Every week, Rainbow Rodeo brings you the best new queer country music! Listen to this playlist on Spotify! Thanks to Elliott for making a parallel list on Apple Music! Listen to the parallel list on Tidal. Missed a week? Thomas Inskeep is generously keeping an archive of all music featured on this Spotify playlist.
Support Rainbow Rodeo when you purchase our zine, a t-shirt, or make a donation!
Jada Cato — “Shooting Stars”
Big thanks to Jess Wright at LiveOne for sharing this song on the streaming service’s Top 20 Countdown last week. So weird that if you actually play music by minoritized artists, and then spotlight them on one of your major channels, people will enjoy it! But back to Jada — “Shooting Stars” hits the country sweet spot of seductive and wholesome, adventurous and comforting. I choose to believe the Carhartts and camo Cato is snuggling into belong to a butch. Cato is no stranger to the part on Saturday/pray on Sunday lifestyle as a worship leader in Birmingham — and a winner of the GLAAD 2019 Rising Star Award.
Boy Golden — “Here to Stay”
Canada’s Boy Golden continues to play to his strengths: creating an alternative vintage country history that encompasses queer experiences — and the observations of the slightly strange. This jaunty sing-along imagines home and all the ways that could look.
Whitney Fenimore — “Thin Line”
Whitney Fenimore splashes in the pop end of the pool on her new single “Thin Line.” Fenimore and I spoke a few years ago about coming out and finding queer love. Unfortunately, “Thin Line” digs into a difficult chapter of that story: the moment where it ends.
Rachael Sage — “The Place of Fun — Reimagined / Acoustic”
So nice she did it twice — Rachael Sage is prepping to release an acoustic re-recording of her album The Other Side, as we discussed yesterday. This reimagining of “The Place of Fun” leans into Sage’s anti-folk days on the Lower East Side. Sage’s performance hints at Ani DiFranco’s breathy talk-singing and guitar flourishes. The shimmering mandolin and soothing cello give depth to the song, which grapples with confronting cancer.
Lily Rose — “True North”
I know I had some thoughts on Lily Rose after my trip to CRS…but there’s no denying she kicks ass. “True North” is more straight ahead rock than many of her previous releases, calling to mind fellow country rocker Ashley McBryde. “True North” details the travails of a young artist and the strength she gets from stopping in at home from time to time. This isn’t a song so much about unflagging determination, but making sure you pick up the pieces and don’t let the moments of doubt stick around too long.
The Belle Curves — “Certainty”
Finally, as a treat for those of you reading along on the web, here’s The Belle Curves’ Bandcamp-only cover of “Certainty.” The band’s cover of Big Thief builds on that band’s harmonies and raises it with the Curves’ trademark ’70s-inspired dreaminess.