Mz. America Jackson Ready to Put on a Show at Out to Brunch

For Westword's second annual Out to Brunch, set for Saturday, June 8, we have some tasty entertainment planned: a drag show presented by the ART, a hotel that's been offering drag brunches in the Golden Triangle

There will be two shows, one at noon and one at 1 p.m., with Mz. America Jackson hosting alongside LaLa Queen and Sapphire Staxxx Bloomee.

In advance of the event, we caught up with Mz. America Jackson, aka Timothy Campbell, whose Instagram bio reads: "Mz. Jackson if you’re nasty, Mz. America if you’re patriotic. I lean towards the nasty." In addition to hosting drag performances, Campbell is program director at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center at the Denver Jewish Community Center, and also a real estate agent. Here's our interview with Campbell (edited for length and clarity):

Westword: Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got into drag performing.

Timothy Campbell: I am from Denver, originally born and raised. I'm a fifth-generation Coloradan, and I grew up in Edgewater, went to Jefferson County public schools, Lakewood High School. I knew I was queer from a fairly young age, and fell in love with performing when I was five years old and I was in the Christmas pageant. I played Santa in Santa and the Hanukkah Elves, and ever since then, I've been an actor. In 2012, I played Edna in Hairspray, and that kind of got me into my first real drag experience: I found that I can bring entertainment that way, and kind of fell in love with it.

Outside of that, we used to go to Tracks when we were younger, and Nina Flowers began Drag Nation at that time, and we became close with her. We really idolized what drag queens were doing in the Denver area at that time — Felony [Misdemeanor], Ginger Douglas, Victoria Sexton. We went out a couple of times as friends in drag, as friend groups. We had a friend re-create the Last Supper out of drag queens. She painted a sixteen-foot-long Last Supper with drag queens. And that was my actual first time in drag. She put me in drag, and so from that we just fell in love with the art form.

Do you have a favorite place to perform in Denver?

My favorite place would be the Clocktower Cabaret; I love the family that they have there. It's a great space because I can sing live there, I can do my shtick. But it's also a great, supportive community that works there, and it really feels like home. Outside of that, in queer spaces, I would say X Bar or Hamburger Mary's are my other favorite places to perform.

Can you give us a sneak peek at what your typical performance looks like?

It would be live singing, most likely. But I also love to tell jokes; I love to make people laugh, so I'll do, "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!," but use my deep voice when I say "man." You know, little campy things to add into traditional drag numbers. I'm definitely not the high kicker. I'm not the death dropper, but I said in 2024 I'm gonna do one death drop, and then I'm gonna have to be taken to the hospital with a broken pelvis and then never do one again.

My signature number is Adele's "Hello." If I'm in a space with windows, I run outside, ’cause she says "Hello from the outside," so I'll run outside and lip-sync. If I'm in a space that doesn't have windows, it involves a leaf blower, leaves and a spray bottle, and so I get covered in water and leaves and get blown by a leaf blower. So I usually try to make things light-hearted and fun.
For Westword's Out to Brunch, what can people expect to see? Do you have a couple of tricks up your sleeve?

It will be fun. It will be funny. Brunch is not the best time to do a serious number, so I'll probably sing a song or two and figure out how to do it in a space like that. But I love interacting with the crowd. I love talking to the crowd and creating quick connections with people.

Do you have a favorite brunch spot in Denver?

Anywhere that has a bloody Mary! We do a brunch once a month at the Apple Blossom at the Hyatt Centric, and I really enjoy their food and drinks. Hamburger Mary's has a great brunch, too.

Is there anything else you'd like people to know before this weekend?

I'm really excited to be there with everyone. I appreciate Westword for doing this, too: for being a queer representative, and standing up for queer people as well.

Out to Brunch 2024, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 8, York Street Yards, 3881 Steele Street; tickets are available on Etix. General admission entry is $50 — though that will go up to $60 at the door (if there are tickets left). General admission tickets are also available in four-packs for $160 ($40 each). Learn more here.