Howdy, cowpokes!

Things have been a little quiet this week as I (Rachel) rounded the corner on finals. Two great albums came out today, though: Jude Brothers‘ render tender / blunder sunder and hotshot guitarist Michelle Malone’s Fan Favorites, Vol. 1 Unplugged. Stay tuned for my review of Malone’s album now that I have endured my final finals period later this week — and we’ll have lots more on Jude Brothers from Gion Davis and Carla Frankenbach in the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, I never pay attention to the CMA awards but it’s neat to note that the Brothers Osborne won best duo again (and well-deserved!) And if you want to watch a breathtaking performance, look no further than the War and the Treaty.

And in exciting news, the Americana Music Association has nominated Adeem the Artist, SG Goodman, and Sunny War for 2023 Emerging Artist of the Year! Allison Russell was nominated for artist of the year as well as song of the year with “You’re Not Alone” (feat. Brandi Carlile.) Finally, Angel Olsen’s Big Time was nominated for album of the year. A heart congrats to all of this year’s nominees — they truly were all well-deserved — but this queer country site is excited for queer country artists. It wasn’t so long ago that I was thinking, “damn, I wish there were more famous queer country artists” and it looks like that’s about to happen.

Rainbow Roundup

• Sug Daniels has a new song out today — catch it on next week’s playlist!
• Lizzie No is working on her third album
• Mya Byrne can’t stop/won’t stop with these profiles on Bandcamp and NPR
• However, this is an unfortunately evergreen tweet:

Album Releases

Here are all of the queer country album releases this month! Let me know if I should add something to the list!

• 5/10 — Jude Brothers
• 5/12 — Michelle Malone
• 5/19 — Brandy Clark

Rainbow Roundup

• Autumn Sky Hall/Otto is making a “queer as shit Americana” album. Help her!!!
• What do you mean you don’t want this $2 comic about butch cowgirls and gender rolemodels???

• You can sign up to table at the Punk Island zine fair, or volunteer for the Brooklyn-based festival. There will be quite a few Americana and folk musicians there. I don’t think a date has been announced.
• If you’re here, you like music zines. Longtime Wide Open Country contributor Addie Moore is taking pre-orders for their indie punk zine No Spectators
• Did you know that artists at SXSW get paid in virtual pennies and still have to buy a festival pass if they want to see someone else’s show? That sucks! Demand fair pay for SXSW
• You can get almost 50% off the book Queer Country using this code: F21UIP
• This thread gives advice on self-managed transition in Alabama and other states that restrict our bodily autonomy
• Eli Conley is running a queer songwriting circle

Events

• 5/7 – 6/4 — Eli Conley is doing a short West Coast tour
• 6/7 — Ty Herndon’s annual Concert For Love and Acceptance is at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon
• 6/12 — Brian Falduto will be playing City Winery’s pride show in NYC
• 6/23 – 25: Melissa Carper, Alisa Amador, Maya deVitry, The Faux Paws, and Amy Martin are playing the Red Wing Roots Music Festival in Mount Solon, Virginia
• 7/8 — Margate, UK — The Queer Cuntry Summer Fair will feature a whole slew of queer country performers!

Artist Resources

• DEADLINE 5/20: Braver Angels Music is launching a songwriting contest to “inspire citizens to appreciate their differences and to look above social divides”
• Todd Farrell Jr., lead singer of the Benchmarks and sideman for Sammy Kay Jr and Two Cow Garage, is fielding songs for a comp album to fight voter suppression in Tennessee. Apply here!
• Apply to play a street stage at IBMA, the premiere bluegrass festival! (Stacy Chandler says that all roots music artists are encouraged to apply)
• DEADLINE 5/19: The Amador Arts Council has put out a call for artists of all media to submit works with the theme WAY OUT WEST, celebrating LGBTQAI2S+ history throughout the western frontiers
• 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!
• Are you on Mastodon or another part of the Fediverse? Get your music on RadioFreeFedi! https://radiofreefedi.net/
• PS — If you’re thinking of joining Mastodon, make an account on musician.social and read my tips for making Mastodon work for 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