Rainbow Rodeo 3.0
Howdy, cowpokes! This newsletter is going out a bit late today to make sure my interview with Flamy Grant makes it in!
Important Changes to Rainbow Rodeo
I will send a separate reminder e-mail about this as well. I’m moving the website over to ghost.io. This will allow me to (eventually) roll the blog, newsletter, and Patreon subscriptions into one place — and for a much, much cheaper price.
(But, more importantly, I got pissed off at the hosting service trying to charge me for things I didn’t request.)
If all goes well, next week I will be discontinuing this newsletter and adding all of you as free members to the ghost.io site. (You can take a look here — I’m hoping to customize the design a little more, and the old Rainbow Rodeo address should point there soon.) There shouldn’t be any change to you, other than the e-mail will be coming from a different place.
Starting in January, I will also change up the format. Fridays will be link digests and events, but there won’t be any more columns. Those will be reserved for paid members — but that’ll only be $1 a month and up!
So, from a newsletter to a site to a new website, this is Rainbow Rodeo 3.0 — and I have some ideas to make the site even better in January. Please tell me what you already love and what you’d like to change; we are almost self-sustaining thanks to the Patreon but it would be cool if we could make, like, a little bit of a profit.
New Music
PREMIERE: Pioneering trans rocker Lenny Zenith traces a lifetime of rock’n’roll in “Beards of Grey”
Joy Oladokun ponders the price of artistry on her majestic Observations From a Crowded Room
Interviews
Rita de Los Angeles finds refuge in music on her new song “Shade of Blue”
Podcast
In our latest episode, Flamy Grant talks drag, self-expression, and our fundamental rights.
Rainbow Roundup
Artists — scroll down for an important new resource
I have often argued that Matchbox 20 is an Americana band who hit it big before Americana was a thing! Our regular contributor Josh Friedberg writes about the ‘90s juggernauts’ approach to mental health in his newsletter.
Some country stars are skipping Nashville and singing with “coastal” (ie LA) labels. What does it all mean, Billboard asks?
I’ve been poking around Reddit. Here’s a Japanese bluegrass band.
them. profiled trans goth banjo player Clover-Lynn
Meanwhile, Joy Oladokun spoke with them. about the gut-punches she delivers on her album
Mya Byrne’s working on something…
But she also just got a nasty injury to her hand, so maybe buy something from her Bandcamp?
Steacy Easton gets to the roots of Jake Blount and Mali Obamsawin’s astonishing symbiont in their interview with the Bluegrass Situation
Kimberly Kaye speaks with Americana Highways about the New Orleans community backing Loose Cattle
Congrats to Great Aunt for winning Folk Artist of the Year (Duo) at Folk Alliance Australia!
A moment of zen from Autumn Sky Hollow:
@autumnskyhall • I wanna have a show where it’s all lesbians and the band is called the Something Brothers becau... • Threads
I wanna have a show where it’s all lesbians and the band is called the Something Brothers because folks associate being part of a Sacred Tradition if you’re in a band with your Bro. Making a band the “Something Brothers TM” makes straight cis male folks take you more serious and I just think it would be funny to have all these art bros show up ready to Engage Seriously With Serious Art TM and it’s art hos ready to teach yall about misogyny and transphobia
Events
10/25 - 11/2 — Olivia Ellen Lloyd and Red McAdam are touring North Carolina, Virgina, and West Virginia (with some last stops in Philly and NYC) on their Pretty Dumb & Sorta Young tour
10/25 - 10/27 (Chicago, IL and Milwaukee, WI) — Andrew Sa has a busy weekend — go see him!
10/26 — (Goleta, CA) — Julian Talamentez Brolanski is playing a round robin show with some fascinating folks
10/30 — (San Francisco, CA) — Shawna Virago, Wiley Gaby, the Great Dying hit Hotel Utah
11/1 - 12/8 — Abigail Lucas is bidding farewell to the songs of Austin Lucas (her previous catalogue) on this tour throughout the west and Northeast
11/2 - 11/29 — Crys Matthews is also on a tour that goes from the Southwest to Canada, with Julian Taylor joining her on some dates
11/3 (Los Angeles, CA) — Julian Talamentez Brolanski will share the stage with Wiley Gaby, Acacia Forgot, and the Great Dying
11/8 (Cleveland, OH) — Our pals Dollar Country are hosting a book talk with Steacy Easton and Annie Zaleski about Dolly Parton, and there will be vintage country tunes and performances after!
11/16 (Philadelphia, PA) — Baby’s First Rodeo returns to Ortleib’s with Ma’am, Chris Rafter, karaoke, line dancing, and more
11/21 (Hollywood, CA) — At last, Brandon Stansell is back on stage at Hotel Cafe
11/22 (Nashville, TN) — Saltwater Baby and Liv Greene play the Eastside Bowl
12/13 (Brooklyn, NY) — Queer country is back where it belongs at Littlefield’s with Paisley Fields, Dale Hollow, and She Returns From War presenting a Cowboy Christmas (line dancing and two-stepping encouraged. Ticket info here — see you there!)
Artist Resources
ALERT: Nashville’s RNBW collective is booking shows between now and January 21 — check them out here
What's a premiere and how do you pitch it?
Got a release coming up? Add it to Country Everywhere’s newsletter! Country Everywhere is a directory of artists and news for queer, BIPOC, and disabled artists.
With Bandcamp changing hands and union busting, here are some alternative resources for selling your music online
Are you on BlueSky? Queer country artist 2 AM Wake Up Call created this feed of musicians. You can ask them to be added to the feed!
I also made a Y’alltertanative Feed on Bluesky. Let me know if you’d like your posts to appear on the feed!
We Are Moving the Needle is looking for women and non-binary audio engineers and music producers
Eli Conley is teaching Unlock the Song Inside: Beginning Songwriting Class for Queer & Trans Folks & Allies, and he also offers an online LGBTQ+ songwriter circle!
Are you on Mastodon or another part of the Fediverse? Get your music on RadioFreeFedi!
PS — If you’re thinking of joining Mastodon, make an account on musician.social and read my tips for making Mastodon work for you!
Submit your music and events to The Q LGBTQ Creative Network
This Twitter thread has a whole list of places to find jobs in the music industry
And here’s a list of resources for “women” entering the music industry — presumably they also encourage nonbinary participants
Submit your profile to the Country Everywhere which seeks to unite BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled artists and professionals
Sign up to the Black Opry Revue’s interest form!
Check out the weekly Queerfolk Fest show in Nashville