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.
Acacia Forgot — “I Only Cry Rhinestones (ft. Sob Sister)”
On Acacia Forgot’s “I Only Cry Rhinestones,” you’d be hard-pressed to find a traditional country instrument. Maybe a drumset? The song cleverly uses electronic elements to take this sob song of heartbreak a timeless — and fabulous tale. Combining the twee aesthetics of Brooklyn indie pop ca. 2011 and beautiful storytelling, Acacia Forgot makes defiance in the face of heartbreak fashionable and quirky. Acacia Forgot just released the EP I Only Cry Rhinestones, making a further foray into country music.
Adeem the Artist — “Dirt Bike (ft. Andrea Kukuly Uriarte)
After all the grief and fear the trans community has experienced in the last few years especially…isn’t it time to have a little fun? Adeem the Artist and Anrea Kukuly Uriarte bottle the fierce joy of childhood on “Dirt Bike.” The song may seem like a fun ditty on the surface, but it’s really about finding magic and joy where you can and tuning out everything else — if only for a little while.
Secret Emchy Society — “Burn the Bridge”
Secret Emchy Society is at it again with their unique, world-weary honky tonk. “Burn the Bridge” isn’t just about ending a single relationship — it’s a resigned review of an entire catalogue of them. Singer Cindy Emch intones in the chorus, “Throw another bridge on the fire” — and we feel the weight of every lost connection reverberate throughout this dirge-like waltz.
Cole Adams — “Be The Light”
Cole Adams shines on “Be The Light.” Adams, who slings his relentlessly optimistic folk music along the West Coast, is true to form on his newest song with Jim Lucas and Paul Niehaus IV. Adams reminds us that our every action can have a huge impact on someone else’s day — why not make it a beautiful one?
Irish Mythen — “Let Them In”
This is a new-to-me song from PEI-based singer-songwriter Irish Mythen. “Let Them In” is a re-recording from her 2011 album Open Here. The 2019 is immediate and urgent, with Mythen encouraging us to share our lives with people we would sooner push away. Myten reminds us to act on the words we say: we may think we’re good people, but do we really live up to that each and every day?