Maybe you’re sick already of “Jingle Bells” and all the other holiday jingles playing incessantly everywhere you turn. But that could be because you don’t have choices! Or because it’s all the same-old same-old.
Queer artists have been busy putting their own talented spin on classics and forgotten favorites, in traditional styles or inventively reinterpreted, or conjuring up new songs from their perspectives.
This playlist includes new tracks released this year by a spectrum of Queer folks, from excellent, shiny new songs to those that in my not humble opinion are just OK. My “just OK” might be your new cool Yule fave, so In the spirit of the holidays, there’s more to choose from than just the (sugar)plums. (I only left out awful ones.)
Just a few noteworthy mentions:
Morgan Wade’s 4-song Christmas In My Dreams is all excellent.
Tawnted wins Best New Christmas Song of 2025.
The High Voltage Homos (!) run the table of happy holiday party music, in styles ranging from contemporary bangers to throwback disco to soulful romance to novelty songs.
Melissa Carper gives us an entire album, Made With Love, that has an early 1960s tinge, an acoustic country album that sounds recorded on warm microphones. But her originals often reveal a 21st century candor and guilelessness that 1960s radio programmers would’ve censored. It often feels nostalgic, but Carper isn’t cosplaying a bygone era, she’s adopting and adapting what worked once to work for her.
And don’t be too surprised by the inclusion of winter songs, Yule songs, New Year’s songs, peace songs, breakup during the holidays songs, and even one Hanukkah song. (Also just a few before-2025 songs by not-Q folks demanded to be included.)
So sample these for yourself and choose!
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