Rainbow Ruckus 7/3: Melissa Carper, Maren Morris, Jett Holden, and More!

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? TK Inskeep is generously keeping an archive of all music featured on this Spotify playlist.

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This week’s an extra-special double edition to make sure your holiday weekend is chock full of queer country!

• Melissa Carper nails that old-time honky-tonk and contemporary queer country yearning on “Somewhere Between Texas and Tennessee.” The even-keeled toe-tapper is a staid banger of road trips and missed connections, and it gets us all the more excited for her upcoming album.
• Fancy Hagood nailed it with his recent EP of cover songs and now he’s treating us to queer country poptimism with the bouncy “Through.”
• Max Lane gives it to us straight with “Blank White Pages,” a reconsideration of a youth spent doubting his gifts. The song is as plainspoken and cutting as any American Aquarium number. Lane is very much a voice to pay attention to.
• Dillbilly‘s new live album captures the spiritual energy of their hypnotic music. The title track is one we’ve featured here before, but the string arrangement on this performance gives the song a mystical grace.
• Ben Platt recorded an Americana album and he enlisted fellow Broadway vet Brandy Clark for “Treehouse.” The sweeping duet captures the delicate touch and grit required for true love.
• Secret Emchy Society have a swooning cover of Willie Nelson’s “Cowboys are Secretly Fond of Each Other” and the Spookyrockstar remix gives the song’s message of rebellion an epic spaghetti Western feel.
• We heartily welcome Maren Morris to our ranks here on Rainbow Rodeo! Her new song “cut!” probably fits more comfortably on the pop side of things, but it still displays her whip-smart songwriting and arena-ready singing.
• Jett Holden ushers in a new era of country music with “Backwoods Proclamation,” the first single off his debut solo album, the first off of Black Opry Records. Charlie Worsham and Joan Osborne back Holden up, but Holden’s arresting voice means that these two greats are just barely keeping up with him on this country rocker love song.
• Aaron Lee Tasjan is never afraid to experiment with his music, and producer Lafemmebear gave his queer anthem “Nightmare” a house remix. This is a song to dance and cry to, and these two visionary artists nail that heady combination of desire, resistance, and joy that has come to characterize queer culture.
• Heather Mae dives deep into her Root moment on “Kissing Girls.” This pop confection demonstrates Mae’s versatility as a singer and songwriter — and is the bi anthem we’ve all been waiting for.