To say that Prince Johnny (Victor Kholod) has made a name for himself in New York would perhaps be the biggest understatement of the year—and it’s only March.

Born to Jewish refugee parents fleeing the crumbling Soviet Union, Kholod grew up with his father’s bootleg MP3s of Russian alt rock acts like Zemfira and t.A.T.u. (remember them?) and, at 13, began teaching himself piano with YouTube Regina Spektor tutorials.

“The amount of times I’ve literally just falling into a nice deep hug during a Troubadour when I’ve been super stressed and it’s really calmed me down..is high. I love you guys SO much!” – Prince Johnny

After graduating in 2016, Kholod moved to New York and survived by busking in subway stations, adopting a theatrical and immediate storytelling style caught between German cabaret raunch and 70s Troubadour oration. A few years later, he attended Jack Antonoff’s Ally Coalition Talent Show, an annual LGBTQIA+ charity concert, and was inspired to create “The Troubadour Lounge,” a monthly queer singer-songwriter charity showcase (think Sofar Sounds mixed with Tiny Desk, but queer).

Each month Prince Johnny and his team of all stars finds 3 queer acts for a night of music & heart-centric community. Following last year’s success at Club Cumming, they aren’t doing too badly this year—coming in hot with a two month residency at Bedlam in the East Village.

“This is our biggest space yet. After y’all sold tf out so many of our shows we knew we were hermit crabs that had outgrown our shells.” – Prince Johnny

To date, he has raised over $1000 for The Ally Coalition.

Check out The Troubadour Lounge March 27th in New York City. Info on his Instagram page.