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\n\tNatalie Bassingthwaighte will deliver an exclusive performance at the 2024 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras<\/a> \u2014 her first since coming out. <\/p>\n \n\tThe Rogue Traders singer and Australian TV celebrity is locked in for the inaugural Mardi Gras Debutante Ball for First Timers, hosted at Kinsela\u2019s in Darlinghurst. <\/p>\n \n\tIn addition to being guest of honor at the deb ball, Nat Bass, as she\u2019s affectionately known in these parts, will perform some of her \u201call-time favorite hits\u201d while \u201csharing her story,\u201d reps say.<\/p>\n \n\tAs singer with Rogue Traders, Bassingthwaighte has landed silverware and international hits. In 2006, two of those Rogue Traders numbers cracked the U.K. top 40, including the club track \u201cVoodoo Child,\u201d which peaked at No. 3 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart.<\/p>\n \n\tAlso, the dance act won an ARIA Award in 2003 for \u201cOne of My Kind\u201d (best dance release) and two APRA Music Awards, for \u201cWay to Go!\u201d in 2006 (most performed dance work) and \u201cIn Love Again\u201d in 2008 (dance work of the year).<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cBeing able to attend my first Mardi Gras as a new member of the queer community, surrounded with so much love, joy and acceptance is so special to me,\u201d Bassingthwaighte says in a statement, \u201cand what\u2019s even more special is knowing that I get to share this memorable experience with other First Timers of diverse queer identities.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tLGBTQIA+ community trailblazers and Mardi Gras custodians will also be watching on, including LGBTQIA+ advocate Robyn Kennedy, who is an original first-timer having attended the first ever Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1978, plus Making It Australia judge Benja Harney, and trans couture designer couple, Katie Louise Nicol-Ford and Lilian Nicol-Ford.<\/p>\n \n\tJohnnie Walker is a sponsor of the 2024 Mardi Gras, and is sponsoring the first-time Mardi Gras Debutante Ball, which celebrates \u201cthose who have, up until now, been unable to attend.\u201d The whisky brand is getting into the spirit of Mardi Gras with a competition, which invites first timers to enter for a chance at an all-expenses paid experience.<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tThe colorful LGBTQI party, march and festival is typically attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and abroad, and is set for Feb. 16 to March 3.<\/p>\n \n\tBassingthwaighte reunited with her Rogue Traders<\/a> bandmates last year for \u201cTo The Disco,\u201d their first release in over a decade. The dance act supported the release with a slate of performances. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n