Browsing Tag

music

Spectrum Ensemble: A Journey of Queer Representation in the Classical Music World

Posted on May 15, 2019
A photo of Spectrum Ensemble.

On Saturday May 4, the Denton, Texas–based musical group Spectrum Ensemble made their debut with their specially curated show, A New Light, at Denton’s Black Box Performing Arts Center. “The energy in the room was magnetic,” Jaime Esposito, co-founder of the group, says of the intimate show, which had about 60 people in attendance. “It was exhilarating and the most fun performing I had ever experienced.”…

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The Broad’s Way: Houston’s Drag Queen Broadway Revue

Posted on April 30, 2019
A photo of Regina Blake-Dubois at The Broad's Way.

“Four numbers in and we’ve already had a dildo and a 9/11 joke,” quips host and star entertainer Regina Blake-Dubois during the second-anniversary performance of The Broad’s Way, Houston’s only Broadway drag revue. At the Broad’s Way, the mood is always tongue-in-cheek and campy, like you hope to see at any drag show. But at Michael’s Outpost, the revue’s home stage, the performers bring more than kitsch comedy and silliness.…

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Spectrum South’s Best of Queer Music 2018

Posted on January 2, 2019
A photo of queer music.

Innovators, advocates, and revelers in the weird—queer artists often create the work that impacts society the most. Eye-opening, thought provoking, and sometimes even unsettling, it’s often art that turns tides. This year, we asked our staff for their personal nominations for best song by a queer artist in 2018. We’re excited to share with you our top picks—and few runners up! We won’t judge if you’re suddenly compelled to dance around your apartment in your underwear to the Spotify playlist…

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Singing With Soul: Jasmine Branch on Life After Pride Superstar

Posted on August 13, 2018
A photo of Pride Superstar 2018 Jasmine Branch, aka Jassyb.

“I just can’t give up now, I’ve come too far from where I started from…” As Jasmine Branch, aka Jassyb, belts these words on stage, they come straight from her heart. She embodies them. “Can’t Give Up Now,” the song the Houston-based singer chose for her winning Pride Superstar 2018 performance, is definitive of both her journey during the competition, and within her life. No stranger to a challenge, Branch knows the importance of pursuing a goal until you emerge victorious.…

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Not The End of Me: Musician Steve Grand Sheds Light on Life After Love

Posted on July 30, 2018
A photo of gay musician Steve Grand.

Steve Grand was riding the effervescent high of 2015’s All-American Boy when he realized that introspection would be the key to his follow-up. The country-pop aesthetic of his freshman album had him pegged by the media as America’s newest gay country icon, but Grand demurred. Though he considers himself a fan of country music, he doesn’t think of himself as a country artist. “Music is subjective,” Grand says. “That is part of the whole point. The lines of life are…

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Bonnaroo: A Queer Experience

Posted on June 19, 2018
A photo of queer Bonnaroo.

I was working a corporate chair massage gig at a random high-rise in Austin, Texas when my colleague started boasting about her upcoming massage stint at Bonnaroo, the four-day-long music festival in rural Tennessee. Colloquially called “The Farm” by festival-goers (aka Bonaroovians), Bonnaroo celebrated its 17th birthday this year, making it one of the longer-standing music festivals in the South.…

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The Space Kiddettes Talk Their Space City Takeover, New Single, and Embracing Their Inner Nerd

Posted on April 30, 2018
A photo of the queer band Space Kiddettes.

There’s just something about a bold geometric windbreaker that attracts the eye of Trent Lira, one half of Houston’s New Wave duo the Space Kiddettes. Devin Will, the equally eclectic other half, is like a Marie Fredriksson dream circa Roxette 1992. The pair just celebrated the release of “Process Ü,” the first single since their freshman EP Livingspace // Headspace dropped last year.…

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