Joh Chase’s Solo feels adventurous and fresh as it refuses to sit firmly within the bounds of one genre. Reminiscent of Brandi Carlile, tUnE-yArDs, Lucy Dacus, and S.G. Goodman, Solo feels like a departure from previous releases, proving that Joh Chase clearly doesn’t have any limits Seattle-raised, but Los Angeles-based, Chase has spent much of […]
The Plow That Broke the Plains, the third highly-anticipated album from Lawrence Rothman, is a bold and unapologetic exploration of queer identity, addiction, and the music industry’s often exploitative nature. Rothman‘s latest album is a powerful testament to their unwavering commitment to authenticity and artistic integrity. Drawing from their experiences as a non-binary, recovering addict […]
Spencer LaJoye treats us to their uncompromisingly human view of the world on their triumphant album Shadow Puppets. I’ve enjoyed watching LaJoye blossom over the last few years, growing ever more confident in their writing and, as they discussed in our interview, their stage presence and ability to draw their audience into their performances. In […]
This review of the new Aaron Lee Tasjan album was written by Autumn/Otto Sky Hall, who’s releasing a record of their own on May 1st. This review was made possible by our Patreon subscription. Subscribe today to support independent music and journalism. The Rainbow Rodeo fundraiser is still ongoing — please share the link with […]
Howdy, cowpoke! We’re right in the middle of the fundraiser for issue 4 of the Rainbow Rodeo zine! If you want to keep supporting queer country artists like Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, pre-order your copy, cop a t-shirt, or make a donation here! Revelations, the new album by Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, is […]
Howdy, cowpoke! We’re right in the middle of the fundraiser for issue 4 of the Rainbow Rodeo zine! If you want to keep supporting queer country artists like Sarah King, pre-order your copy, cop a t-shirt, or make a donation here! Sarah King has a voice from another time — or maybe it’s just timeless. […]
“What the fuck do you want?” If that isn’t the best way to start a concept album about love and growing into yourself, I don’t know what is. Madi Diaz takes a subject that literally millions of songs have been devoted to, and makes it all sound so fresh. We all love the intoxication of […]
Are you ready for Day Dreems’ trans liberation psych rock? Probably not, because nothing I say will prepare you for the way this album gently pulls the rug out from under you. The album kicks off with “F Natural,” a sweet celebration of trans identity that cheerfully rejects the idea that being trans is unnatural. […]
Creekbed Carter Hogan delivers a helluva punch on their self-titled album. Creekbed Carter takes a deep dive into negotiating Carter’s Catholic upbringing with their gender expansive identity — along with the navigating trauma and healing. No big deal. At least, Carter makes it all seem effortless with their sweetly -sung and expertly-crafted folk music. You […]
Jessye DeSilva returns with a mellow folk song about the dangers of white supremacist culture on “Gallows Tree.” While DeSilva’s Renovations approached similar material with fiery wrath, justified fury at a society that refuses to repent of its sins. But, “Gallows Tree” argues, we need to make space for the everyday pain caused by silencing […]
Drag queens singing country music is starting to be something of a subgenre in the queer country world. Certainly, there’s a je ne sais quois about someone who is expressing deep vulnerability after spending hours and hours crafting a separate identity. Amiss Tori brings us a meaningful new entry with Sequins & Steel, an album […]
Nan Macmillan submerges us on her world on her recent album From Both Eyes. While Macmillan paints with a delicate brush that incorporates folk music elements and electronica, those synth elements do more to highlight the acoustics than not. Thanks to Macmillan’s plainspoken lyrics and arresting performances, there is something uniquely human about this album […]
Secret Emchy Society pulls back the curtain on their new EP The Lost Feral Tapes. Cindy Emch (also fondly known as Emchy) has held the queer country scene down in the Bay Area with many projects, including Vagabondage, Rhubarb Whiskey, the Oakland Wine Drinkers Union, Jerk Church, and Feral. The Lost Feral Tapes gather some […]
Karen and the Sorrows joins Kym Register on their compilation album in order to hear the birds the warplanes must be silent. As usual, the Sorrows create beauty out of grief with spare arrangements and the shining moral clarity that imbues Pittelman’s lyrics. “Ceasefire” is heavily influenced by Jewish teachings. “The Jewish values that I […]
Molly O’Leary makes a breathtaking debut on their album Marigold. The Worcester, MA-based artist delivers suckerpunch after suckerpunch on the spare album, produced by fellow songsmith Will Hoge. Marigold takes us on a journey through O’Leary’s healing process and is based appreciated in an environment where it can listened to all the way through — […]
We’re calling it right now: The Past Is Still Alive by Hurray For the Riff Raff is one of the best albums of this year. Alynda Segarra, the constant behind Hurray For the Riff Raff’s swirling lineup, has poured their essence into this album. On The Past, Segarra reckons with the ghosts of their youth […]
Do not listen to Tendencies, the new album by Middle Sattre, while you’re driving. This tenderly crafted and delicate album dives unflinchingly into queer shame. I did not grow up a Mormon like frontman Hunter Prueger (who told us about the album in our recent interview), but I had my fair share of explicit and […]
Sophia Eliana is nothing if she is not unapologetically herself. Eliana, whom we spoke to about kissing girls in church parking lots, is totally fine with making audiences uncomfortable as long as it means she’s being true to herself. Pears & Honey captures that essence: rooted in folk traditions but willing to explore the deep […]
Rainbow Rodeo can pay contributors like KC thanks to readers like you! Sign up to our Patreon today to build queer country power! The most recent LP by Willi Carlisle, Critterland, is an engrossing musical voyage into a world both ours and beyond ours — into Critterland. At once folksy and contemporary, Carlisle traverses a […]
We last heard fro Large Brush Collection way before Rainbow Rodeo was even a website — when singer Nora Predey and Creekbed Carter Hogan spoke with us about her split EP with Creekbed Carter Hogan. Large Brush Collection’s music is unlike anything I’ve ever heard — inexorable and vivacious, flowing like a brook in springtime, […]
Avery Hellman uses their music project ISMAY to immerse the listener in a world of their childhood. We dive into a new album of alternative country and folk songs. I admit that I’ve never stayed in parts of rural California; my family has driven through those areas while on vacation. Desert Pavement paints the atmosphere […]
There is something timely about Halfsies, the new album by Lizzie No. Just as winter snow is finally landing, Halfsies depicts the winter moments of one’s life: bitter endings with no sign of any relief on the horizon. Bitter, but — watching the snow fall — it’s still cinematic. No’s voice cuts through the mix […]
Rainbow Rewind is a monthly column that brings older queer country albums to light. Marx (Marca) Cassity released this album in 2014. Marx, who is a trauma counselor, works under the name Marca in their counseling practice and Songs From the Wall is still listed under Marca Cassity on streaming platforms. This review will use […]
Ellen Angelico is one of Nashville’s MVPs. A competent touring guitarist, they’ve backed artists like Adeem the Artist (in the studio), Cam and Brandy Clark (and you can see them on many of those artists’ recent TV appearances.) It’s these unsung heroes who make country music work, but on occasion Ellen will let the limelight […]
Probably nothing is more apt than the title of Fantasy Treasury’s latest, 2 Weird 4 World. But that’s all the more reason to dive into it head-first. This experimental music is simultaneously an assault on the senses and a study in empty space. It’s not the kind of thing I listen to much, but that’s […]
Blake Rave yearns for comfort on his recent single “Home.” The gentle acoustic number evokes country radio with none of the cheese. This is a sincere love song that is complicated by anxiety and uncertainty. Inspired by the early days of lockdown (since we’re still in a pandemic,) “Home” brings us the comfort we were […]
Country singer Ty Herndon was flying on top of the world — until he suddenly crashed. The top-charting artist had been forced into a sham marriage by his record label, and the pressures of the spotlight and hiding his sexuality led Herndon to a spiral of addiction. After being arrested for indecent exposure while on […]
A child of Charleston, SC, She Returns From War embraces that community eclecticism in her music. Her latest album, Ruthless, cheekily nods to country music, indie pop while posting two giant middle fingers to Nashville. Ruthless is reflective, but has the kind of wry sense of humor that defines queer resistance to the status quo. […]
John Rodney took the memo “queer as in fuck you” and added country music to it. on Songs From the Closet, Rodney uses four songs to introduce himself to the world — and you won’t forget him easily. Rodney’s singing style is conversational and friendly — which leads to a suckerpunch when you hear the […]
Jaime Wyatt’s capacity for transformation is on full display with her recent album Feel Good. For Wyatt, these reinventions are not an act of whimsy — it’s a matter of survival, as is made clear on this new cut. If Wyatt got famous for her brash outlaw country (literally — Wyatt was once detained) on […]
Julian Talamantez Brolaski understands rhythm. As a poet, their grasp of sound, rhythm, and silence permeates the traditional country sounds of It’s Okay, Honey. Brolaski was a guest a few months ago on the Rainbow Rodeo podcast, but as the Earth slowly wends its way towards the completion of another orbit (by our calendar) it’s […]
Jolie Holland is a powerful force on her recent album Haunted Mountain. As we learned in our interview, Holland is a deep thinker and her thirst for radical change comes through not just in her lyrics — but the music itself. Country music/Americana/what have you is typically a lyrics-first genre, but we are seeing an […]
New York’s Soren Song has spent the past few years on a journey of self-discovery. With I’m, their newest release, we are graced with a song cycle of exploration and self-actualization. “Man the Wheel” characterizes this journey as one of acceptance and grace. As smooth as the album’s piano pop sounds, though, there are rough […]
“How much can I let myself be open? How many times until I slip away?” Anna Holmquist, in the most recent offering of their indie-folk project Ester, is a songwriter interested in the more complicated questions of life and love. Holmquist and Ester have gone through many manifestations since their first recordings in 2013, and […]
Get ready to have your heart broken in the most intimate way possible. One for Jackie, the latest by Rett Madison, is a heart-wrenchingly gorgeous tribute to her late mother. It is an emotionally-charged look into her mother’s struggle with substance abuse, childhood nostalgia, and guilt over feeling like you’re too late to save someone […]
mostly myself again, the new EP from Izzy Heltai, finds the singer-songwriter paralyzed at the crossroads. Just as lockdown ended and Heltai was preparing to tour, he injured his foot and broke up with his girlfriend and found himself back home with his mom. mostly myself again is a four-song postcard of a moment in […]
Last time I spoke with Bryan Ruby was on the Batting Around podcast — the gayest baseball podcast on the Internet. (I linked to an Internet archive page but you can find the podcast anywhere you find your other favorites — like the Rainbow Rodeo podcast.) Just in time for the world series, Ruby has […]
New York’s Brian Falduto makes an art out of pop country. As contributor Gion Davis wrote in issue 3 of our Rainbow Rodeo zine (coming soon to our web store!), Falduto’s primary artistic thrust is taking the mainstream country sound and making it gay. Evoking the phases of the moon in the song, Falduto chose […]
There’s no better time of year if you’re into gothicana. Iris Marlowe delivers that in a big way on Where the Devil Bid the Owl Goodbye. This cowboy country album evokes campfires, open plains, fiery sunsets, and the treachery that lies therein. Marlowe’s rugged voice suggests many miles traveled — whether on the asphalt ribbons […]
The last time I released an album of originals, I was still two kinds of closeted, so as you can see, I’ve really been making up for lost time on the new batch,” wrote Lauren O’Connell on Instagram, in anticipation of their new record Everything Feels Ridiculous. Recorded on the heels of a breakup, the […]
Maria BC is not afraid to delve into mystery on their new album Spike Field. The album revels in ambient and electronic elements, creating a sense of capaciousness and exploration: you’ll want to listen to this with your best headphones — but not too loud; Maria BC intersperses their soundscapes with the nominative spikes, discordant […]
When you’ve followed an artist long enough, you can’t help feeling a sense of pride with each album release. I’ve been a fan of Amina Shareef Ali for almost ten years and it’s a thrill to see (or, I guess, hear) how she’s blossomed on her latest, In The Dark (Awake Of Course), Vol. 2. […]
Mouths of Babes have honed their songwriting over decades of touring — both as a duo and separately. Ty Greenstein (Girlyman) and Ingrid Elizabeth (Coyote Grace.) The married couple bring their separate sensibilities to World Brand New: there’s no mistaking Elizabeth’s folk bona fides, while Greenstein brings a sense of twee pop melodies to the […]
Few people make a fine art out of messy breakups the way Lydia Loveless can. Their melodious yearning gives all of their songs a special oomph, elevating these songs from great music to something immediate and direct. Nothing’s Gonna Stand In My Way Again finds Loveless returning to softer, guitar-based music after Daughter‘s incandescent explorations […]
I like to think that Shadwick Wilde and I have grown up together. His 2013 album I Am the Morning with the Quiet Hollers is fairly pivotal to my 20s, and Shadwick and I have been chatting back and forth ever since: career changes, parenthood, mental health crises and recovery — it’s as if life […]
This review is also cross-posted on our sister site, Adobe & Teardrops. Karen and the Sorrows pulled a Beyonce and dropped her latest EP, Why Do We Want What We Want? this morning. Before we get into the EP, though, it’s safe to say that Karen has changed my life for the better and, if […]
With so much going on this summer, and so much great queer country music, we missed a few albums! Just in case you did, too, here’s some fantastic music from some of queer country’s best and brightest. Keturah Allgood — Shine Keturah Allgood’s debut album Shine is a horse pill of optimism against chaos and […]
Brittany Ann Tranbaugh made a fateful decision last year: pursue music full-time and take any and all opportunity that came her way. In fact, half of the items listed in our weekly roundup’s Artist Resources section are from Tranbaugh. On her new self-titled EP, Tranbaugh demonstrates her versatility and her keen eye for humanity. Tranbaugh […]
I’ve Got Me is Joanna Sternberg’s second album. On this new record, the young songwriter seems to have built on the touching if scruffy production of their 2019 debut Then I Try Some More, and has truly crystallized their formula into a purer form: clean, minimal instrumentation and a singular voice that’s so gut-wrenchingly open […]
The opening track of Allison Russell’s highly anticipated second album sets the scene like a foreword. Or a manifesto. A roomful of voices, literal laughter, and a melody that sounds like a folk tune from some ancient corner of the British Isles, catapulted forward through layers of wild electric guitar and a head-bouncing beat to […]
Don’t You Dare Make Me Jaded, the debut album by Olive Klug, reminded me of an episode of the show Couples’ Therapy. Hear me out: in the newest season, psychoanalyst Orna Guralnik seemed taken aback when a young queer couple aspiring toward polyamory laughed together about how, after years of overt misogyny in her childhood […]
A few weeks ago, I wrote about Your Heart Breaks‘ memorable concert, a multimedia presentation steeped in queer history and radical politics. But clyde wasn’t the only one who took my breath away. Kym Register was a part of the tour, and their untiring dedication to creating and sharing radical Southern culture has paid off […]
It’s really criminal of me to have taken so long to write Flamy Grant’s Bible Belt Baby up. It came out almost a year ago, and every time I sat down to write about it, I drew a blank. This is a Christian roots rock album by a drag queen, so I guess you could […]
Clyde Petersen, aka Your Heart Breaks, is one of those rare artists who can transmute the full contents of their soul into their art. At the surface, yeah, sure — that’s what every artist is trying to do. But Petersen succeeds: there is so much intention and discipline to every note on The Wrack Line, […]
Jessye DeSilva lays all the cards on the table on Renovations. The nonbinary singer-songwriter’s sophomore effort swirls with passion, a panoramic album that details DeSilva’s anger and exhaustion with constantly pushing against constraints – those imposed by society and by themself. If country music is for heartbreak, DeSilva is as country as they come. The […]
Eli Conley‘s Searching For What’s True is a testament to his pursuit of excellence. We spoke with Conley last week about his efforts to help singers on testosterone find their literal voice. On Searching For What’s True, it’s clear that Eli has found his. Searching For What’s True soars upon songs that embrace a sense […]
We’ve already highlighted how much there is to love from Desert Mambas’ EP …But It’s a Dry Heat. Last week, we finally got to witness the fruit of Bailey Moses’ labors. Moses has spent most of their time with indie rock band Foxx Bodies. While that punchy sensibility is a hefty influence on …But It’s […]
Torrey Mcdowell set out to write songs to her younger self on her new EP Not a Man. The Nashville-by-way-of-Georgia singer far exceeded her goal: the four songs on Not a Man capture universal episodes of the queer experience. The EP’s title track calls to mind Desert Mambas‘ “Buzz Cut Blues,” that queer sexuality and […]
Canadian indie-rock powerhouse Beau Wheeler has had a heck of a few years. Wheeler wrote their new album, Flying Colours, while undergoing treatment for cancer and coming out as trans. In spite of these tumultuous times, Flying Colours is soothing an earnest. Wheeler’s stadium-ready vocals stand in contrast to their backing band’s gentle folk rock, […]
This review originally appeared in the Rainbow Rodeo newsletter in February. Adeem the Artist wrote up this review of Jaimee Harris’ album Boomerang Town. If you’d like to help support queer country artists writing reviews of their peers, donate to Rainbow Rodeo issue 3 today! This article will appear in the zine! Between the long […]
There are few things more intimate than creating art together. (I’m convinced that’s why we have so many couple duos: combine the heady intoxication of love and creative energy is a potent mix.) But what happens when, after nine years of creating together, you and your other half must split? Gracie and Rachel grapple with […]
Lose, Badly, the second EP by Booze Radly, is a wry commentary on the emo genre ranging from pop-like tempos to screamo social critiques. The opening track, “White Guy Emo,” is an upbeat, self-aware satirization of genre norms echoing the comedic stylings of Bo Burnam. The band’s sense of humor is on fine display while […]
Continuing on the trend of impactful EPs, California folk veteran Otto/Autumn Sky Hall gives us a taste of the Americana album she’s been crowdfunding for on While We’re Here. The two-song EP is a love letter to California as she decamps to the East Coast. “And I Knew” is richly layered, a nod to Hall’s […]
If nothing else, lockdown pushed us all to our creative limits — whether that was through art or just finding new ways to get by. For blues troubadour Michelle Malone, those endless months gave her the opportunity to perfect her acoustic performance. Most of these shows were in her living room and beamed across the […]
Roger Harvey’s Cowtown packs a huge punch for a 3-song EP. The Philadelphia songwriter is best known in the storied indie rock and punk circles that the city boasts, but Cowtown brings Harvey to his roots. Not only that, it feels like the culmination of Harvey’s creative output. Even listening to his 2015 album Twelve […]
Over the course of nine tracks, Jude Brothers creates a new home for themselves both sonically and emotionally as they take listeners with them on a journey through the end of a relationship and a rebirth of self. Their honest and beautifully rendered lyrics will resonate with anyone who has experienced heartbreak and the remnants […]
The No Spoons Sessions, the latest EP by Jennifer Vena Wood, is perfectly imperfect. This collection of gentle folk songs were recorded at home, while Wood recuperates from treatments for stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (she’s expected to make a full recovery.) These recordings illustrate Wood’s confidence as a performer — and her human limitations. There […]
Jessye DeSilva’s new single “Proud and Lonely” showcases their strengths. An acoustic meditation that draws as much inspiration from Laurel Canyon as DeSilva‘s classical vocal training, this is a song that confronts anxiety head-on and attempts to draw strength from it. With long-time collaborators Cecilia Vacanti and Alex Calabrese joining DeSilva, the trio paint an […]
It’s been a little while coming, but from the get-go Rhinestone Tomboy strides in confident and complete, a solid second album from Americana trailblazer, Mya Byrne, that was surely worth the wait. My first listen was on a long, cross-country train journey, and this record passes the Americana litmus of music to move to with […]
Joy Oladokun shows us that there’s hope, truth, and lessons in the journey it takes to be human in their highly anticipated newest project Proof of Life. Track after track we are taken through metaphorical and allegorical nods to the end of the world, relationships, and growing older; but the insistent melodies continue to keep […]
If you’re looking for some sweet tunes to swaddle yourself in as they carry you gently into spring, look no further than Tina and Her Pony’s latest record Marigolds. Spring is, traditionally, a season heralding life and renewal, but, for many people, it’s also a period of seasonal depression. Marigolds holds space for both springtime […]
H.C. McEntire’s third solo album is already on my year-end list. On Every Acre, H.C. McEntire solidifies the sound she’s been driving towards since Lionheart. The epic pronouncements of her former band Mount Moriah have faded into richly-layered, meditative compositions: predating the current interest in psych country by quite a few years. Every Acre is […]
This review of Namoli Brennet’s album by Americana artist Sarah Peacock originally appeared in issue 2 of the Rainbow Rodeo zine. Support us on Patreon so you’ll never miss out on another issue! Like a holy mother offers healing balm with profound heart and tenderness, Namoli Brennet opens wide her humble gates to the poor, […]