’d give young queer people today, Violet gave the same words of wisdom she gives to herself every day: “Try to stay safe and hang on. Just keep going and don’t give up.”
That authenticity runs through every moment of The Knockout Tour. It’s visible in the way Violet and Gottmik connect and perform with each other. “Who gets to travel the world with their best friend and produce an amazing show?” Gottmik asks. The pair’s bond captures the spirit of the tour as much as the rhinestones and spotlights. “It’s glamor versus rock and roll, high drag, high fashion, punk, queer artistry,” Violet says.
Each performance becomes a testament to resilience and creativity. Every beat, costume change, and shared laugh between two best friends shows how queer art thrives through both defiance and joy. Violet Chachki and Gottmik perform with intention, carrying forward a legacy of drag as protest, celebration, and an act of radical self-love.
When the curtains of The Knockout Tour fall at The Truman on Oct. 12, they say audiences will leave entertained, empowered, and reminded that the power of drag lives in truth.
