<\/p>\n
A one-of-a-kind spectacular that combines heavy metal, death-defying stunts and sideshow is returning to Coney Island.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n On Aug. 1 at 9 p.m., \u201cCherry Hellodies 7: South of Heaven\u201d will make its way to the sideshow stage at Coney Island USA. This year promises to be bigger and better than ever.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think that Hellodies is insane with taste. I like to do insane with purpose, with direction. But not just to shock because I can. I think that\u2019s like my main thing, not to just be crazy because I can be crazy. There\u2019s a direction and a meaning,\u201d said Miss Cherry Delight, Brooklyn musician and creator of Cherry Hellodies. \u201cIt\u2019s important to know that the show does not take itself seriously.<\/span><\/p>\n This year\u2019s lineup includes Pearls Daily, Boya Baddie, Echo Thorn, Queerly Femtastic, Artina Darkly, D\u00e9sir\u00e9e De Sade, The Trickster Bruises, Faux Pas Le Fae & Aurora North. This year\u2019s headliner is Wild West legendary performer Chris McDaniel, whom Delight credits for her beginnings performing at Coney Island.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cChris was one of the main ways that I got to perform in Coney Island because back when I was a little baby Cherry, I was his little cowgirl assistant on stage, holding targets and stuff for him with his whips and pulling tumbleweeds across the stage,\u201d said Delight. \u201cI\u2019m very excited.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a departure for me cause I\u2019m a more traditional act, so it\u2019ll be a wild, wild time,\u201d said McDaniel. \u201cI was honored to be asked. I\u2019d do just about anything for Cherry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n This will be the first time McDaniel has performed at Coney Island in about 10 years.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve missed Coney quite a bit, and it\u2019s wonderful to be coming back to the city. I haven\u2019t been back in quite a while, so it\u2019s gonna be great,\u201d said McDaniel.<\/span><\/p>\n Like in years past, all acts will be accompanied by Delight and her band, featuring Melinda \u201cMelfire\u201d Porto on backing vocals, singing her favorite covers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re playing a couple of genres that we haven\u2019t done in the past, not just your typical gothic and industrial adjacent stuff but stuff that\u2019s a little outside of our typical wheelhouse,\u201d said Justin Mathews, musician and frequent guitarist\/collaborator for Delight. \u201cEvery year it just gets bigger, and I think that one thing that has been gratifying for me is to see that there are regulars and there are newbies. I like to see the familiar faces, but I also like to see the ranks of those familiar faces grow.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Delight\u2019s Hellodies series has run annually, with the exception of the peak COVID years, and no two shows are exactly the same. For Delight, having a diverse cast was incredibly important.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very important to me to keep Hellodies diverse. It\u2019s very important to me all the time as an Asian performer; it\u2019s always important for me to always showcase people who are super talented, and from all different kinds of ancestry,\u201d said Delight.<\/span><\/p>\n This year will also feature a tribute to Chuck Varga, a friend of Delight and a founding member of GWAR and The Sexecutioner from 1985 to 2022, who has metastatic prostate cancer.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cChuck is a huge inspiration and a mentor of mine, and I love him very much. So this show is dedicated to him, and there will be a tribute to him in this show out of my love, and it\u2019s just my official thank you to him for everything that he\u2019s given me,\u201d said Delight.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This year\u2019s show will also return with high-end raffles, including an original signed photo taken by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame photographer Len DeLessio.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBring a group to the show because it\u2019s very fun. You\u2019re gonna want people afterwards to look at each other and say, \u2018Oh my god.\u2019 You\u2019re gonna need to talk to someone on the way home,\u201d said Delight.<\/span><\/p>\n Tickets for \u201cCherry Hellodies 7: South of Heaven\u201d are available for $30 ($35 day of) at <\/span>https:\/\/www.coneyisland.com\/event\/cherry-hellodies080126<\/span><\/a>. You must be 18+ to enter, 21+ to drink.<\/span><\/p>\nDetails<\/strong><\/h4>\n