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? TA Inskeep is generously keeping an archive of all music featured on this Spotify playlist.
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- Aftone Wolf and Jaimee Harris cover Townes Van Zandt’s cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers.” The pair performed it at Nashville’s first annual Lebowskifest (Van Zandt’s version appeared on the movie’s soundtrack.) Harris and Wolfe have a stunning chemistry, with Wolfe’s bass rasp and Harris’ plaintive entreaties wafting to the heavens.
- On “More,” Marian Runk apologizes to a former lover for not being whom they needed. Runk’s plainspoken delivery is accentuated by the warmth of a standup bass and gentle harmonies, giving the song a stark tension but inviting warmth.
- Molly Brandt decries the current state of affairs in “Dollar Stores & Strip Malls.” With a classic country sound, Brandt invokes balmy summers and porch sittings even as she points her finger at the causes of the dehumanization of American culture.
- Denitia is pushing the boundaries of country music on her upcoming album Sunset Drive (September 6) and “Don’t Let Me Go” brings that point home. The song features sharp percussion, pop music tempo changes, R&B-inspired backing vocals, and a pedal steel that illustrates the undercurrent of pain that the song’s crisp arrangement seeks to mask.
- Liv Greene commemorates the sweet potential and pain of a new beginning on “Katie.” With a spare arrangement and tasteful violin interlude, Greene’s stunning voice is foregrounded here.