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.
Also — if you’re looking for a stocking stuffer — you can now purchase issue 3 of Rainbow Rodeo!
Denitia — “What She’s Doing Now”
Country music is for heartbreak, and Denitia has — for better or worse — mastered it. The gentle ballad “What She’s Doing Now” is for anyone who wistfully recalls a lover past — or maybe recently past. Here, Denitia questions her partner’s decision-making while also yearning for her presence. The melody is haunting and tantalazing, I sweet cherry on top of a sorrowful sundae.
23A — “America”
AP Hello, a NY-based, Canadian-born, American-espoused indie filmmaker, fronts 23A — named for a rural highway in bucolic upstate New York. Pete White co-wrote the song with Hello and produced the track. It’s as catchy as it is haunting, with Hello’s determined pursuit of a lover launching an inexorable refrain.
Pink Williams — “The Devil Is Real”
Pink Williams is masterful at spinning timeless political allegories. His relish for painting a Johnny Cash-but-make-it-pink persona is clear in his teeth-gnashing performance on “The Devil Is Real.” Williams sounds like a fire and brimstone preacher, reminding us that the road to hell is paved in blind obedience to the greatest evil of them all — but you’ll need to listen to find out who the devil really is.
Glory Daze — “Every Aching Memory”
Nashville’s Glory Day describes herself as “if Zach Bryan and Phoebe Bridgers had a queer kid” but I also hear some Brandi Carlile in “Every Aching Memory.” Glory Daze’s voice is delicate but there is a strength to it as she recounts days gone by with someone she longs for. The song is intricate and reassuring — things are tough now, but there’s always tomorrow.
Skout — “Pearls”
Guess we’re on a theme here, as Skout similarly recalls something beautiful gone bad. The Nashville duo sports an intriguing mixture of folk, pop, and punk — while things might be sad, there’s a real energy to this song that displays the belief that things will get better, eventually.