Rainbow Ruckus 5/13: Adam Mac, Molly Brandt, Big Guy & The Very Large Men + More!
This week's Rainbow Ruckus features anthems for the haters, swooning crooners, loss and redemption, classic queer dilemmas, and *the* country protest song of the year.
Every week, Rainbow Rodeo brings you the best new queer country music! Listen to this playlist on Tidal! Thanks to Elliott for making a parallel list on Apple Music! Missed a week? TA Inskeep is generously keeping an archive of all music featured on this Spotify playlist.
Please note: we are no longer updating our Spotify playlist.
Support Rainbow Rodeo when you purchase our zine, a t-shirt, or make a donation!
- If you missed out on last week's discussion of The Cowgays, then Adam Mac is here to revive it. His latest, "Hate to See Me Coming" is a joyfully defiant anthem dedicated to the haters. I won't spoil too much, but it's hilarious – and will make you ready to don some rhinestone boots and stomp some fascist butt.
- On his gentle crooner "COWBOY BOOTS," Big Guy & The Very Large Men (the project of pop songwriter James Droll) gives us big feelings and swooning electric slide. Fancy Hagood's harmonies uplift the song's dreamy quality, sending us all to those moments of yearning for someone who just can't see beyond themself.
- Bandits on the Run are gearing up for their new album, Rough Magic, out this month. The irrepressible trio breaks new ground as they continue to explore their seemingly limitless musical boundaries. With "lostlostlost," the Bandits tap into those moments when everything feels stuck. But their uplifting harmonies and synergy help us remember that nothing lasts forever – even the bad stuff.
- Molly Brandt gifts us with the protest song of the year, if there was any justice: "One Hell of a Country" is catchy, sneaky, and vicious. (I resemble the opening line about New York socialites :-[) But this is a rollicking honky-tonker about the lies that prop up the American dream – and that is how three chords and the truth should be used.
- Rio Romeo hits the nail on the head with power pop foot-tapper "JANE FREAKS ME OUT." As all good queers know, there's a fine line between wanting someone and wanting to be someone...and why not both? "JANE" has some punky realness but, most importantly rollicking playfulness.
Find our Tidal playlist here:
