Hey there, cowpokes! This time around I interview River Shook about their new album with Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, Revelations. What’s that now? Well, we get into River coming out as nonbinary, changing their name…and still touring under their given name. We’ll also talk about their growing confidence as they continue into sobriety, taking the […]
Howdy, cowpokes! This is a special bonus episode of Rainbow Rodeo to celebrate two different queer country shows next week. You can read more about what I’ve been up to on the Rainbow Rodeo newsletter Support Rainbow Rodeo by subscribing to Patreon!
Cidny Bullens is not just a rock’n’roll lifer — he’s a survivor. He toured with Elton John and Bob Dylan and was nominated for two Grammys for his own solo work. If you’ve listened to the Grease soundtrack, you’ve probably heard him — but this is all before he transitioned. Cid’s been through quite a […]
This isn’t Jessye DeSilva’s first Rainbow Rodeo! The non-binary singer-songwriter was the very first guest on this podcast, and we’re thrilled to have them back. In this episode, we talk about how DeSilva is setting intentions and seeing them through, their album Renovations as a document of coming into their own, and what’s next as […]
Howdy, cowpokes, and welcome back to Rainbow Rodeo! This month, I interview artist and podcaster extraordinaire, Jenny Owen Youngs. I think you can hear in the interview that I’m a little bit starstruck, but of course Jenny was a pro. (We’re on a first-name basis now.) We talk about her return to solo music with […]
Hey there, cowpokes, and welcome back to Rainbow Rodeo! This month, I speak with veteran Maia Sharpe about her album Reckless Thoughts, which came out in August. I also interviewed her for the Nashville Scene. In that interview, we discussed the divorce that caused her to move to Nashville and how she brought together a […]
Julian Talamantez Brolaski is a poet and country crooner but, above all else, is a careful curator of traditional country music. Brolaski’s album It’s Okay Honey comes out today, replete with yodeling, cowboy guitar and, of course, heartbreak. Brolaski was also on the ground floor of Brooklyn’s queer country scene in the 2010s. They’re too […]
I’m excited to introduce you to Beau Wheeler! Beau’s latest album, Flying Colours, reveals a huge generosity of spirit. They wrote these songs while they were undergoing cancer treatment — and coming out as non-binary. We also discuss hacking it in the Canadian indie rock scene — and, for Patreon subscribers, just what they would […]
Hey there, cowpokes, and happy Pride! We are in a real treat this month with our conversation with Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, old time music legends. In our interview, Cathy and Marcy said they haven’t done much — but they’re just being modest. They have performed with Pete Seeger, Theodore Bikel, Tom Paxton, Patsy […]
Get to know Mya Byrne now, because she is going to become a household name. Her newest album, Rhinestone Tomboy, is out now on Kill Rock Stars Records. KRS is the legendary riot grrl record label, and Rhinestone Tomboy is the first record off its brand new Nashville imprint. As I wrote in my profile […]
Howdy, cowpokes! This month I speak with Zoe Boekbinder about their recent songs, “Cut My Heart In Two,” and “I Am Yesterday.” Both of these songs were produced by Gracie and Rachel, whom I interviewed on my previous podcast, Adobe and Teardrops. Zoe Boekbinder is a veteran, singer songwriter, born in Canada and raised in […]
Howdy, cowpokes! Thanks to an audio snafu, this month’s interview did not go as plannedbutthat means I get to LARP as an NPR DJ! This month’s episode reviews the fantastic queer country releases from February, as well as a preview of what’s to come this spring. You can subscribe to the weekly newsletter here! Advertise […]
I interviewed Canadian alt-country singer Mariel Buckley back in August. And you can tell this was a few months ago because we talked a little baseball — little did we know how badly the Blue Jays would implode. Buckley’s album Everywhere I Used To Be is a distinct departure from Buckley’s acclaimed Driving in the […]
Hey, there, cowpokes. It’s episode 8 of Rainbow Rodeo and I’m speaking with Adeem the Artist. We spoke two days after the release of their breakout album White Trash Revelry. This episode is a little odd because we were both in kind of weird headspaces and spent a looong time talking about the music industry […]
Hi, everyone. I’m popping in with a sort of mini-sode here. Patrick Haggerty, the lead singer and songwritier of Lavender Country, passed away on Halloween. I meant to post this shortly after his death, but between my midterms and the holidays, I just didn’t get around to it. The real reason, though, is once I […]
Hey there, cowpokes! I just got hitched, which meant I got a liiiittle behind working on the podcast. But, I think this interview withViolet Bellis well worth the white. The North Carolina duo, consisting of Lizzy Ross and Omar Ruiz-Lopez, just released their gorgeous new album, Shapeshifter. The album retells the ancient story of the […]
This month, we’re going to hear from Whitney Fenimore as she tells us about her EP, Leaving Ashwood, which came out on September 23rd. Whitney’s story starts out familiar: she grew up in Oklahoma, devoted to church life in spite of the psychic pain it caused her. But not everyone in that situation moves on […]
Sylvia Rose Novak hates expecations. That’s why they’ve torn down their Americana image and set stakes in the alt-rock world with their blistering albumA Miss/A Masterpiece— not coincidentally, breaking out of the Americana genre has coincided with Novak coming out as non-binary. We talk about the album, Novak’s coming out experience, and how they’ve trained […]
Heya, cowpokes! I got a little off-schedule thanks to vacation, so we’ll have two episode this month! (Yeehaw!) This time around, I interview Shana Goldin-Perschbacher, author of the book Queer Country. It’s the first scholarly work about the genre and it gets into the history of queer country — as well as what it all […]
Alex (formerly known as al) Riggs and I spoke in early June about their latest album, themselves, right when it was released. We discussed the current situation in the queer country scene, the anxieties of releasing a record and receiving little press, and how coming into herself has changed her approach to music. Two days […]
Howdy and welcome to the very first episode of Rainbow Rodeo! I’m your host, Rachel Cholst. In this episode, we talk with Jessye deSilva about their debut album Landscapes, growing up non-binary in a Christian household, discovering Elton John, Jessye’s work teaching vocal pedagogy at Berklee College of Music, and so much more! Learn more […]