If you’ve been following me on the social medias, you know I’ve been teasing an announcement for the past week. Well, here it is! I am launching the Rainbow Rodeo Newsletter, a companion to the Rainbow Rodeo zine. The newsletter hits your inbox every two weeks and is your one-stop shop for news, premieres, album reviews, and interviews with all of your favorite queer country artists! Subscribe today (and click the button twice) for the very first issue, which includes my thoughts on country music’s latest and perpetual scandal, M-rgan Wallen, and queer separatism. There is also an essay by Karen Pittelman of Karen and the Sorrows, detailing her manifesto for the queer country community.
And, of course, there’s music! The Rainbow Rodeo playlist will update every two weeks with new and classic queer country songs! This week features:
- Lavender Country — “I Can’t Shake the Stranger Out of You” (Single) — Lavender Country actually released this album a year ago, but now with indie label Don Giovanni’s backing, the album will be released with the fanfare it deserves. Lavender Country, spearheaded by Patrick Haggerty, is the first known queer country artist. The band’s first release in the 70s, Lavender Country, is chock full of punk rock piss and vinegar. Blackberry Rose and Other Songs of Sorrow is a bit more melancholy, but no less anti-racist and queer-as-in-fuck-you as the first album, and features the work of pioneering queer musician Blackberri, whom we just lost.
- DeLila Black — “Accountability” (Single) — I feel very fortunate to have spoken with British country punk artist DeLila Black about her powerful song “Accountability.” I was really taken with Professor Francesca Royster’s dissection of the song in her conversation with Karen, Dean Hubbs, and Charles Hughes about nostalgia and country music for Country Soul Songbook (watch here) and how Black weaponizes country music tropes against racists — and white people who think they’re not.
- Jenny Parrott — “I Thought” (The Fire I Saw) — I’m also honored to have spoken with Jenny Parrott about this captivating song. I’m a sucker for baritone guitars and the Pixie-ish guitar solo scratches a deep itch in my brain. Parrott’s radical vulnerability in the song makes it as touching as it is groovy.
- Kai Matta — “Inside Your Heart (feat. Animal Feelings)” (Single) — Queer Philippina artist Kai Matta’s new single masterfully layers pop layers into a lush, majestic ballad of love at a turning point. Matta’s relentless positivity makes even the saddest songs a commitment to a better, more meaningful life.
- Bruisey Peets — “Chicken” (Poached Eggs) — This one’s a little quirky and a little weird and also deeply sad. In his track by track, Bruisey Peets walks us through an epic album of grief, betrayal, and reclaiming yourself.
- Joy Clark — “Love Yourself” (Here) — To watch Joy Clark play is like sitting in a forest clearing on a warm spring day. Clark embodies her name while she plays, allowing the music to take her where it will. (And you can see her play with the Black Opry Revue, coming to a city near you.) “Love Yourself” is sort of the obvious choice for a list like this: it’s a reminder many of us queer folk need day in and day out.
- Janis Ian — “I’m Still Standing” (Single) — Veteran folk singer Janis Ian releases her latest album, The Light at the End of the Line, next week. I’m enthralled by the forcefulness of Ian’s singing and the quiet resolution in her lyrics. Being elderly is not valued in our society — and certainly not in queer culture. This song, to me, is a roadmap to moving forward through life with pride and dignity.
- Crys Matthews — “Prodigal Son” (Changemakers) — I just love talking to Crys Matthews. She’s smart as hell and that translates directly into her lyrics. Changemakers is a tour de force of political music that recaptures the energy of the ’60s folk era. On “Prodigal Son,” Matthews tells a familiar story of growing up closeted in the South.
- Sarah Shook — “No Mistakes” (Single) — Sarah Shook has mastered the art of breakup honky-tonk songs. With their trademark drawl, Shook evokes a bygone era of roadside dives, when relationships could end with a phone call or a letter, not a text message. “No Mistakes” has a sassy, ’70s country-soul groove that takes the edge off the pain while ever-so-gently mocking the narrator’s attempts to patch things up.
- Mercy Bell — “All Good Cowboys” (Mercy Bell) — This isn’t Bell’s most recent album (and you absolutely should listen to Golden Child right away) but nobody does catchy melodies better than Bell and it doesn’t get better than “All Good Cowboys.” Bell has a unique talent for wrangling melancholy and pop into songs that are soothing, singable, and deeply sad.
I think that following me on Spotify is a thing you can do to make sure you get a new playlist from me every Friday! You can also follow Tuesday Teardrops, a playlist of new and exciting songs that refreshes every — you guessed it — Tuesday! As always, buy music and/or merch directly from the artists because Spotify is a horrible and exploitative platform!
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