Where Y'ALL really means ALL
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Lavender Country broke barriers with their 1973 studio album. While it went under the radar at the time, it has been reassessed as one of the most important Americana LGBTQ+ albums of all time. It set the stage for what we see today – artists like Brandi Carlile, Joy Oladokun, and Adeem the Artist soaring and causing cracks in the pink ceiling.
Many other artists are making noise of their own – from multi-instrumentalist Jake Blount to singer-songwriter Mya Byrne and folklorist Jessye DeSilva. Artists are making art and thriving on their own terms – with many finding recognition, including Allison Russell, who recently earned several nominations for the 2023 Americana Honors & Awards.
For all the headway, there has been little improvement in mainstream recognition. That’s where Country Everywhere and Rainbow Rodeo and others come into the picture. Here, you can find resources to discover new, fresh talent in our Directory, as well as News & Events and other essential information. With a focus on LGBTQ+ talent, we uplift queer voices and hope you’ll join us in pushing the boundaries even further.
Country music is three chords and the truth after all, and we deserve to have our stories heard, too.
our folks
Featured Profile :
Deep River
Deep River was founded in Connecticut by Sharon Lewis in November 1992 with the intention of being a country band with three women and three men, balancing the energy of yin and yang, with the women always fronting the band. Lewis and partner, now wife, Sandy Howard, moved to Nashville in April 1993 and worked hard writing, performing and trying to get a major label record deal for 10 years. Two of our original songs were rated ‘Honorable Mention’ by country historian Robert K. Oermann in Music Row magazine, Civil War and Silver Eagle, and one of those, Civil War, was later played by KISS Country 99 FM in Asheville, NC.. While in Nashville Deep River sang with Vince Gill and opened for Mark Wills, Charlie Louvin and Wilma Lee Cooper, but the country music industry was not ready for an out bisexual couple, although at that time there were many closeted LGBTQI musicians and industry types including a few country stars. Lewis and Howard moved to Asheville, NC in April 2003 where Deep River has been the premier country vocal group ever since, performing original songs from our Nashville decade, our favorite country hits from the 80's & 90's plus the greatest hits of idols Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles, and opening for one of heroes, Kathy Mattea.
