The attendees: Freddie Ross Jr., a.k.a. Big Freedia, 44, was joined by his boyfriend, the visual artist Devon Hurst, 36; his manager, Reid Martin, 36; the dancer Tootie, 31, whom he calls “my daughter”; the singer Tarriona “Tank” Ball, 32; the producer Adam J. Pigott, a.k.a. BlaqNmilD, age withheld; the interior designer and artist Bradley L. Bowers, 36; and the makeup artist Javetta White, 40.
The food: Aside from the dessert, Ross made everything himself, including stuffed crabs, bell peppers stuffed with ground beef and crab meat, fried catfish, slow-cooked beef ribs, dirty rice, macaroni and cheese, stir-fried vegetables and a garden salad. Afterward, there were brownie cheesecake cupcakes and sweet potato pie. “It was soul food,” he says. “Things that make you say ‘Mmmm, chile.’”
The music: None. Just lots of talking, according to Ross, and the sound of “forks and plates being scraped.”
The conversation: They chatted about drinks (Patrón, margaritas, Jägermeister, piña coladas), the local music scene (specifically Flagboy Giz’s “We Outside” [2022], a song celebrating New Orleans’s second-line parade culture) and Beyoncé sampling Big Freedia on her album “Renaissance” (2022). “Sometimes you don’t realize that you’re making history until you’re older and able to reflect,” says Ball. “I was definitely at the table with a few history makers that evening.”
