Gay country artists
11 Country Artists Who’ve Approach Out as Gay
Chely Wright was an absolute trailblazer when she revealed that she was gay in 2010. The country melody establishment wasn't quite ready to accept someone from the LGBTQ+ community then, and one could construct a case that small has changed even after nine more well-known stars have opened up.
Ty Herndon and Billy Gilman revealed they were gay during a groundbreaking five-hour stretch in November 2014. Since then there have been relatively few comings out — instead, news of an artist's preference came organically, or as a footnote in a biography — until TJ Osborne did so on Wednesday (Jan. 3).
That could be seen as a subscribe of progress, if it meant these artists were enjoying equal success on the radio or other platforms. That has not been the case — count a pair of Top 40 airplay hits as the only radio achievements among the 11 artists listed below, not counting successes earned prior to coming out.
Two artists on this list stand for real change to how the country music people supports gay singers. One cleaned house at the 2019 Grammy Awards, while another notched the biggest song of 2019 in all genr
“The main stories in country are loneliness, heartbreak, disappointment, unrequited love,” remarked Orville Peck, the fringe-masked crooner at the forefront of the genre’s LGBTQ move. “I think that those are things that are felt by almost every queer person at some point in their lives, and sometimes for a long part of our lives.” However, it’s only in the streaming age that the Nashville scene has started to accept that country music and queerness don’t require to be mutually exclusive terms.
With traditional media no longer able to attend as gatekeepers, a whole world of country artists who don’t fit the heteronormative mold include been able to get their harmony, and their communication, out there to the masses. Everyone from non-binary singer-songwriter Paisley Fields to trans artist Mya Byrne to Dark queer twin duo The Kentucky Gentlemen have built up loyal followings, though without much mainstream recognition. In addition to her other roles as a television star, makeup company owner, exclude and motel proprietor, DJ, podcaster, and YouTube sensation, Trixie Mattel has develop the most achieving musical alum from the Emmy award-winning RuPaul’s Drag Race with over a quarter
It’s a great time to be a queer country music fan. Whether you’re a new devotee to Lil Nas X, Trixie Mattel and Orville Peck, or a longtime listener of sparkly rhinestone icons such as Dolly Parton, Lavender Country and Tomson Highway, big gay twangy summer is upon us.
Alberta’s Robert Adam has line-danced to the forefront of a new crop of queer country stars, earning a spot in the finals of Sirius XM’s Top Country match. To help shed light on his new single “Moonlight Magic,” he shared some juicy details behind the song’s lyrics with Xtra.
“Back in my past when my family and my surrounding rural town looked down on me for my sexuality, I used to feel alive at night,” Adam explains. “When everyone else was asleep, there was no expectation of who or what I had to be.
“I would often meet other guys on dates in farmers’ fields or by lakes in the surrounding area,” he continues. “It was so thrilling and exhilarating because it was the initiate of me connecting with my true self, which would eventually come out to play even in the daytime.
“This song is for anyone who needs to take off the mask or hat they wear during the day, and let their untamed hearts run wild!”&nb
Orville Peck’s sexy video for “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other” is unabashedly gay in ways the country music genre hasn’t historically seen. In it, Peck sings his cover of Latin state musician Ned Sublette’s 1981 song as a collaboration with Willie Nelson — who, inspired by “Brokeback Mountain,” performed a solo version of the tune in 2006 — but now, especially, Peck’s modern hold feels like a very welcome subversion of what we’ve come to understand as country melody. Man hands graze man butts. Women slow dance intimately with other women. Twinks in secure blue jeans bale hay. In other words, this saloon is serving more than beer.
Ever the ally, it was actually Nelson’s plan to revisit the song with Peck, who recently released the tune as part of “Stampede Vol. 1,” his first duets album. The seven-song collection also features a collaboration with Elton John on “Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)” and “Chemical Sunset” with fellow queer Americana singer-songwriter Allison Russell. “I wouldn’t say it’s as traditionally in line with the rest of my albums,” he tells me. “I would say it’s more conceptual just based on the collaborative na