Lucas Silveira has a special association with Kingston – and its weather.

The first time lead singer and guitarist Silveira and his band The Cliks came to play a show, they played in a pub while Kingston was enduring some of its favourite weather conditions.

“I was having a hard time with a partner I had at the time and that night I saw this awful snowstorm,” he said. “So I said ‘Forget it, I’m not staying in Kingston.’”

What awaited Silveira at home was the reason he saw Kingston as a dark town from then on.

“That night, I came home and found out my partner was cheating on me.”

But Silveira has since found love again and, despite past hardships, he’s adamant that he still enjoys playing shows in Kingston.

“Kingston is amazing. The one thing I like is getting there during the day because at night you can’t see how pretty it is,” he said. “I’m even trying to see if I can bring my dog with me for a weekend away when we come next.”

The Cliks will be returning to the city on Friday to play a show at the Grad Club as a part of Queerientation.

Silveira said he and the band were happy when they were approached to perform.

“I’m a transgender,” he said. “Being part of the LGBTQ community, I’m automatically in play for being part of these events, being a musician.”

Silveira started The Cliks back in 2004, and one of the highlights for the group, he said, was getting to perform with Cyndi Lauper on tour.

“There was nothing better than that because on the second tour, I sang the encore with her every night on stage,” Silveira said.

At the show on Friday, he said the band will definitely play favourites like “Savanna,” an upbeat pop track with a humorous music video to match.

Since beginning hormone replacement therapy in 2010, Silveira said his voice has changed and it’s harder to hit the higher notes.

“The band’s new sound is now very soul-rock oriented, so some of the stuff might remind you of old Motown and just modern pop,” he said.

Silveira gets to exercise his solo singing chops in his YouTube videos of covers, including versions of Robyn, Kanye West and Lady Gaga songs.

The vocalist said his favourite song to cover has been Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around (Comes Around)” because it’s so rhythmical.

“I like playing mellow music,” Silveira said. “When Gene Simmons said, ‘If it’s too loud, you’re too old,’ I’m like, ‘No, that’s bullshit.’ I love quiet music.”

The Cliks will play the Grad Club on Friday at 9 p.m.