As hundreds of artists head to Nashville for Americanafest week, singer-songwriters from across the country are reminding us Americana is a genre for all.
Flamy Grant — a self-described “shame-slaying, hip-swaying, singing-songwriting drag queen,” from Asheville, NC — decided to gather other LGBTQ+ music artists to create a showcase.
The “Alt-Mericana” showcase will take place in Nashville on Sept. 12 at the Nashville lesbian-owned bar The Lipstick Lounge, and benefit the ACLU of Tennessee. The show will feature Grant, Julia Cannon, Mya Byrne, Melody Walker and Mark Robert Cash.
The Alt-Mericana showcase will take place at The Lipstick Lounge on Friday, Sept. 12.
The showcase lands during the five-day Americanafest music festival produced by the Americana Music Association, which will also feature many queer artists, including Joy Oladokun, S.G. Goodman, Amythyst Kiah, Medium Build and Aaron Lee Tasjan.
From Sept. 9 to 13, the festival will highlight over 200 artists across venues in Nashville at showcases, panels, and more, such as Dawes, Charles Wesley Godwin, Reckless Kelly and Amanda Shires.
A two-day free showcase for OUTLaw Pride & Yay! Agenda Recordings, an official Americanafest event showcasing “inclusive, kick-a** country,” will also take place on Sept. 11 at Lipstick Lounge and Sept. 13 at Dee’s Lounge.
The first showcase will feature artists including Andrew Sa, Lyons & Co, Shawna Virago, Mercy Bell, Lizzie No, Luisa Lopez, Iris Marlowe and Walker; the second will highlight musicians Ruby Dice, Ever More Nest, #QueerCountryBandwagon, Julie Effin Nolen, Secret Emchy Society, Ashleigh Flynn and The Riveters, Bobby Dove and Byrne.
Byrne, a New York singer-songwriter who is trans, will be performing at Lipstick Lounge two evenings in a row.
“I really want people to get excited to see amazing artists who happen to also be trans and queer and share a cross marginalization,” Byrne said, specifying that while music and identity are inseparable, they shouldn’t pigeonhole an artist as just one thing.
Byrne invoked Allison Russell, a singer-songwriter who has played a prominent role in Americanafest over years past.
“The question isn’t “what is Americana?” but “who is Americana?,” Russell once wrote.
“Answer: All of us.”
Two people embrace at The Lipstick Lounge in Nashville , Tenn., Friday, June 28, 2024.
To buy tickets to the “Alt-Mericana” showcase, visit flamygrant.com/lipstick.
To learn more about the OUTLaw country showcase, visit https://thelipsticklounge.com and deeslounge.com.
Audrey Gibbs is a music journalist at The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: LGBTQ+ artists create ‘Alt-Mericana’ showcase, Americanafest events to support queer artists
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