How Dolly Became Ours

Rainbow Rodeo mourns the passing of Dolly Parton. This article was commissioned several months ago and was scheduled to run next week, but we can't think of a better way to celebrate Dolly's life than featuring her impact on the queer community. The article has been to edited to reflect Parton's passing – Rachel

Dolly Parton is a figure within country music that not only has been tied to feminism within the genre of country, but she's also inherently tied to the queer community. In the early days of her career, far before many others, Parton began to advocate for the community and have her music resonate deeply with their lived experiences. 

Having grown up in the era where she was heavily featured on Hannah Montana, she was a light in what seemed like the iffy genre of country music. Growing up as a Sapphic, country didn’t have to be chugging beers and sleeping with women but instead, it could be living authentically as yourself in whatever way you define that to be. She is so deeply embedded in culture that it is hard to point down where this feeling truly began in childhood, as it stemmed far beyond Disney Channel. 

There is something almost funny about how much Dolly Parton means to queer people. She was not queer. She never claimed to be. But somewhere along the way, Dolly became ours anyway. Not in the possessive sense, but in the way certain people become woven into a community simply because of what they represent to the people inside of it. She became the woman in rhinestones who somehow makes you believe there is room for you, too.

Dolly always had a particular affection for people on the outside of whatever society has decided is normal, and she writes about them without turning their difference into a punchline. “Coat of Many Colors” is about a poor little girl being bullied for wearing a coat made from scraps. “9 to 5” became an anthem about women fighting against a system designed to exploit them. Even “Jolene,” perhaps the song most famously reclaimed by queer listeners, is fascinating because Dolly spends the entire song speaking directly to another woman, fixating on her beauty and begging her not to take the man she loves. The song was never written as a queer text, but queer people have never needed a song to be written specifically for us before we could find ourselves in it. That's part of what Dolly has always understood: you don't have to tell people exactly who they are for them to recognize themselves in what you're singing.

In order to understand this intersection more clearly from someone that watched her evolve as an artist longer than I have, I sat down with Justin Hiltner, an expert on Dolly, to discuss the topic more in depth. 

Continue reading Alivia Stonier's beautiful essay here!

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New Podcast!

We've got a new Podcast series out right now: Songs That Made Me Gay. Episode 2 is with Cindy Emch – and it's guaranteed to make you 60% gayer. You'll need to subscribe for $5 a month or more to listen. :)

Rainbow Roundup

• Do you wish Country Pride was a permanent channel on Sirius XM? Good news! Starting today, you can find it in Sirius XM XTRA on the app and web – and I'll be the voice of the station moving forward!
• The only self-described content creator I'll actually watch (Gaydar) interviews Brittany Howard
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Gillian Branstetter (@gbbranstetter.bsky.social)

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Fundraisers

• Robert Bock is finally recording that damn album of his and I'm so excited to have it in my hands so help me out by contributing (you'll need to hover over the images – I got a little confused at first)
• So many of the artists we feature here rely on shows like Mountain Stage and Tiny Desk to get the word out. If, like me, you live in a major city with a large donor base, your station is probably fine. So maybe adopt a station that's had more than 70% of its budget slashed? I'm choosing Allegheny Mountain Radio just because it fits the theme.
• Kamara Thomas, who is a co-organizer of Southern Soul Songbook, needs support as she recovers from Stage 3 breast cancer
• Color Me Country is seeking to raise $202,000 to support BIPOC artists with travel grants and more. Donate here.

Need a Protest Song Mixed?

Artist and Rainbow Rodeo contributor Arend Lee Jessurun has this offer for artists:

I'm looking to get back into the production/mixing/mastering game since a bit of a hiatus for health. I'm starting to better manage my energy with fibromyalgia, and I'm a bit antsy to do more of the work I love. And I'd especially love to work with other queers!

Also, if you've got protest music for these times, I'd love to produce, mix, and/or master it for cheap, even for free if I can swing it. If you're unfamiliar with my work and studio, check it out here.

Events

I make this list by scrolling through Instagram and Threads (and occasionally Bluesky when you all post there.) Feel free to send me events by replying to this e-mail!

• 9/6 (Albany, CA) – See Mr. Cindy & The Secret Emchy Society, Ashleigh Flynn and the Riveters, and Corner Ponies at The Ivy Room
• 9/11 (Evanston, IL) – Ann Powers speaks with Anjimele, She Returns From War, Creekbed Carter Hogan, and Growing Pains to kick off Evanston Folk Fest
• 9/12 and 9/13 (Evanston, IL) – Evanston Folk Festival is sporting a killer lineup, including the Indigo Girls, Angela Autumn, Anjimile, Lucy Wainwright Roche, and She Returns From War
• 9/16 (Saskatoon, CA) – CJ Trubiak will perform at the Diamond in the Rough 3:30–4:30 PM Diamonds in the Rough showcase at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Saskatoon Downtown for Canadian Country Music Week
• 9/17 (Saskatoon, CA) – Elise LeBlanc and Shawnee Kish are set to perform at the Sirius XM Country Pride Y'all Means All showcase at Capitol Music Club (tickets here) – when will Sirius XM fly me out, huh?
• 9/17 (Nashville, TN) – Queer Roots Showcase returns to the Lipstick Lounge at Americanafest, featuring Jaime Wyatt
, Rainbow Girls
, Reilly Downes
, Bobby Dove
, Ruby Dice
, and Jared Tyler

• 9/18 - 9/20 (Lockhart, TX) – The Texas Women's Songwriter festival is back, and Rita Bliss is in the lineup
• 9/25 - 9/26 (New Orleans, LA) – Black Americanafest returns for a second year in a row. Some of the queer artists featured are Joy Clark, Lili Lewis, The Kentucky Gentlemen, Denitia, Grace Givertz – and many more!
• 10/8 - 11/12 (Great Britain) – Queer Cxntry hits the road across the jolly old England

Artist Resources

• List your queer New York City-based events in Groove
• UK artist Pearl Does Country wants to feature your music on his new internet radio show!
• The Songbird Radio Show wants your music
• Someone from Threads is soliciting Queer music of all genres for her podcast
• The Wild Honey Pie is looking for YOUR folk music! (Think Western AF, but more twee.) Submit here
• The IndieBubble podcast network is soliciting country music submissions
• Radiofolk is soliciting folk/acoustic music
• Send in your music to this new alt-country radio station!
• What's a premiere and how do you pitch it?
• Got a release coming up? Add it to Country Everywhere’s newsletter! Country Everywhere is a directory of artists and news for queer, BIPOC, and disabled artists.
• With Bandcamp changing hands and union busting, here are some alternative resources for selling your music online
• Are you on BlueSky? Queer country artist 2 AM Wake Up Call created this feed of musicians. You can ask them to be added to the feed!
• I also made a Y’allternative Feed on Bluesky. Let me know if you’d like your posts to appear on the feed!
• We Are Moving the Needle is looking for women and non-binary audio engineers and music producers
• Eli Conley is teaching Unlock the Song Inside: Beginning Songwriting Class for Queer & Trans Folks & Allies, and he also offers an online LGBTQ+ songwriter circle!
• If you’re thinking of joining Mastodon, make an account on musician.social and read my tips for making Mastodon work for you!
• Once you do that, reach out to Moonshine Brigade to get added to their Americana and country music starter pack.
• Nice Hearing About Music highlights artists on the Fediverse - check them out and make sure they know about you!
• Submit your music and events to The Q LGBTQ Creative Network
• This Twitter thread has a whole list of places to find jobs in the music industry
• And here’s a list of resources for “women” entering the music industry — presumably they also encourage nonbinary participants
• Submit your profile to the Country Everywhere which seeks to unite BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled artists and professionals
• Sign up to the Black Opry Revue’s interest form!
• Check out the weekly Queerfolk Fest show in Nashville

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