Rainbow Rodeo

This is Queer Country Forever, featuring songs from queer country past, present and future. This month we've got:

• Dyke Drama
• Roselit Bone
• DK and the Joy Machine
• Kam Franklin
• Brokestring
• Chris Housman and Angie K
• Madds Buckley
• thisdogllhunt
• Next of Kin

Don't miss out on the best new queer country music and criticism! Subscribe to Rainbow Rodeo at http://www.rainbowrodeomag.com

This is Queer Country Forever, featuring songs from queer country past, present and future. This month we've got:

• Sonia Tetlow
• High Dive
• Shawna Virago
• Amy Martin
• Allison Russell
• Creekbed Carter Hogan
• Willi Carlisle
• Alabama Shakes
• Jude Brothers

Don't miss out on the best new queer country music and criticism! Subscribe to Rainbow Rodeo at http://www.rainbowrodeomag.com

Hey there, cowpokes. 

It's been a while since we've had a podcast episode! I just took a break to see what I wanted to do with the podcast, which parts I really liked doing, which parts I don't. I put together an audition tape for an internet radio service, and I had a lot of fun doing it. So I'm thinking this is what I wanna keep doing with the podcast. I will keep doing artist interviews when the scheduling works out, but trying to find the time to do that every month wasn't working for me. 

So, moving forward, it's gonna be like this: 

• one set of artists I've covered from the past 15 years of blogging, maybe people who didn't get the shine they should have when the album came out
• one set of my personal favorites from the previous month
• one set of music I'm excited about that's coming out in the future

Artists in This Episode

• Lavender Country
• Coyote Grace
• Karen and the Sorrows
• Chris Houseman
• She Returns From War
• Reba McEntire ft. Lafemmebear
• Melanie Walker and Mercy Bell
• Fancy Hagood
• Paisley Fields
• Andrew Sa
• Jessye DeSilva

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Indie rock band Weakened Friends join us to discuss their powerful album Feels Like Hell. The band is tighter than ever, and that's due in large part to lead singer Sonia Sturino coming out as non-binary and feeling more confident in their voice. Sturino and bassist(and partner) Annie Hand check in to talk about what an indie rock band is doing on a country podcast, approaches to songwriting and recording, and our millennial skin care routines.

Subscribe or sign up to hear more about the pair's approach to astrology, bad habits, and touring. (Check Weakened Friends' tour dates here.)

Songs

4:08 – "Bargain Bin" (excerpt) – Weakened Friends

5:03 – "Tough Luck (Bleed Me Out)" – Weakened Friends

24:27 – "Not For Nothing" – Weakened Friends

28:20 – "Torn" – Weakened Friends

46:26 – "Pancho and Lefty" – Paisley Fields ft. Laura Stevenson

50:17 – "Kind of Girl" – MUNA

54:44 – "Weightless" – Weakened Friends

Want to buy a copy of Rainbow Rodeo Issue 6 but too scared to pull the trigger?

Don't worry! Rachel is here to guide you through the zine. You'll hear from Allison Russell about Hadestown, Josh Friedberg talks us through his essay about Beyonce winning the Best Country Album Grammy, Vandoliers, Glen Meadmore's glory hole, and more!

Subscribe for $5 or more today and you'll also got nyan cats, lavender coasts, and boisterous stage banter! Plus – a reminder about your FREE zine codes!

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Song List

• Willi Carlisle -- Cryin' These Cocksucking Tears (2:25)
• Low Cut Connie -- I Can't Shake the Stranger Out of You (6:54)
• Luisa Lopez -- Tired (11:02)
• Vandoliers -- Life Behind Bars (14:50)
• Hayden Stern, Elise Snoey, and Ezra Jane Landsman -- "Jig to Reel With Twin Fiddles and DADGAD Guitar" (20:42)
• Allison Rusell and Hadestown Cast -- "Livin' It Up" (24:11)
• Jeremy Dion -- "Bend in the Middle" (28:20)
• Glenmeadmore -- "Glory Hole" (30:39)
• Jake Blount and Mali Obamsawin -- "What's Ya Gonna Do When the World is on Fire?"
• Riggings -- "Big Box Black Dress" (38:56)

Due to circumstances beyond anyone's control, this episode was delayed a bit -- but we're so happy for you all to hear my interview with Jenni Rose and Corey Graves of the Vandoliers. You can read excerpts of the interview in Good Country. Our discussion weaves from the Vandoliers' many influences to Jenni's newfound sobriety -- and how her extremely public coming out has energized her and the rest of the band.

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Songs in This Episode

1:44 -- "Life Behind Bars" (Vandoliers)

25:22 -- "Dead Canary" (Vandoliers)

57:46 -- "Bible Belt" (Vandoliers)

1:02:02 -- "Broken Horses" (Brandi Carlile)

Girls on Grass is a scrappy garage/country/cowpunk/whatever band from New York City that fearlessly follows their own arrow. Barbara Endes guides us through the creative process of the band's upcoming EP Stages, playing with a B-bender guitar (and what that is), and why writing about politics an her friends is her happy place.

Track Listing

• Girls on Grass – Goth Punk Hillbilly Angel (1:19)
• Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More (11:45)
• Girls on Grass – Don't Buy It (29:13)

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Angie K and I scooch up to our mics to discuss her new self-titled EP. (Sorry for the horrendous audio quality on my end – I went out and got a better mic right after this interview.) We talk about Angie's incredible year: she got engaged, she's played the Grand Ole Opry twice, and Angie K was absolutely released on her terms. There's also stories of awkward teenage dating and talent shows – and she taught me about this freaky zodiac thing called Human Design.

Song List

1. Angie K – "Red Dirt on Mars" (1:24)
2. Angie K – "You And I" (14:47)
3. Angie K – "I'm Going Under" (17:26)
4. Angie K – "Games" (37:57)
5. Fancy Hagood – "American Spirit" (51:34)
6. Angie K – "Stay" (54:36)

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Ellen Angelico is one of my favorite people in Nashville – hands-down. They own the stage when they're absolutely shredding on guitar for artists like Brandy Clark and Cam. But everyone gets their start somewhere, and for Ellen that was on Nashville's Broadway in their legendary honky-tonks, led by a singer who was equally legendary: Shelly Bush. In Ellen's six-part series Girl in a Hurry, we learn more about Shelly, but also about the ecosystem that makes country music run: for every star headlining a stadium tour, there are hundreds of working-class musicians putting in the hours and the miles in the dreams of getting there. This is Shelly Bush's story.

Search for Girl in a Hurry to listen to the of the series!

To learn more about how the podcast was made, you can read my interview with Ellen.

Howdy, cowpokes. I hope you're hanging in there.

This episode is a little bit different. Instead of interviewing one artist, I included excerpts from interviews for an article coming up in No Depression's Spring 2025 issue: how trans artists are drawing strength and preparing for the Trump administration. We hear from Mya Byrne, Paisley Fields, Abigail Lucas, Flamy Grant, Adrian Blake Enscoe, She Returns From War.

Subscribe to No Depression to read the full article in the Spring 2025 issue.

Subscribe to Rainbow Rodeo -- paid or free - to stay up-to-date on the latest queer country news and music!

This episode was sponsored by Post Transition media company -- you, too, can sponsor Rainbow Rodeo by clicking here!

Music

Mya Byrne and Paisley Fields -- "Burn This Statehouse Down" (04:31)

Flamy Grant -- "Revenge" (11:49)

Abigail Lucas -- "Black Me Out" (19:37)

Bandits on the Run -- "Back Home" (28:46)

She Returns From War -- "Ruthless" (33:29)