When “American Idol” and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” alum Adore Delano and “The Voice” contestant Sasha Allen talk about coming to San Francisco for annual musical and comedy Holiday Gaiety (Sat/17; Davies Symphony Hall)—hosted by Peaches Christ and conductor Edwin Outwater—the excitement is real.
It comes out naturally in our Zoom interview, in overlapping sentences and easy laughter, the kind of energy that suggests they’re still slightly surprised by how much they enjoy doing things together—onstage and off.
What emerges is something loose and genuine: two artists acutely aware that they’re stepping into a rare experience, and doing so side by side.
“I’m excited,” says Allen, plainly.
“Sasha loves the holidays, so I do, too,” adds Delano.
There’s a tenderness in that exchange that sets the tone for everything that follows. Holiday Gaiety isn’t just another stop on a calendar; it’s a performance that feels personal to both of them in different ways, tied to memory, ambition, and timing.
For Allen, the invitation landed with particular force. “I’m a big holiday guy, so I’m really excited,” says the singer-songwriter. “The concept of playing with an orchestra is so crazy.”
As a former band kid, the opportunity taps directly into his musical foundation—the place where discipline, collaboration, and collective sound first took shape.
Performing with an orchestra isn’t just an aesthetic upgrade; it’s a return to something formative, a chance to reconnect with the version of himself who first fell in love with music in a room full of other players, all moving together. “That’s totally my dream,” he says. “It’s very once-in-a-lifetime and very unique. And to be able to do original songs, too, with that accompaniment!”
Delano hears the weight of that immediately. “I’m super-excited,” agrees the genre-defying pop performer. “That’s a huge deal. So we’re definitely not taking it for granted. It’s going to be really beautiful.”
The way they describe the performance makes it clear that this isn’t about spectacle for spectacle’s sake. There’s an intentionality to how they’re approaching it—a desire to honor the setting, the music, and the moment without overcomplicating it. The orchestra isn’t there to overwhelm the songs, but to deepen them, to open up space rather than fill it.
Onstage, the plan is simple by design. “We’re doing one song each, an original song,” Delano says, “and then we’re both doing a duet, a cover of ‘Stay’ by Rihanna.”
“That’s our signature duet song,” adds Allen. “That was our first karaoke song together. And we were like, ‘Oh, this works.’”
The song wasn’t chosen strategically; it stuck because it felt right. It became familiar the way certain things do in relationships—not because they were planned, but because they revealed something true early on.
“We need to learn some other ones at some point,” Allen jokes. “But yeah, this will be cute.”
San Francisco itself holds very different meanings for each of them. For Allen, the city remains entirely uncharted. “It’ll be my first time in San Francisco,” he says, “under very cool circumstances.”
His mental image of the city is distilled into a single landmark. “They have the big red bridge, right?” asks Allen. “That’s the image in my brain.”
For Delano, San Francisco is layered with memory. “I love San Francisco,” she says. “I usually perform at Oasis, which is unfortunately shutting down.”
Her connection to the city stretches back to the very beginning of her touring life, long before TV exposure or widespread recognition. “In my first year of touring, one of my first gigs was at The Café and then Toad Hall,” says Delano. “I wasn’t even announced on ‘Drag Race’ yet.”
The crowds were small, with 20 people in attendance, and the recognition was minimal. “They were like, ‘Is this bitch in red hair?’” she says. “And I was like, ‘It’s me, Jessica.’”
Those early shows weren’t glamorous, but they mattered. They’re the kind of experiences that shape an artist’s relationship to performance—intimate, uncertain, and fueled entirely by instinct rather than validation.
Returning to San Francisco now, with history behind her and a new chapter unfolding, carries a quiet resonance.
As the pair talks about traveling and touring, their differences surface easily. Allen is restless and curious, eager to experience wherever they land. “Anytime we go somewhere, I explore, and you explore with me,” he says to his girlfriend.
“Yeah,” says Delano before reversing course. “No, I’ll just stay under the covers and play Fortnite.”
This year, they won’t spend Christmas together, a reality shaped by family geography and packed schedules rather than lack of desire.
Still, the season hasn’t gone unmarked by Allen. “When I got home from work, he decorated the fireplace with cute little stockings and a little mini tree,” Delano says.
“I did decorate for Christmas,” adds Allen. “I got stockings that have an A and an S on them because I knew you weren’t going to.” Delano acknowledges the romantic gesture as she leans her head on his shoulder.
They’ll celebrate the holiday early, the way they did last year. “We basically had two Christmases,” says Allen. “Our own Christmas morning, and then with our families.”
When asked what the other understands about them that almost no one else does, the conversation slows. The humor drops away, replaced by something quieter and more vulnerable.
“She sees my ambitions and dreams more realistically than anyone else has in my life,” Allen says. “She speaks a lot of life into me and everything that I’ve imagined for myself.”
“That’s so sweet,” says Delano, blushing.
She talks about her long-term goal of moving more fully into acting, and the moments when doubt creeps in. “Even when I think I’m being lazy,” she says, turning to Allen, “you always breathe life into that.”
“It’s all already there,” says Allen, supportively.
Communication, they agree, is the foundation. “We talk a lot,” Delano says. “We communicate a lot.”
“We will talk anything out,” adds Allen. “You let me talk and go in circles. You listen very, very hard.”
Performing together has only deepened that trust. Sharing stages, even when they’re technically performing separately, has sharpened their understanding of each other as artists.
Allen says watching Delano work has shaped him. “I look up to her as a performer,” he says. “Watching how she handles herself onstage has changed the way I perform.”
They both knew early that what they had could become something serious. “Probably the first date,” Delano says. “I knew from the moment I saw you,” adds Allen.
That first date, in November of 2024, lasted nine or 10 hours. So did the second one. Allen felt so intoxicated by the encounter that afterward, he went home and called his mother at 7 am to tell her all about it.
Two weeks later, he asked Delano to be his girlfriend.
They joke about couples they admire—Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker, Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco—but what they describe is quieter and more grounded: black-cat energy meeting golden-retriever devotion, affection expressed through attention rather than performance.
They met through Instagram replies and DMs. “I very much made the first move with a lot of fire emojis,” says Allen. “She replied, ‘Thanks, cutie.’ And I was so in.”
Career-wise, both are stepping into new chapters. Allen has just finished his debut album, due out next year, and is also working on an LGBTQ+ children’s book. Delano is moving further into acting, having recently completed her first film, Hag, a queer suspense thriller, out on Tubi on December 12.
“I’ll be watching,” Allen says, adoring as ever.
As Holiday Gaiety approaches, what stands out isn’t just the performance itself, but the way the couple is arriving at it—unrushed, present, and clearly aware that this moment, like many others in their relationship, is something worth savoring.
HOLIDAY GAIETY Wed/17. Davies Symphony Hall, SF. Tickets and more info here.
