Rainbow Rodeo – Details, episodes & analysis

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.

Cidny Bullens is not just a rock'n'roll lifer -- he's a survivor. He toured with Elton John and Bob Dylan and was nominated for two Grammys for his own solo work. If you've listened to the Grease soundtrack, you've probably heard him -- but this is all before he transitioned.

Cid's been through quite a bit as well, and not just a rock and roll lifer, but also a survivor. And his recent memoir, TransElectric, Cidny talks about his journey from growing up in rural Massachusetts to New York to LA back to New York... and eventually Portland, Maine, and all the obstacles along the way: flying high In the music scene to his lows with struggling with addiction and losing his daughter and being in the closet as a trans person in the sixties and seventies without even really knowing what that meant or what the possibilities could be.

Cidny complemented the memoir with Little Pieces and put it out in 2020. So you can guess what happened there. That's why Kill Rock Stars signed Cidny and reissued the album earlier this month.

In this interview, Cindy and I talk about his life, intergenerational LGBTQ+ work, recording Little Pieces, and what's next for him.

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Track Listing

• Cidny Bullens, "Little Pieces" (3:50)
• Cidny Bullens, "Purgatory Road" (12:07)
• Cidny Bullens, "The Gender Line" (25:36)
• Mya Byrne, "Please Call Me Darling" (55:52)
• Cidny Bullens, "Call Me By My Name" (1:00:00)

This isn't Jessye DeSilva's first Rainbow Rodeo! The non-binary singer-songwriter was the very first guest on this podcast, and we're thrilled to have them back. In this episode, we talk about how DeSilva is setting intentions and seeing them through, their album Renovations as a document of coming into their own, and what's next as they tackle being an artist in a post-lockdown world. As I mention in the intro, I interviewed Jessye and others about the transphobic events at this year's Americanafest -- and how music festivals could become safer spaces for artists in the future -- in the Nashville Scene.   Remember to subscribe to the e-mail newsletter to get a weekly update on what's been going on down at the Rodeo! Catch us on Twitter, Instagram, Threads, and Mastodon under @rainbowrodeomag, and at @rainbowrodeo on Bluesky.   Song List 1:48 -- Jessye DeSilva -- "Let It Burn" (Renovations) 14:23 -- Jessye DeSilva -- "Queen of the Backyard" (Hover) 19:11 -- Jessye DeSilva -- "Dysphoria" (Renovations) 36:57 -- Allison Russell -- "Demons" (The Returner) 41:28 -- Jessye DeSilva -- "What I Know To Be True" (Renovations)  

Howdy, cowpokes, and welcome back to Rainbow Rodeo! This month, I interview artist and podcaster extraordinaire, Jenny Owen Youngs. I think you can hear in the interview that I’m a little bit starstruck, but of course Jenny was a pro. (We’re on a first-name basis now.)   We talk about her return to solo music with her new album, Avalanche, and how it’s been to work in the co-writing and music licensing space in LA for so long. We also get a little silly with fandoms, but also get down to business to discuss queer artists and the anxiety around pigeonholing, and idea that’s been on my mind a lot lately.   Read my review of Avalanche on No Depression. Subscribe to the Rainbow Rodeo Patreon here and subscribe to our weekly newsletter here!   Music Time Stamps: Jenny Owen Youngs -- "Everglades" (1:58) Jenny Owen Youngs -- "Knife Went In" (11:49) Jenny Owen Youngs -- "Set It On Fire" (38:17) Trixie Mattel (ft. Orville Peck) -- "Jackson" (42:08) Jobi Riccio -- "Whiplash" (44:45)  

Hey there, cowpokes, and welcome back to Rainbow Rodeo! This month, I speak with veteran Maia Sharp about her album Reckless Thoughts, which came out in August. I also interviewed her for the Nashville Scene. In that interview, we discussed the divorce that caused her to move to Nashville and how she brought together a trusted band to create Reckless Thoughts and her previous album, Mercy Rising. The part of the conversation you'll hear is from when we were already 30 minutes in and switching gears for podcast mode. Maia had mentioned joining a softball league in Nashville, so we had to kick things off by discussing it, naturally.

 

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Julian Talamantez Brolaski is a poet and country crooner but, above all else, is a careful curator of traditional country music. Brolaski's album It's Okay Honey comes out today, replete with yodeling, cowboy guitar and, of course, heartbreak. Brolaski was also on the ground floor of Brooklyn's queer country scene in the 2010s. They're too modest to say it, but that makes them an integral part of the current queer country movement.

Julian Talamantez Brolaski is a poet and country crooner but, above all else, is a careful curator of traditional country music. Brolaski's album It's Okay Honey comes out today, replete with yodeling, cowboy guitar and, of course, heartbreak. Brolaski was also on the ground floor of Brooklyn's queer country scene in the 2010s. They're too modest to say it, but that makes them an integral part of the current queer country movement.

Song List

2:40 -- "Goin' to Nashville" (Julian Talamantez Brolaski)

20:17 -- "Racing the Train" (Julian Talamantez Brolaski)

29:50 -- "You'll Have a New Body" (The Invert Family Singers)

36:00 -- "Gourd Flower" (Julian Talamantez Brolaski)

45:20 -- "Ain't a Day Goes By" (Melissa Carper)

48:52 -- "Just Like a Man" (Julian Talamantez Brolaski)

I'm excited to introduce you to Beau Wheeler. Beau's latest album, Flying Colours, reveals a huge generosity of spirit. They wrote these songs while they were undergoing cancer treatment -- and coming out as non-binary. We also discuss hacking it in the Canadian indie rock scene -- and, for Patreon subscribers, just what they would risk to go see Mavis Staples.  

• Read my review of Flying Colours on Rainbow Rodeo!

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Hey there, cowpokes, and happy Pride! We are in a real treat this month with our conversation with Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, old time music legends.

In our interview, Cathy and Marcy said they haven't done much -- but they're just being modest. They have performed with Pete Seeger, Theodore Bikel, Tom Paxton, Patsy Montana, Riders in the Sky, and a wide range of musical luminaries. They have entertained the Queen of Thailand, been keynote singers for the AFL-CIO, appeared on the “Today Show” and on National Public Radio. Cathy & Marcy earned GRAMMY Awards for their recordings “cELLAbration: a Tribute to Ella Jenkins”, and “Bon Appétit!: Musical Food Fun”. Their CD’s “Postcards” and “Banjo Talkin’” were GRAMMY Fnalists in the Best Traditional Folk Album category. Since we discuss it later in the episode, we'll kick things off with the song they co-wrote with Tom Paxton, "Don't Say Gay." 

• "Don't Say Gay" Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpjme3usL-0
• Subscribe to the Rainbow Rodeo Patreon to get your copy of Rainbow Rodeo Issue 3 and more swag!
• Listen to Rachel this month on Sirius XM's Country Pride -- Channel 105
• Advertise on Rainbow Rodeo!

Get to know Mya Byrne now, because she is going to become a household name. Her newest album, Rhinestone Tomboy, is out now on Kill Rock Stars Records. KRS is the legendary riot grrl record label, and Rhinestone Tomboy is the first record off its brand new Nashville imprint.   As I wrote in my profile in the Nashville Scene, that's not the only first for this project: the video for "It Don't Fade" features a kiss shared between Mya and her partner, songwriter Swan Real. When the video was broadcast on CMT, it made them the first known transfemme kiss on broadcast TV. When the pair repeated their performance at the Love Rising Concert in Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, they became what is almost certainly the first openly transfemme couple to do so.   Learn more about Brooklyn Transcore here.   Learn more about Nashville Transcore here.   Support Rainbow Rodeo when you subscribe for as little as $4 a year.   You can also advertise on the podcast for a mere $15.