(C) Daily Yonder - Keep it Rural
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Are Cowboys Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other? [1]
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Date: 2025-05-15
Queer country music is having a moment, with Chappell Roan’s newest single, ‘The Giver,’ debuting at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. But queer people have always been a part of country music — whether or not you see them.
Queer culture is often associated with cities, but queer people have always lived in rural areas and have always been making music. Art always imitates life and amplifies identity. As a queer artist, it’s natural to create art that brings focus to identity. It’s what queer country artists have been doing for generations.
I live in a small town of about 1,200 people in southwest Colorado. Surrounding the town, you’ll find alfalfa farms, ranches, and public land. But for some reason— perhaps the college town 30 miles away, or the artsy vibes of the town — it’s locally known that Mancos, Colorado has a lot of lesbians.
I came out of the closet as queer while living in southwest Colorado, so when I left my relationship and moved to Mancos, friends joked that it was the perfect place to move as a single woman dating women. It was a great thought, except that all the lesbians were already in relationships, probably watching beautiful Colorado sunsets together while listening to Wilma Burgess, who is widely recognized as the first openly lesbian country artist.
Patrick Haggerty is another early queer country artist, who didn’t get the recognition he deserved at the time. Hagerty wrote and released songs with his band Lavender Country, like ‘Cryin’ These C**ksucking Tears’ and ‘Back in the Closet Again’. Inevitably, there were far more early queer country artists who hid their identities because of the real danger of being publicly out.
This week’s episode of Twang gets into this hidden history of queer country music. Artists like Burgess and Haggerty shaped the country music we know and love today and deserve to be celebrated for it.
In the final episode of Twang, I join Lane Wendell Fischer to explore queerness in country music’s past and present. Though there is only one openly queer artist currently signed by a major country music label, the rising popularity of artists like Chappell Roan, Orville Peck, and Brandi Carlile mark the increasing visibility of queer artists in the genre. We discuss these contemporary artists – and the lesser known queer musicians who came before them – and the mark they’ve made on country music.
Episode four is out now, along with a companion playlist compiled by Lane. As always, we hope you’ll listen – not just to the music, but to the lives behind that trademark twang.
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